HowardF

Hello everyone...

My wife and I are in our 40s and about to celebrate our 20th anniversary. We are flying into Seattle from Alaska on a Monday night, staying one night, renting a nice car and then heading to Oregon wine country via Rt. 5.

We would like to spend Tuesday night in Oregon wine country, Wednesday exploring the wineries, one more night in the area, then head down the coast to San Francisco.

Other than these guidelines and wanting to spend a full day in San Francisco, does anyone have any suggestions on what route to take and where we should stay? We are on a limited budget and do not need extravagant accommodations. We just like little towns (not a lot of those in Alaska) and sights to see as we head south. We want to travel where the scenery is best and also see some redwood trees.

Finally, is there some kind of "app" or guidebook Fodors offers we can download to the iPad to help plan this out? And a mapping program of some sort?

Thanks again for any assistance the forum offers.

Cheers!

Howard and Jeanne

HowardF

I meant to add we are traveling June 11th.

sludick

HowardF, how many days total do you have? And are you doing this one way, flying back up, or doing a round trip?

HowardF

I will be flying into Seattle Monday 11 June and driving down to San Fran and flying back 7 days later. Thanks!

HowardF

To be clear, it's a one way--we drive to San Fran within the 7 days and fly back to Alaska from there.

sludick

That would give you time to drive down along the coast, then (as opposed to I-5). The Oregon coast is spectacular, and then you will hit Redwood National Park just over the border in California. There are a lot of redwoods to see and tons of trails that put you into the middle of this awesome place as soon as you set foot on the path.

You could stay 1 night in Crescent City - not a lot to see there, but there is reasonable lodging. For something reasonable and unique, try the Curly Redwood Lodge: http://www.curlyredwoodlodge.com/

HowardF

THank you! We were planning on starting with a night in McMinnville. Should we cut over on route 18 to the coast? And what is your opinion for going north up to Tillamook.and checking that out?

sunbum1944

There is not a lot to see in Crescent City- but lots to see within just a few miles of it.
Some fabulous hikes- some short, some not. Last weekend we did the Trillium Trail which was great- fabulous trees, small waterfall- pretty easy to do.

Some of my friends went to the Indian Museum at the Trees of Mystery- it looks like a typical tourist trap as you drive by but apparently the museum is wonderful. Everyone raved about it!

A lovely shorter hike is into Hidden Beach- you do have to scramble over logs and rocks at the end but not too difficult and it is a beautiful spot.

Or- look into spending a night at Requa Inn- along the Klamath River- nice spot- rooms decorated with antiques, claw foot bathtubs and beautiful dining room with a very creative chef. I thought the dinner was a bit over priced- $45 - includes a glass of champagne- but dinner was good. From the Inn, you can drive up the hill to an overlook where you can hike down to a point and you can watch the whales playing down below. I was there last Sunday and the whales put on a show for the whole day!

I did stay at the Curly Redwood last weekend- a "well used" motel, but clean and comfortable. It is made from the wood of 1 redwood tree- There is a good restaurant within walking distance- the Good Harvest- great breakfasts.

There is a forest service office in Crescent and they are very helpful with advising on what to do in the area, and have tons of maps of the whole area.

We were there last weekend for the solar eclipse as Klamath was one of the best areas to view it- had a blast!

So much to see and do in the area!

sunbum1944

link to mile by mile guide to Oregon coast ( includes northern Ca)

http://www.northwestmagazines.com/mi...coast_2012.php

sunbum1944

Link to Requa Inn

http://www.requainn.com/

sunbum1944

I think one of the prettiest parts of the Oregon Coast is between Lincoln City and Florence-
my favorite town to stay in is Yachats- I usually stay at the Adobe Motel- on the ocean, nice walking path along the ocean and it has a restaurant. There are 2 other motels close by, the Fireside and the Overleaf- the Overleaf being the most expensive.
Yachats is a cute town to walk around, several nice places to dine ( not high end)

My favorite beach is south of Yachats- Devils Elbow- also called Heceta Head- pretty cove with a trail up to lighthouse and lighthouse keepers house,. The lighthouse keepers house is actually a B&B and is a great place to stay with an amazing breakfast in the AM- have stayed there once and enjoyed very much.

There is a lot to see and do just in that area alone. The other part of the coast that I enjoy is down by Brookings, Bandon- the part between Florence and Coos Bay does not provide many ocean views - mostly just trees along the Hwy.

traveler24

Mile by mile guide is very useful. Keep in mind MPH along Oregon coast to Eureka,Ca is not like freeway driving. Small beach towns with summer traffic--35-40 MPH average.
Tillamook; "back-tracking' 67 miles to Tillamook seems like a poor use of your time.
If you like ocean view motels, Best Western in Brookings Or.(1/2 hour north of Crescent city) is great-nice restaurant across st.
There are some "alternate' Redwood areas--Avenue of the Giants south of Eureka that you can see by driving. However, the forest area south of Crescent City is awesome.
After Eureka the next spot that might interest you is Healdsburg--Sonoma wine country--lots of wineries. from this area to Golden Gate Bridge is about 2-21/2 hrs.
Another resource you might try is do a "search" on this site --"Oregon coast'"
Be aware--temps in SF average 50 to 65 with fog along coast, with a rare"hot" day of 70.