My Partner and I are driving from Seattle to San Fransico over 2 weeks and taking in many of the sights/towns along the way. e.g Portalnd, Mt Hood, Crater Lake, Redwood parks.
We're staying in Eureka for a night and then going on down the coast road to Fort Bragg. Following this, I have a dilemma in reaching San Francisco...do we continue to hug the coast road or turn inland onto Route 128?
I'd like advice on the various sights/timescales in each. Also the drivability of the coast road in general in September...can Fort Bragg to San Francisco be ahcieved in a day?
Cheers in advance - Lee, England.

Lee, The driving time from Eureka to Ft. Bragg is approximately three hours if you take Hwy 101 to Leggett and then take Hwy. 1 on over to the Coast and down to Ft. Bragg. That time, however, is based solely on driving straight through without any detours. You might consider leaving Hwy. 101 to take all or part of the Avenue of the Giants which parallels Hwy 101 in many places and takes you through some magnificent old redwood trees.
The drive from Ft. Bragg to San Francisco will take approximately 6 hours (of driving, not counting stopping to take pictures, etc.!) if you go all the way down the Coast on Hwy 1. It is beautiful, but that's a LOT of driving! From Ft. Bragg to the Golden Gate Bridge is approx. 3 and 1/4 to 3 and 1/2 hours if you take Hwy. 1 to Hwy. 128 and then inland through the Anderson Valley, meeting up with Hwy. 101 at Cloverdale and continuing on that highway to San Francisco.
Depending on what kind of scenery you want to see and how much time you have, that may influence your decision! You'll see some spectacular coastline on your drive from Leggett to Ft. Bragg once you reach the coastal part of that drive. Also, just south of Ft. Bragg in the Mendocino area, it is lovely. So, too, is the drive on Hwy. 128 through the Anderson Valley--it has views of beautiful, tree-covered ridgetops as well as apple orchards and wineries on the valley floor (most of which have tasting rooms right on Hwy. 128). Then you climb back out of the valley passing through groves of oaks as you go.
Another alternative would be to continue on Hwy. 1 down the coast as far as Jenner and go back to Hwy. 101 in the Santa Rosa area. That will obviously be slower than taking Hwy. 128 but it will be a lot quicker than following Hwy. 1 all the way to San Francisco, and you'll see some beautiful coastal scenery through the Sea Ranch and Salt Point stretches of highway south of Gualala--and there is a lot of public coastal access in those areas. I would estimate perhaps four and one-half to five hours if you choose that option.
September should be a good time of year for sightseeing as we are usually past our summer fog by then.......or at least hopefully we will be! We have had a lot of it in the last few weeks, but it can blow out to the ocean as quickly as it blows in so you never know.
May I ask why you chose Ft. Bragg over Mendocino? Having lived in the area for over twenty years, I find the area around Ft. Bragg itself not nearly as picturesque as the scenery to the north and south of it--one reason being that a large Georgia Pacific timber mill obscures much of the coastline in Ft. Bragg itself. Just curious! Hope you enjoy your trip as it is truly a gorgeous bit of Coast between Seattle and San Francisco!

Every year I go to the Noyo River Lodge in Ft. Bragg, so I definitely know the area you're talking about (and that may be one reason to stay in Ft. Bragg--that B & B is the best!).

We always drive 128 through the Anderson Valley. There are some really good wineries there (Husch cellars for their whites, and DO NOT MISS Yorkville Cellars for some spectacular reds). Also there's the Booneville Brewery, which my beer expert friend swears is one of the best. The Booneville history museum is a great stop if it's open--they used to speak "Boontling" there because they were so isolated and it's pretty interesting. That town is tiny, too--maybe that's where the expression "out in the Boondocks" came from?

Thanks Kathy and Monica!
Kathy.....No real reason for staying in Fort Bragg....just seemed like an ideal 'stop-off' point. However, this part of the coast is looking like a vacation in itself!! We're booked into the Quaility Inn Ocean View Suites....do you know what these are like? I'd love a good view of the ocean.
On your advice, I've checked out some accomodations in Mendocino, C.O Packard House and Heritage house look pretty good...are they?
Cheers again for the help!

Lee, This part of the coast is, indeed, a vacation in itself! It would be a shame to drive straight through from Ft. Bragg to SF (and I would only suggest you do so on the more inland 101, not on the coast road)! You would miss little towns like Mendocino, Gualala, Inverness and Point Reyes National Seashore. Many hotels along here have beautiful sea views and as someone else pointed out, September is one of our prettiest months. Although you won't see whales at that time of year, the Whale Watch Inn in Gualala has decks that face the ocean, great breakfasts and fireplaces (yes, nice at night in September) A dinner at St. Orres Hotel in their beautiful dining room is highly recommended. Fort Ross has been restored and is an interesting example of a Russian settlers colony. Farther south is Bodega Bay where "The Birds" was filmed. You can ride horses on the beach. Wonderful small hotel called the Inn at the Tides and a meal before dark at the Tides Wharf restaurant is delicious and beautiful. However, if you cut inland at some point, you can visit wineries in Guerneville and Healdsburg in Sonoma Co. There is an apple fair in August in Sebastopol and the Russian River Jazz Festival in September if you'd like a bit of Americana. You should probably also take a trip on the Skunk Train from Ft. Bragg to Willits--lots of beautiful redwoods to see along the way. Please don't rush through this area--even though SF is a super city, the Sonoma/Mendocino coast deserves at least a couple days.

Lee, you have gotten some great advice.
Even though I have driven that area twice, I learned some major details from the above postings. I would suggest however that you figure in to your plans when you are are going to make your trip. For example, Labor Day afternoon is a bad time to try to get over the Golden Gate Bridge and into San Francicso. Also, Sunday afternoons can see major backups as people return home from a weekend "in the country." On 101 headed south on a Labor Day I hit traffic tie ups as long as 2 miles. Going was slow.

I don't know why anyone would want to stay in Eureka (not to be confused with Yreka). It can be a smelly town, and the highway runs right through the middle of it. It is the only town I have seen in the blue-sky area of Northern N. Cal., with a cloud of ugly brown smoke hovering overhead.

Hi, Lee,
You've already received a lot of good driving and sightseeing information, so let me address the subject of calories.

Eureka may be less than thrilling as a stopover (although many wonderful Victorian era wood buildings - prowl some side streets when you're there) but nearby is a don't miss destination for your belly. The Samoa Cookhouse is the last surviving lumber mill mess hall, with all-you-can-eat lunches and dinners, surrounded by marvelous lumber industry paraphenalia. Really a lot of fun; I can refer you to some British friends who loved it. Samoa is just west of Eureka, signposted from the town center. http://humboldtdining.com/cookhouse/

Later, when you're closer to San Francisco, you might consider the Union Hotel in Occidental, a little town in Sonoma County. Historic hotel with family-style (big bowls and platters in middle of table - attack!) Italian dinners, with superb local wine. Followed by nap. Not far from Sebastapol. http://www.unionhotel.com/

(See? The South Pacific and the Crimea, just a couple of hours from each other. Too bad you won't have time for Moscow, Idaho.)

I just drove from Seattle to SF two weeks ago. I climbed Ranier and Shasta on my way south and visited Crater Lake National Park in between. Ranier and Crater Lake are slightly out of the way, but are magnificent. You'll see Shasta as you drive south and the town of Mt. Shasta has some charm. I drove south to Redding and headed west on a very nice drive to Eureka. Eureka is really not that nice, but the drive south to SF is great. You can do Ft. Bragg to SF easily in one day. Don't go inland! Stop off at those little road side rest areas on the coast highway. Many of them have paths that go to the beach or to the cliffs. Gas stations can be hard to find, especially at night when they all seem to close early. The road is slow and curvy, but it is spectacular. If you go after Labor Day, you'll miss many of the tourists. Although you'll enjoy the scenery, it would be a shame to do it behind some huge RV that is going 20mph! Have a grea trip!