Northern CA and Southern Oregon Itinerary
 

I am in the initial stages of planning a trip to northern California and southern Oregon for next fall. I have read some great information on this website, and I am hoping those of you with wonderful insight into this area will give me some feedback on my rough itinerary. We like to hike and do not need nightlife.

Sept. 25--Arrive SFO at 9:30 am and drive to Point Reyes
Sept. 26 & 27--Point Reyes
Sept. 28 & 29--Mendocino
Sept. 30, Oct. 1 & 2--Trinidad (see Humboldt State Park on way)
Oct. 3--Bandon
Oct. 4 & 5--Crater Lake
Oct. 6 & 7--Lassen
Oct. 8--San Francisco
Oct. 9--Fly home

Is 3 nights too much for Point Reyes? Do we need more than 1 night in Bandon? We love national parks, but is Lassen worth a visit? Thank you so much for taking a look at this.

My own prejudice but yeah, I think three days at Point Reyes is too much. Honestly, I'm not that wowed by Point Reyes, especially given that you're going to be seeing a lot of terrific coastline over the rest of the trip.

Just as a thought experiment, and really not trying to re-plan your trip, but what if you moved a little quicker up the coast, bypassing the Marin/Sonoma/Mendocino coast entirely, but then extended your time on the Oregon Coast by a night or two, and then aimed farther north, up to the Columbia Gorge? Late September/early October is a fab time to visit the Gorge - Hood River Fruit Loop in harvest season, waterfalls still with water in them...

In fact, to take the idea a bit further, what about reversing your route and heading north on the inland route, then returning to SF via the coast? Have a look at this map - https://goo.gl/maps/SkX5xGSTKmC2

This would involve heading to Crater Lake (Lassen? - Okay, not all that much IMO) then north on US 97 through Bend, with a stop at Smith Rock State Park (a real sleeper - google it) past Mount Hood and into Hood River. Spend a couple of days touring the Columbia Gorge (Hood River Valley, Trout Lake, Maryhill Museum and Stonehenge, umpteen waterfalls, Bonneville hatchery) then head west out to the coast. You could go via McMinnville and the Willamette Valley wine country if that's of interest (also fab in harvest mode.)

I'd then stay in Yachats ("ya-hots") and Bandon on the way south, then consider Ferndale in lieu of Trinidad. Ferndale would give you access to the northern part of the Lost Coast, the last coastal wilderness in California. Spend time in the redwood country, including the Avenue of the Giants, then return to SF either via US 101, or, if time allows, via Hwy 1 and Mendocino.

Imaginary timetable, overnight locations shown.

25-Sep Dunsmuir or Weed
26-Sep Crater Lake
27-Sep Hood River
28-Sep Hood River
29-Sep McMinnville
30-Sep Yachats
1-Oct Yachats
2-Oct Bandon
3-Oct Bandon
4-Oct Ferndale
5-Oct Ferndale
6-Oct Mendocino
7-Oct Mendocino
8-Oct San Francisco
9-Oct Home

Good ideas from Gardyloo. Are you really committed to flying into SFO? Would it work to begin and end at PDX? You can go from Portland west to the coast (US 26 NOT US 30) and south along the coast as far as you want. I think that Oregon has better things along the coast than Point Reyes (personal opinion).
On the way back north from wherever you turn back in northern California, you can see Crater Lake and come back through Bend. If you come back into Oregon on US 199, you could also stop to see the Oregon Caves. To avoid Medford on the way to Crater Lake NP, you can cut across to 61 from Gold Hill on OR 234.

Gardyloo and Tom--I was hoping you both would chime in with suggestions. I have been reading lots of your posts on the area. After reading Gardyloo's post, I started rethinking my trip. I am not finding many positive comments about Lassen, so doing a loop north to OR and back to CA might not be such a great idea. I was trying to do a loop because I found great airfare to and from SFO and because I wanted to avoid huge car drop off fees. However, we can fly into PDX and out of SFO for only about $50 more per ticket and no car drop fees that direction. Tom--flying in/out of PDX is a lot more expensive.

We have visited the Columbia River Gorge and Hood River/Mt. Hood area before, but we really enjoyed it and wouldn't mind seeing it again. I had never heard of Smith River State Park, but it looks fantastic! Sounds like Point Reyes could be skipped. We have been to caves all over the country (Carlsbad and Kartchner Caverns are my favorites.) Are the Oregon Caves especially nice?
Is there a special reason to avoid Medford?

Thank you so much for your help! Sounds like I need to go back to the drawing board.

Well, have you spent much time in the redwoods? Yosemite? If you were willing to sacrifice the central Oregon coast, you could do a very nice loop out of SFO on a route like this - https://goo.gl/maps/XQ7rWS759n32

This would include heading north along the coast through the redwoods to the southern Oregon coast (the southernmost 60 or 70 miles is the nicest part IMO) then would head inland to Crater Lake, then south to the California gold rush country along CA Hwy 49, and eventually to Yosemite before returning to the Bay Area. If you're not familiar with the gold country, Hwy 49 (named for the 1849 gold rush) travels through gorgeous country and a string of fabulous historic towns. Google Sutter Creek, Jamestown, Columbia and Murphys. You could see some giant sequoias in Calaveras Big Trees State Park just east of Murphys, which is a big winery center these days.

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...6afdcde8eb.jpg

The Oregon Caves are nice but not in the same league as Carlsbad. It's hard to avoid Medford, but Ashland is very close, and it's a far nicer town IMO - big Shakespeare festival if that's of interest. https://www.osfashland.org/

I was not aware that flying in or out of PDX was more than SFO. How does the car rental cost compare? If you wanted to fly into a California airport, you could check Oakland or maybe Sacramento (SMF).
I like Sacramento because of the easy access to I-5 and I-80.
The traffic around Medford can be bad at times compared with the shortcut through the little town of Gold Hill. North of Redmond Oregon is Smith ROCK State park. It is a favorite of climbers and hikers.
Crater Lake is lots better than Lassen IMO.

Thank you both very much for your responses! Gardyloo--we have visited Yosemite and would love to return, but would rather visit when there are good waterfalls. Those gold rush towns look fantastic, but I think we will save them for our Yosemite visit. We have never seen the Redwoods, so I would like to give that area plenty of time.

I am thinking we will fly into PDX and out of SFO (Tom--the car rental is about the same renting in Portland and returning to SFO as renting and dropping in SFO). Once the holidays are over, I am going to read about the Oregon coast and rethink our itinerary. I will post my latest thoughts and hope that you both will offer suggestions.

The Portland > SF coastal road trip is one of the best driving routes in the US in my view, but in planning you're going to have to decide what role, if any, Crater Lake plays. Visiting Crater Lake in conjunction with a more-or-less comprehensive tour of the Oregon coast and the redwoods requires a very big zigzag and/or some serious doubling-back. Crater Lake's location, basically on the east side of the Cascades, is difficult to access from the coast, requiring a fair amount of driving. And by trying to "straighten out" the route by bypassing part of the coast, then returning to it after visiting Crater Lake, can result in skipping some very scenic parts of the coast.

To my mind (and others might disagree) there are three particularly scenic parts of the Oregon coast. The first starts in Washington with Cape Disappointment on the north side of the (awesome) mouth of the Columbia River and extends south most of the way to Tillamook Bay, and includes the popular destinations of Astoria, Seaside and Cannon Beach. the second runs from (roughly) Lincoln City to Florence, and includes key places like Depoe Bay, Newport, Yachats and Heceta Head. And the third is the southern 100 miles or so, from Bandon to the California state line.

There are basically no roads through the Coast Range between Coos Bay and Brookings, so reaching Crater Lake from the coast, then returning to it, generally means missing one or more of these regions, or else making Crater Lake a simple "round trip" from some point on the central coast, then returning to the coast to resume heading south. This is certainly doable, but it's time-consuming and while the scenery between the coast and Crater Lake is nice, there are boring parts.

So you're going to have to decide whether you're willing to sacrifice the time needed to go back and forth, or whether to skip part of the coast, or perhaps look for some other attraction that would stand in for Crater Lake. My personal view is that Crater Lake is lovely but - just me - not worth the time needed to get there. Others will disagree of course. What if you "swapped" Mount St. Helens for Crater Lake? From Mount St. Helens you can follow the north shore of the Columbia out to Cape Disappointment, then south along the full length of the coast to California and the redwoods, like this: https://goo.gl/maps/Ln8RjRp8Tpz

Just some things to consider as you do your research.

Northern Californian here, and for what its worth, I actually much prefer Lassen to crater lake (the diversity is amazing) but prefer the northern CA and southern Oregon coasts to either.

I would leave out one night from Point Reyes and then drive CA89 from Lassen to the CA49 junction that I would take down to the valley. Do it with an overnight stop, maybe in Quincy. It is a beautiful drive in the northern Sierra.

Don't mean to deviate too far from your plan, but since you note that flying in/out of Portland is very expensive, just thought I'd suggest you think about flying in/out of Seattle. Several years ago, we found the flight options to be far preferable (cheaper and more convenient) using Seattle than Portland. That enabled us to do a great loop that included 100% of the Oregon coast, plus Crater Lake and the Hood River area, with no zig-zagging. From Sea-Tac, we hit the coast at Cape Disappointment, then crossed the river and spent our first night in Astoria, Oregon. We then moseyed down the entire Oregon Coast and then headed inland just south of the CA border on Rte 199. We then traveled up I-5 to Roseburg, to pick up a beautifully scenic road (Rte 138, I believe) into the Crater Lake area. We then headed north thru Bend and spent 2 nights in Hood River. Instead of heading back west and north on I-5 (probably the quickest route back to the airport), we headed east along the Columbia River and then north on Rte 97, etc., passing Mount Rainier on our way back to Sea-Tac. All told, I think we did the trip in 10 nights, and had plenty of time for hiking (Oregon Coast, Mount Hood), waterfalls (Rte 138, Columbia River Gorge). Anyway, food for thought.

Thank you all so much for your suggestions! Gardyloo--you have been terrific with your detailed responses. Janis--you got me re-looking at Lassen. Michael--I will check out Quincy. Curiousgirl--Seattle is a great idea, but we have a credit we have to use on United, and the airfare to SEA is expensive on that airline.

While I have been fooling around with my itinerary, airfare has gone up, so we are now back to flying in/out of SFO. We absolutely love national parks (have been to around 31). We have been to Crater Lake before, but really liked it. After reading more about Lassen, I think we would enjoy staying at Drakesbad Lodge for a couple of nights. I would really like to do the Oregon coast, but think we will save a lot of it for another trip. It sounds like Point Reyes may be disappointing after the northern CA coast and OR coast, but I would like to avoid staying in San Francisco and thought it might be an okay place to stay before our flight home. Here is my latest plan:
Day 1--Fly to SFO, stay in Mendocino
Day 2--Mendocino
Day 3--Visit Humboldt Redwoods on way to Ferndale
Day 4--Lost Coast, stay in Ferndale or Trinidad
Day 5--Trinidad--visit Redwoods
Day 6--Another day in Redwoods?
Day 7--Bandon
Day 8--Bandon
Day 9--Crater Lake
Day 10--Crater Lake
Day 11--Lassen
Day 12--Lassen
Day 13--?
Day 14--Point Reyes
Day 15--12:56 pm flight home from SFO

Questions: Do we need another day at Redwoods (day 6)? Any suggestions for our extra day (day 13)? If we do not spend day 6 at Redwoods, what about using that day and the extra day (day 13) for Yachats and then driving from there to Crater Lake? Given traffic, is it crazy to head to SFO from Point Reyes for a 12:56 flight?

It's tough to get from Bandon to Crater Lake without coming back into California and going across US 199 to I-5 just south of Grants Pass. Did you check on airports other than SFO and PDX?
You can see some redwoods along US 199 after leaving US 101.
The other way to get from Bandon to Crater Lake is to go north on US 101 to Reedsport and then east on 38 and 138. About 4-5 miles east of Reedsport on 38 you can see some Roosevelt Elk at the Dean's Creek viewing area.

Tom, google maps shows Route 42 east towards Roseburg and then 138 to Crater Lake Lodge. What do you think of that route? Would love to see Roosevelt elk!

I did check all the other nearby airports. Unfortunately, they are even more expensive. This is an extra trip we are taking because we have to use a United credit before mid-October, so we are trying to keep costs down.

Just another quick note (I'm on a boat in tne middle of the Rhine with sketchy wifi so will make this brief.) more on the Crater Lake issue later. Your overall plan looks nice except for one problem at the front end . . . SFO to Mendocino is a long a$$ haul. Depending on the time of day/ traffic in the Bay Area, it could take 4.5 hours. If you could fly into SMF instead the drive is about the same distance but from the airport you wouldn't have to cross any metropolitan areas at all. Just something to consider. Or, if you do fly in to SMF, you could flip things and do Lassen first, it would be an hour shorter drive than mendocino. No matter the order though, when in the Lassen area absolutely visit McArthur Burney Falls.

Oh, I see you've already considered SMF :(

have you looked a Southwest? Could be cheaper and maybe you could fly them to SMF and use your united credit to fly home from SFO

I too would reverse things. The longer you put off the mountain areas - Crater Lake, Lassen - the higher the chances you'll encounter bad weather at high elevations. The risk might be relatively low (but remember Dirty Harry's words) but it's a chance you can lessen by making the whole deal a counter-clockwise loop. You'd also be on the ocean side of the road heading back south. As Janis says, SFO to Mendocino is a helluva long way, especially considering it's also a very scenic one and shouldn't be rushed.

Here's a map showing the "reverse" route: https://goo.gl/maps/5pUEAxiVmZk and here's one substituting Sacramento for SFO - https://goo.gl/maps/TnptrB5tg2G2 .

Both skip Point Reyes; the first uses Occidental CA, an interesting wee town in the hills famous for its family-style Italian restaurants and inns, and the second follows the gorgeous Russian River from the coast to Guerneville and then across the wine country back to Sacramento. While the time estimates on the maps are similar, it's very important to remember that Google maps' estimates are notoriously optimistic, particularly in urban areas. If your flight leaves SFO in the early afternoon frankly I'd spend the last night much closer to the airport; counting traffic time and the time needed to return the car and get to the check-in, things could go badly if you're traveling some distance to the airport in the first place.

I have been across Rt. 42 but its been a long time. From where I live, I always go over 38 to get to the coast (Coos Bay/Oregon Dunes). I enjoy stopping to see the elk. I usually see from 4 to 20+.
From Roseburg take 138 east past Diamond Lake to get to the north entrance of Crater Lake. If you can't get a room at Crater Lake lodge, there are rooms and small cabins at Diamond Lake.
Rt. 138 east of Roseburg is along the Umpqua River which has some beautiful waterfalls.
Glad to hear janisj is having a good time in Europe.

Janisj--I can't believe you are taking time from your trip to help me. Thank you so much! Hope you are having a wonderful time on the Rhine. McArthur Burney Falls look gorgeous--we will definitely check them out. Southwest is only taking reservations into early August. I am nervous about waiting too long to buy our tickets. We had looked into a trip to this area a few years ago. The flights were so exorbitant, we ended up flying to Milan instead!

Gardyloo--your maps are incredibly helpful. Thank you so much!

Tom--we will look forward to seeing the waterfalls along the Umpqua.

I do not want to hit snow in the mountains, so going counterclockwise makes a lot of sense. Also, It would be nice to drive the coast southbound. I had thought about going this direction, but it means we will hit Crater Lake on Friday and Saturday night. Rooms that weekend are $100 more per night and are not as nice as rooms available on other dates. However, I would rather cough up more money than have our trip blown up by bad weather, so I think we will go to Lassen first.

I need to figure out whether to use SFO or SMF. Pros for SFO--$50 less per ticket; nonstop flight; leave at same time as flight to SMF, but get in at 9:25 am vs. 11:08 am for SMF flight (so more time to get to Lassen). Pros for SMF--Rental car is $30 less for 2 weeks; less traffic leaving city; easier airport. Knowing this, do you have any more thoughts?

Flights home from both airports leave around 1 pm. Are there towns near SFO or SMF that would be a good place to stay the night before our flight home?

I can't thank you all enough for taking the time to make very helpful suggestions! It is really appreciated!

I like SMF for the ease of getting on I-5 or I-80. On New Years day, DW and I will be staying at the Motel6 in the north end of Sacramento. There is a good bus service from downtown Sacramento (Yolo bus) out out to the Sacramento airport if that would help. Even with a 1:40 head start, you'll be on I-5 from SMF before you would get to Davis on I-80 if you fly to SFO.
If the cost of lodging at the Crater Lake lodge is prohibitive, check on the Prospect Hotel in Prospect. There are also some small cabins in Union Creek.

When I use google maps to put in my date and time of arrival, it says the drive from SFO car rental to Mineral is 3h 30mins to 4h 20mins. SMF to Mineral is 2h 30 mins to 3h. Is this not an accurate estimate? If so, it seems SFO would be better given that we get in 1 1/2 hours earlier, and it is cheaper. Is picking up a rental car at SMF quicker?

Of course it's your call, but my response would be that this is another case of Google maps giving a much too optimistic estimate. Traffic on I-80 on the way out of the Bay area is far more likely to be awful compared to leaving SMF. In the case of SMF you'll be right on uncrowded I-5 right from the get-go, vs an hour or more (potentially MUCH more) time spent navigating urban traffic over the Bay Bridge and through the East Bay.

It's been some time since I navigated car rental at SMF but I have zero memories of it being a hassle, far from it. SFO is another matter.

As for where to stay near the airports, in the case of SFO I'd probably just stay someplace with an airport shuttle; you might even be able to drop the car the night before and save a little money. In the case of SMF, you could do the same, or possibly spend the night somewhere in the Sacramento "Old Town" area. Janisj is from Sacramento and I'm sure when she sees this thread she'll chime in with better ideas.

However, one thing that you might consider would be to spend the last day exploring some of the old towns - nearly ghost towns - in the Sacramento River Delta. Look at Isleton, Walnut Grove and especially Locke, along the river 45 min - 1 hr south of SMF. These are holdovers from the 19th century when many Chinese people worked in reclaiming the swamps. Locke is a national historical site full of terrific buildings and cafes, well worth some exploring. Look here for example - https://goo.gl/maps/a37nEurFxqK2 . Map - https://goo.gl/maps/K327ayWXuAw

Picking up a rental car is at least 20 minutes quicker at SMF after you pick up your luggage from the baggage claim. Getting onto I-5 north of Sacramento is easy from SMF. When I/we arrive in Sacramento by train, I rent at Enterprise in downtown Sacramento.
Getting your luggage and taking a shuttle to your rental car can be slow at SFO. I have rented at SMF and been on my way about 10 minutes after getting off the Yolo bus from downtown Sacramento.

Just checking in quickly ( headed in to our Christmas Eve dinner in a few mins)

Don't DON'T depend on google maps time calculations. Not only is SMF easier, smaller, possibly cheaper (if you wait for southwest to open the booking period) . . . It could very easily take you two hours from SFO just to say Vallejo or Fairfield - and once a couple of months ago it took me FOUR AND A HALF HOURS from Milpitas to the 505/I-5 cut off, which is still hours from Lassen. In 4.5 hours out of SMF, you will have already checked in to your hotel, unpacked, and taken a short hike.

Traffic in the Bay Area and the I-80 corridor shouldn't be trifled with . . . Most of the time. And if by any chance it is a Friday you are doing the drive, double everything.

Thank you all so much! We are taking your advice and flying in/out of SMF. I will get back with more questions when I have done some more research. Your input has been invaluable!!

I would agree with Tom to take Highway 38 between the coast and I-5 as a preferred route. It's lovely along the river and the elk protective area almost always has elk there to view (and safely!).

If for some reason you decide to take Highway 42 after all, please be sure you are on Highway 42 and do not take a Forest Road instead, even if your GPS suggests one.

Also: At Crater Lake, in addition to the option for lodging at Diamond Lake, there's also a small hotel at Prospect.

5Alive and Tom--Google maps (which I now understand is not to be trusted regarding times) shows that Hwy 42 is about 1 hour shorter than Hwy 38 from Crater Lake Lodge. Are you suggesting Hwy 38 because it is more scenic?

I also like SR 38 over any other route between the Willamette Valley and the coast, but coming from Crater Lake it's far enough out of your way that I wouldn't bother. Yes, it's fairly scenic - it goes through a pretty canyon of the Umpqua River - and there's a good chance of seeing some Roosevelt elk in a nature reserve you pass shortly before joining US 101 at Reedsport, but it would be quite a detour from your route, and you're going to have ample great roadside scenery as it is, so I'd probably go the more direct route.

Thanks Gardyloo for the feedback!

It's OR Rt. 138 that is east of Roseburg. It is 101 miles from Roseburg over to US 97. The north entrance to Crater Lake NP is about MP 88.
The west section of Rt. 138 turns off Rt. 38 at the east end of the town of Elkton.
In any case DO NOT take the shortcut dirt road that goes through Agness to Merlin.

Digby, I have always been fond of the 38 highway route, and yes, it is 1 hour longer from Bandon to Crater Lake Lodge. Still, taking 42 in the summertime is acceptable to do and timewise is your best choice.

The shortcuts Tom mentions are no joke and your GPS, before going AWOL on you, might suggest various Forest Roads that are not a good idea for you to take. In winter, these alternatives can be deadly. It has been over 10 years ago, but we still mourn the tragedy of the Kim Family who got lost on one of those detours after a Thanksgiving trip. They got stranded in snow and Mr. Kim went for help. He got lost and ultimately died.

Unsafe GPS routings are a regular concern for Western states... not just on 42. Please bring printed out maps of this route and others that are not on freeways, as you will occasionally lose GPS signal. Also carry water and snacks, and get gas regularly.

Tom--thanks for the heads about about the forest road.

5alive--good advice about bringing paper maps. We always do when we are overseas, but get a little lazy in this country. I remember the horrible story about the Kim family.

In November 2006, I had the paper BLM maps with me in addition to the GPS when I hiked down to the Rogue River for a geocache called "Just Clowning around". I started my hike down at 8AM from the nearest road.
I got back to my truck at 9PM. That day my Suunto compass and my 6 volt lantern saved my life. The GPS only got signal down along the river but was receiving 2 and sometimes 3 satellites on the way back up.
Mr. Kim died about 2 miles upstream from where I found the cache and less than 30 days later.
When I got back to Merlin where I had a cell phone signal, I called home at 1 AM to let DW know I was alive and well.

Tom, wow, what a story.

Tom, I’m glad you made it back safely. I imagine your wife was frantic.

I am reading that many roads in the Redwoods and on the Lost Coast drive are unpaved. Anyone know if we will we be able to drive these in a rental car?

Most rental car contracts don't allow driving on gravel roads, but I wouldn't be too worried about it as long as the stints on gravel are brief. Around the Lost Coast, the Mattole Road is paved, but in poor condition some of the time. Go slow and watch out for potholes and you should be okay. https://www.dangerousroads.org/north...-road-usa.html

>>I am reading that many roads in the Redwoods and on the Lost Coast drive are unpaved<<

Not 'many' but certainly some. PLEASE don't rely (solely) on a GPS exploring in that area. A proper map - GPS can lead you to logging roads and other places you don't want to end up.

Is Mattole Road worth the slow slog? I have read reviews that love it and ones that say don't bother given the condition of the road. Is there a way to find out the condition of the road ahead of time. Given that we will be there in October, I am wondering if rains will have worsened the condition.

One more question: When we drive from Mendocino to Sacramento, is it worth it to take the extra time to drive Hwy 1 down to Jenner and then cut over towards SMF? Thank you all so much for all your help! It has been invaluable.