kjkolson

My husband and I, along with our 15 year old son, are planning a trip for the last week of August (leaving the weekend of August 22, most likely). It's kind of last minute, but want to get in a visit to family in Eugene, OR, and see some sights while we're at it before school starts. We plan to fly into Eugene to spend a couple of days with family first, then would like to see the best of the Redwoods and a few San Francisco sights (Alcatraz, Golden Gate, etc.). Does anyone have any experience with a similar trip and have suggestions for the best itinerary, route, etc.? We would be returning to Eugene to fly out, as my husband is staying there an additional week with family. School starts for my son on September 1, so we'd need to return the weekend prior to that. Thanks for the help!

happytrailstoyou

There are redwoods in every direction from Eureka.

The famous Avenue of the Giants and Founders Gove is about 55 miles south of Eureka on the way to San Francisco.

The 275-mile drive between Eureka and San Francisco takes about 5 hours, and you can plan your trip down and back accordingly.

I believe it is wise to pre-book tickets to Alcatraz.

HTtY

janisj

That return to Eugene does mess things up a bit.

You are looking a 8-22 to 8-29 and after spending a couple of days w/ the family you will only have 5 days for Eugene > Redwoods > Sf > Eugene which is nearly 1200 miles and 20+ hours drive time w/o any stops. Deduct maybe 1.5 days in SF and you will need to be on the road about 9 hours a day (driving plus rest stops/meals)

Is there any way you and your son could fly home from SF while your husband drives back up to Eugene? That would cut your drive times/distance in half and make it MUCH more doable.

suze

I agree, it's the round-trip in & out of Eugene that makes this trip have way too much time on the road (for my taste) and not enough to see & do things (Redwoods & San Francisco).

tomfuller

Depending on where you are flying in from, it might make sense to fly into PDX and either rent the car there or take one of 3 daily trains from Portland to Eugene.
Even if you do fly to Eugene, consider taking the Amtrak Coast Starlight from Eugene (downtown) to Sacramento.
The CS leaves Eugene shortly after 5PM and arrives in Sacramento at 6:15AM the next morning. Have a good breakfast in Sacramento and then rent a car at 9AM for your California adventure.
The northbound Coast Starlight leaves Sacramento about midnight. Be inside the station by 11PM.
The northbound CS gets to Eugene between 12:30 and 1PM (often late).
(Please hold the nasty remarks about Amtrak).

janisj

>>(Please hold the nasty remarks about Amtrak).

suze

If I were going to try to smooth out and speed up this itinerary I'd fly part of it, not add the train.

janisj

That's for sure -- especially if trying to catch a flight.

Plus the trains don't go anywhere near the redwoods so wouldn't save any time.

tomfuller

The time saving is all the miles you don't have to drive on I-5 between Eugene and Sacramento. Plus you cover most of those miles in the dark not paying for a hotel room.
On my March trip the train arrived at 5:35 and I waited around the station until after 6 and then hiked down to the Fox & Goose for a great breakfast. I checked out the Capitol grounds and Old Sacramento (very quiet) on the way back to the station.
If you want a rental car earlier, you can catch a YOLO bus out to the Airport (SMF).
You can see Coast Redwoods not too far north of San Francisco at Muir Woods. You do not need to go all the way to Redwoods NP or Eureka to see the big trees.
On my March trip I went over 5000 miles on Amtrak and over 3500 miles in a rental car.
On my return trip I had breakfast on the Southwest Chief with an Amtrak Vice President. We had a good discussion about the future of Amtrak.

janisj

>>If you want a rental car earlier, you can catch a YOLO bus out to the Airport >hiked down to the Fox & Goose for a great breakfast.>I checked out the Capitol grounds

happytrailstoyou

True, it would be better if you didn't have to return to Eugene for your return flight, but it is doable.

Since you have relatives in Eugene, you may have checked out Oregon's other attractions: the Columbia River Gorge waterfalls, the Oregon Coast, Crater Lake, Smith Rock, Lava Lands in the Bend area, etc.

If you haven't visited these attractions, your time might be better spent with them than on the long drives to and from San Francisco.

HTtY

suze

I like that idea a LOT better. There's so much spectacular scenery right in Oregon!

janisj

I agree w/ htty. Unless SF is an absolute must you could easily manage Eugene, a bit of the southern Oregon coast and and northern CA redwoods and back to Eugene in your short time.