driving from seattle to san francisco
Nov 25th, 2017 | 07:11 AM
#1
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Joined: Nov 2017
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driving from seattle to san francisco
I only have 4 days to make the most of it. I'm flying into Seattle and out of San Francisco I'd really like to see some of the scenic things along the coast and of course the landmarks of San Francisco. I'm going in early march. Any insight would be greatly appreciated.
Nov 25th, 2017 | 07:41 AM
#2
Joined: Jan 2003
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Looks like your first post on Fodor's; welcome!
Assuming you want to spend a day in San Francisco, you're going to have to choose what you can go without seeing en route, or else plan on a couple of very long days.
Here's the general route I prefer at that time of year - https://goo.gl/maps/GM8J3sFUhmM2 . This entails driving south on Interstate 5 to Oregon Hwy 38, just past Cottage Grove at the south end of the Willamette Valley. OR 38 is a scenic and (relatively) quick route from I-5 to the coast; be on the lookout for Roosevelt elk in a big refuge just before the junction with US 101 at Reedsport.
From there it's US 101 south all the way to the Golden Gate. I would recommend an overnight in Bandon (the nicest town on the southern Oregon coast) but depending on time, Coos Bay may have to work. (Coos Bay isn't going to win any beauty contests but it's convenient.)
The next day (Bandon/Coos Bay south) includes the best scenery on the Oregon coast, followed by the redwoods. Spend the night somewhere around Eureka - maybe Arcata or Trinidad just to the north, Eureka itself, or Ferndale to the south.
The last day, take the marvelous "Avenue of the Giants" byway (which parallels US 101) and then continue south to SF.
In early March expect wet weather all the way from Seattle to Eureka. You probably will have some sun breaks, and you might even get lucky and have a sunny day. Try to limit your driving to daylight hours; you don't want to be on wet two-lane roads at night.
That means an early start from Seattle, as Coos Bay and Bandon are a good 7 hours wheels turning, and could be more depending on traffic leaving Seattle or transiting Portland. If you get behind schedule or are willing to skip the Oregon coast, then the first day head all the way to Grants Pass in southern Oregon, then the next day take US 199 over to Crescent City. This means you'll miss the southern Oregon coast, but you'll have more time in the redwoods, a fair tradeoff.
Assuming you want to spend a day in San Francisco, you're going to have to choose what you can go without seeing en route, or else plan on a couple of very long days.
Here's the general route I prefer at that time of year - https://goo.gl/maps/GM8J3sFUhmM2 . This entails driving south on Interstate 5 to Oregon Hwy 38, just past Cottage Grove at the south end of the Willamette Valley. OR 38 is a scenic and (relatively) quick route from I-5 to the coast; be on the lookout for Roosevelt elk in a big refuge just before the junction with US 101 at Reedsport.
From there it's US 101 south all the way to the Golden Gate. I would recommend an overnight in Bandon (the nicest town on the southern Oregon coast) but depending on time, Coos Bay may have to work. (Coos Bay isn't going to win any beauty contests but it's convenient.)
The next day (Bandon/Coos Bay south) includes the best scenery on the Oregon coast, followed by the redwoods. Spend the night somewhere around Eureka - maybe Arcata or Trinidad just to the north, Eureka itself, or Ferndale to the south.
The last day, take the marvelous "Avenue of the Giants" byway (which parallels US 101) and then continue south to SF.
In early March expect wet weather all the way from Seattle to Eureka. You probably will have some sun breaks, and you might even get lucky and have a sunny day. Try to limit your driving to daylight hours; you don't want to be on wet two-lane roads at night.
That means an early start from Seattle, as Coos Bay and Bandon are a good 7 hours wheels turning, and could be more depending on traffic leaving Seattle or transiting Portland. If you get behind schedule or are willing to skip the Oregon coast, then the first day head all the way to Grants Pass in southern Oregon, then the next day take US 199 over to Crescent City. This means you'll miss the southern Oregon coast, but you'll have more time in the redwoods, a fair tradeoff.
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Feb 4th, 2017 09:55 PM
