My wife and I are flying into Portland on Aug 29. we are both in our late 20's. We are taking two weeks to drive down to San Diego and flying home.

We plan to drive down the coastline as much as possible while stopping for a couple days in all the major cities along the way. We also plan to venture inland to see Crater Lake.

We would like to camp as much as we can. Neither of us have ever been to the northwest before and we are looking for any advice on places to stop and see, places to eat, best camping spots, hikes, and anything off the beaten path.

If you have been on this trip before, what was your favorite part? What do you wish you would have spent more time doing and vice versa? What's a great restaurant with lots of local flavor? This is stuff I'm looking for. Any tips and advice are greatly appreciated!

Thanks and have a great day!

Josh

I am not overly familiar with Oregon, so I will leave that to the others, but once you get to California...

Most of that part of CA is off-the-beaten-path anyway, so that part of your criteria is covered.

From Crescent City down to about Eureka, you have several great redwood and coastal parks. I really like camping at Prairie Creek Redwoods state park. The campground is along the creek and in a very pretty setting. Patrick's Point state park is another great place to camp - this park is right on the coast, and it is a very dramatic coastline. It isn't in the redwoods - you have more cypress and broad leaf trees there.

Just outside of Eureka is the Samoa Cookhouse, which is a really cool restaurant - we like breakfast there. It is in the dining hall for an old logging camp and they still serve family style.

If you like craft beer, this area has plenty. Mad River in Blue Lake is my favorite in that area.

South of there is Humboldt state park - more redwoods.

When you get to Legget, if you take Hwy 1, you will go back to the coast - Fort Bragg and Mendocino are neat towns. MacKerricher, Russian Gulch, and VanDamme state parks are there - all very much worth a visit and also nice camp grounds.

And again, if you like beer, check out North Coast Brewing in Fort Bragg

Hey thanks for the advice. Those camping sites sound great and you read my mind on craft beer! Really appreciate it!

link to the Oregon coast- mile by mile- should give you some campsite info here

I think the Umqua Lighthouse State Park is nice- but have only stayed in a yurt there

Honeyman State Park south of Florence is a popular spot too

Forgot the link

http://www.oregoncoastmagazine.com/E...ast-Fall-2013/

I would highly recommend Cape Disappointment as an excellent place to camp. It isn't in Oregon, but just across the river from Astoria. Really fantastic hike up to the lighthouse with amazing views of the Pacific and the river, a nice long beach and good amenities.

I also enjoy Fort Stevens, which also has great walking/biking trails, beaches, the Jetty, Battery Russell, etc.

But you must book ASAP, as many of the state campgrounds will be booked solid.

My favorite places along the southern Oregon coast to "camp" are in yurts at Tugman or Sunset Cove State Parks.
There are other Oregon State Parks that have yurts in their campgrounds. A yurt sure beats taking down a tent in the rain.
You bring everything you would to camp except a tent, trailer or motorhome.

Hendy Woods has a good location for wine tasting in the Anderson Valley.

The Oregon Dunes has nice campgrounds.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/mksfca...57622981132189

I agree with the Yurt suggestion, if you can find one that is not already reserved.