John H

Can anyone suggest any nice places (hotels/b&Bs) in which they have stayed near or in Redding, Eureka/Arcata and Lake Shasta/Lassen Park areas? Price range up to $150/night is fine.

Also, favoorite places to eat or things to do/see are welcome.

Thanks in advance.

john

Helen

It is a little south of Eureka but the Gingerbread Mansion (B & B) in Ferndale is nice. Be sure to eat at the Marina on the Island and the Samoa Cookhouse.

lucinda

There is also a beautiful old hotel about 10 minutes south of Eureka - the food is quite good and the wine list is excellent. Sadly, the name escapes me, but I think it is or was owned by one of the logging companies. Also, Trinity is pretty.

Alli

Sounds like you are doing the same trip my husbaand and I did last year with our 1 year old daughter.

We did the Redding, Lake Shasta,Lassen Park thing, etc...hit everything on the way up.. Drove into Oregon, the back dowm along the coast. Beautiful!

Don't miss the Shasta Dam. It is awesome. They have a great tour with a guide.

Lassen was cool too. A less visited park, not crowded at all. The ranger will give a booklet (or maybe you had to buy it for a few dollars) and you guide yourself through the park. It tells you the distance you will drive to each site and a history/story about it. Don't pass up on the little book.

Mount Shasta was ok. I guess I was expecting more. You just go to the top, not really the top, but as far as you can go, and that is it. The views are fab though.

The logging town Lucinda speaks of is Scotcia. You must stay at the Scotia Inn, beautifully decorated, great resturant, loved the footed tub. Very romantic! It is amazing, the Inn and the town. It is a logging town owned and employeed by the mill. The name of the Mill escapes me, but everyone should know Scotia. You must also take a tour of the lumber mill. Sounds corny, but it is cool.

We stayed in Redding one night, but cannot suggest anyplace special. Trinidad is a lovely town. Actually all of the coastal towns are. Eureka, Trinidad, Cresent City.

Cresent City was cool, not a lot going on but they did have an old lighthouse you could tour. It was neet to wake up early and see the hown town enveloped in fog.

I had a AAA book for CA and just read the exerpts from each city on the map and stopped along the way. We had no plans in stone, just know we had to be back in San Fran in 2 weeks.

See if you can get your hands on the AAA book and just stop at each city. They all have great things to offer.

Have fun.

Oh yeah, the Samoa Coolhouse is a must.

Samantha

Hi John, my husband and I lived in Arcata for 4 years, so I know the area well. First off, the Scotia Inn others have mentioned is a wonderful place. We did an overnight getaway there, even though it's only about an hour from where we lived. Nice, Victorian style rooms and the meal at the restaurant was among the best we've ever had - filet mignon and shrimp, with herb flavored mashed potatoes. The raspberry vinagrette dressing was out of this world! I can't remember exactly, but I think the room price for the night was around the price range you mentioned, maybe a little less.

Someone else mentioned the Marina restaurant (specializing in seafood) in Eureka. Very good suggestion. Here are some restaurants that hubby and I went to often:

Chinese: Hunan on the Plaza, Arcata (it's the one on the square, not the one up several blocks, which is just called Hunan)

Italian: Tomaso's, Eureka (their lasagna is excellent!)

Seafood: Sea Grill, Eureka

Do you like to hike? Patrick's Point State Park, about an hour north of Arcata, is nice and the trails lead to lovely views of the ocean.

Trinidad Head has a great overlook spot of the marina below.

Ferndale is a Victorian lover's dream. Lots of houses decorated beautifully and the downtown area has lots of quaint shops.

Hopefully you're doing your travelling at this time of year, which has the best weather at least in the Eureka/Arcata area. Usually sunshine every day and temperatures in the 60's, although it can be foggy until mid morning and it rolls in again at about 5:00 or 6:00 at night.

I hope this information helps. Have a wonderful vacation.

Samantha

Forgot to mention a website that might be of interest to you:

http://www.arcata.com

There are links to surrounding towns at that site, also.

John

Food-wise, you might get a kick out of the Samoa Cookhouse, in Samoa across the bay from Eureka. It's the former mess hall for a lumber mill, with family-style meals served up by motherly wait staff. The collection of photos and timber industry memorabilia is worth the trip by itself, but the food is really good too. Come hungry.

Joan

Whatever you do, don't stay at a hotel in the south end of Eureka (near the mall). There's a paper mill at that end of town and unless you're into the scent of rotten eggs, you'd be better off lodging elsewhere!

kam

Look at www.shastacascade.org for info about the area. Many years ago my son went with his uncle and aunt on a houseboat trip on Lake Shasta. I t was great fun. As I recall Dunmuir is a nice little town, but I don't know the area well at all.

John H

Thanks for all of your helpful comments.

john