Driving trip north from SF to Canada
 

Could you please give us some suggestions about the best way to see the area from SF to Canada, part driving and maybe part train? We will be starting out from LA and have done the scenic route from LA to SF and now want to continue on. Any suggestion? We will have 2-3 week travel time. Time frame, Sept 17th to October 8th
Thanks for your help. This is a great site for travelers heading to unkown areas! MPF

You can't miss by taking highway 1 along the coast from SF to Ft. Bragg. It will eventual rejoin US 101 and take you through the Redwoods (take the drive on the Avenue of the Giants). The Oregon Coast is also beautiful, but you might want to cut inland and see Crater Lake. I happen to like driving up the eastern side of the Cascades and see snow covered Mt. Hood and Mt. Adams from the dry side. You can also visit Mt. St. Helens and then see Mt. Rainier. If you choose to stay on the coast, go visit the sand dunes in Oregon, and you might want to drive around the Olympia peninsula to see the temperate rain forest and visit the Indian museum in Neah Bay. Frm Neah Bay you can walk though the forest for a view of the western most lighthouse of the continental U.S. Drive back and go to Hurricane Ridge in Olympia National Park. Then on to Seattle.

Michael, thanks for your reply. Any suggestions as to places to stay and restaurants?

I can only recommend campsites.

Patrick has pretty much covered it: Redwoods, Oregon coast, and the Olympic Peninsula.

Crater Lake is wonderful, but way off the beaten track. If you take a side trip from the ocean, I would suggest the Columbia River Gorge instead.

You will get better responses about hotels when you have an idea of your itinerary.

Personally, I would avoid the train from San Francisco to, say, Eugene. When we took it over a year ago there was no way of doing that leg without overnighting on the train. It headed north from Oakland, Calif. at 10:00 or 11:00 pm.

Mt Ranier is great place to stop -
and Paradise Lodge is wonderful( you have to make reservations way in advance and through the National Park Service) - right at the base of the mountain - access to some great hiking trails and from there just a days drive up to Vancouver - or you could drive up to Tsawwassen and take the ferry over to Victoria - a very pretty trip on the ferry through the islands

Hi, fettigal!

Are you arriving in SF and then going one way north to Canada? Or are you returning to SF?

Also what part of Canada? Just the coast - Victoria and Vancouver? Or more inland - Okanagan and beyond?

What price range for the hotels? What kind of food do you like - steak or vegetarian?

Please help us with a few more details so that we can better help you! Thanks! :)

Not sure why this was topped after two months, and it being fettigal's only post(s) on fodors. You still out there, fettigal?