Pacific Coast road trip July 2016
 

My hubby and I are flying from Manchester UK to San Diego on 30 June and fly back from Vancouver on 4 August. We have spent hours planning our trip of a lifetime but would appreciate advice on the do ability of our plans and must see places as most of the trip involves visiting places we haven't previously been to. Also recommendations for sports events (especially soccer) or theatre that we could experience along the way. We are relatively fit 56/61 year olds and enjoy walking, swimming, eating out and sampling local wines/ brews. We have set a max budget of $150 per day but want to save where we can. Travel ,car hire and accommodation are extra. Flights are booked and the Yosemite hotel and Seattle hotel are non refundable. The rest can be changed.

30/6 - 3/7 San Diego - to acclimatise and adjust to time difference so not wanting a hectic schedule
Pick up car and travel to LA
3/7 to 6/7 LA - staying in Studio City. Will try for tickets for 4/7 concert at Hollywood Bowl but need a plan B. Also thinking of visiting the Getty and Universal Studios
6/7 - 7/7 Santa Barbara - Peppertree inn
7/7 - 8/7 Madonna Inn
8/7 - 10/7 Cambria Pines Lodge for Hearst Castle
10/7 - 11/7 Pacific Grove ( wedding anniversary) restaurant recommendation welcome
11/7-13/7 Yosemite View Lodge
13/7-14/7 Stockton - visit friends and return car
14/7-17/7 San Francisco Union Square
17/7-18/7 Klamath Falls - pick up new car
18/7-19/7 Crescent City - calling at Crater Lake en route
19/7-20/7 Yachats
20/7-22/7 Portland - only place where we haven't booked hotel so route flexible. Drop off car
22/7-24/7 Seattle - Mayflower Park Hotel
24/7 Take Victoria Clipper to Victoria BC
Rest of the holiday spent with relatives on Vancouver Island. No plans needed as our 6th visit.
Really appreciate any guidance/ tips that you could give us.

To help clarify for us Yanks who tend to put the month before the date ;) What you have is:

Jul 3-5 LA - Studio City.
Jul 6 - Santa Barbara
Jul 7 - Madonna Inn
Jul 8-9 Cambria /Hearst Castle
Jul 10 - Pacific Grove
Jul 11-12 Yosemite View Lodge
Jul 13 - Stockton - visit friends and return car
Jul 14-16 San Francisco Union Square
Jul 17 - Klamath Falls - pick up new car
Jul 18 Crescent City - calling at Crater Lake en route
Jul 19 Yachats
Jul 20-21 Portland - Drop off car
Jul 22-23 Seattle
Jul 24 Victoria Clipper to Victoria BC

That is a LOT of driving.

Some clarifications in the middle bit . . .

Jul 13 - Stockton - visit friends and return car <blue>How are you getting to SF - are your Stockton friends driving you there? If not there is a 3 hour train/bus combo</blue>
Jul 14-16 San Francisco Union Square
Jul 17 - Klamath Falls - pick up new car <blue>How are you getting to Klamath Falls? Train? If so that will take 12 hours over night</blue>
Jul 18 Crescent City - calling at Crater Lake en route
Jul 19 Yachats <blue> Klamath Falls to Crater Lake to Crescent city (including stopping at Crater Lake) will take ALL day - just the drive is about 5 hours. Then the next morning you leave for another 6 hours drive w/o stops to Yachats.

You don't need an overnight between Santa Barbara and Cambria. I would add a night to Pacific Grove instead. What kind of food do you like? Passionfish in Pacific Grove is good for seafood. Or in nearby Carmel, I like La Balena for Italian.

I totally agree w/ Patty. You are going 'slow traveling' as far as Cambria and then it is zoom zoom zoom.

If you especially want to stay at the Madonna Inn -- then stay there instead of Cambria - OR - stay the one night in Santa Barbara and skip the Madonna Inn. I would maybe cut a night from Cambria and add it to Pacific Grove as well. The drive up through Big Sur will take several hours and then there is a lot to see/do in and around Carmel/PG/Monterey so I'd want 2 full days there - meaning 3 nights.

Thanks to janisj for clarifying dates. But I've also not made car hire clear. We pick up and drop off at the airport. So, drop off at San Fran on 14 July and pick up new car on 17 July again at San Fran and drop off at Seattle Airport on 22 July. We've broken the car hire up to reduce one way drop off fees and car parking costs.

I feared the driving between San Francisco and Portland would be ambitious. Friends have recommended Crater Lake but now wonder if we should miss that out. We are used to driving (did a 400 mile round trip to London and back just this Sunday ) and we will benefit from the long daylight hours. It also helps that we will share the driving. However, We want to be able to enjoy the trip as well.

Patty - We enjoy all food. It looks like both your recommendations are good options. The seafood will probably win the day. The Madonna Inn was booked on recommendation and seems fun and very different from anything we would experience in the UK. Another option would be just one night in Cambria. What do you think? Was planning to catch up with laundry at this stop!
Thanks very much for your comments

OK -- so you are driving to SF, dropping a car and then collecting another car before you leave for the drive north. That makes much more sense.

HOWEVER -- that is some hellacious driving you have planned. SF > Klamath Falls > Crater Lake > Crescent City is about 12 hours of driving plus stops/sightseeing. and you want to do that in 2 days.

If it was me, I'd skip Klamath Falls and Crater Lake and take a couple of days to drive up the California Coast -- say one night in Mendocino and one night near (not IN) Crescent City then on up the Oregon coast.

Scrub Crater Lake and use that time through the redwoods and in Oregon. I've hosted a number of British pals on road trips between California and Seattle, and - to a person - they've all declared the redwoods to be the highlight of the trip. One hundred percent.

Mind you, most of my friends are Scottish and are no strangers to wild and rocky coastlines, so I'm not trying to suggest the Oregon coast isn't spectacular. But one thing that Oregon has that the UK <i>doesn't</i> have is a 10,000 foot volcano looming over a mile-wide river in a 1000-foot deep gorge.

So my recommendation for Oregon would be to see the southern 70 or 80 miles of the coast - terrific - but then head inland and aim for the Columbia River Gorge just east of Portland.

<i>We are relatively fit 56/61 year olds and enjoy walking, swimming, eating out and sampling local wines/brews.</i>

In which case I can't think of an area where you'll get your wishes fulfilled better than the Gorge. Take the little town of Hood River, Oregon. It's located where the Hood River, coming down from the slopes of Mount Hood, reaches the Columbia. In the town and in the <i>beautiful</i> Hood River Valley to the south are numerous wineries and craft breweries. The valley is full of vineyards, orchards, lavender fields and fruit stands. At the top of the valley is Mount Hood, where you can park at Timberline Lodge and take the chair lift up to the permanent ice fields above (summer skiing most years.)

West from Hood River along the Columbia is the heart of the Gorge, with waterfalls, vista points, hikes, white water rafting... And an hour east you're in sagebrush and cowboy country, with an amazing collection of Rodin sculpture to be seen at the Maryhill Museum, which is located just up the road from a replica of Stonehenge overlooking the red-rock gorge. It's a remarkable juxtaposition of marvels, all visible in a day or two.

So I'd look at your timetable and see if you could squeeze in a day or more around the Gorge and Mount Hood. I <i>promise</i> you wouldn't regret it.

Oh, for interesting accommodations in the area, have a look at the Edgefield - http://www.mcmenamins.com/Edgefield

>> I've hosted a number of British pals on road trips between California and Seattle, and - to a person - they've all declared the redwoods to be the highlight of the trip. One hundred percent. <<

Ditto to that.

I spend about half of my holidays in the UK and maybe a 1/3 closer to home on the north coast . . . and most of my Brit friends think I'm daft to ever leave home ;) They all adore the Redwoods.

For the first night - I like to stay here (instead of actually IN Mendocino) http://www.littleriverinn.com


I also agree -- the Oregon Coast is lovely -- but after the spectacular CA coast (both down in Big Sur and along the Mendocino coast) and the redwoods you won't need to drive all the way to Yachats. Gardyloo's suggestion of the Columbia River Gorge is good.

Well the map is back out. We are now looking to add more time in Pacific Grove and bin the idea of Crater Lake till our next visit. Thanks to janisj for the link to the Little River Inn. Lovely ocean views so just up my street. Also thanks too Gardyloo for the suggestion of mcmenamins and for the revised route. Was wondering if the redwoods are similar to Cathedral Grove on Vancouver Island but on a bigger scale?

Unfortunately we have live football on the TV (Liverpool v Manchester City) so not much chance of a sensible discussion with my husband just at this moment!

All very helpful. let me know if I can help any of you with travels in the UK

Maybe just stop for some dessert at the Madonna Inn. It is beyond tacky and way out of date. Cambria would be my choice.

San Diego is a great town for craft beers, and plenty of wineries both north of Santa Barbara in the Santa Ynez Valley and in Paso Robles inland from Cambria. I would stay in Cambria instead of Madonna Inn (overrated IMO.
The Dodgers are playing a home baseball game July 4 starting about 6pm and they usually have fireworks that evening if you cannot get tickets to the Bowl. Not sure about this year, but last year, the Bowl had performances with fireworks also on July 3 & 5th.
Which Getty are you visiting, there are two, the main Getty Center and also the Getty Villa in Malibu.

+1 for Passion Fish

We love this B&B in Pacific Grove:
http://thesevengablesinn.com/

<i>Was wondering if the redwoods are similar to Cathedral Grove on Vancouver Island but on a bigger scale?</i>

[tongue in cheek] Yes, the same way that Mont Blanc is similar to Ben Nevis but on a bigger scale. [/tongue]

The redwoods are a different species than the Doug firs in MacMillan Park, and not only are they <i>much</i> bigger, taller and older, but they're in extensive groves that go on for mile after mile. Seriously, all those friends of mine kept saying they were gobsmacked by the big trees.

By all means visit Cathedral Grove when you're on the island, but there's really no comparison.

Gardyloo - haha you can tell I'm an amateur and need all the help I can get! Over here in Blighty it's easy to forget the scale of your beautiful country. I've been to Cathedral Grove a couple of times on our way to Tofino so just checking it will be a different experience and can now see it is.

DebitNM - thanks for the links. We are currently booked in to the Gosby House so I plan to contact them to extend our stay but it's good to have a back up if that's not possible.

jamie99 - thanks for your suggestions. We were planning to go to the Getty Museum on our way to Santa Barbara. Is it worth finding time for the villa as well? Would you choose to include both the Villa and Hearst Castle? The Dodgers game is a great plan B for 4 July. My husband may prefer this option to the Hollywood Bowl.

Can't thank you all enough.

Breaking up the car rentals and returning to the same place is wise to avoid the drop off fees.
The only way I see to make Crater Lake NP work would be to take the Coast Starlight out of Emeryville about 10PM to Klamath Falls OR about 8AM and have a 1 day car rental.
Go see Crater Lake and return the car in Klamath Falls and take the southbound Coast Starlight out at 10 PM to Sacramento arriving about 6AM. Have a good breakfast in Sacramento and then rent another car to go see either the Coast Redwoods or maybe go to Yosemite.
I was wondering how you were getting from San Francisco to Klamath Falls.

tom(!) >>Breaking up the car rentals and returning to the same place is wise to avoid the drop off fees.<<

Only IF one is traumatized by drop off fees.

But not relevant really since the OP is from the UK so they can hire cars with one way drop off included.

You'd actually want them to take the train over night from SF all the way to K Falls, then overnight on the train BACK to Sacramento and collect another car, tour around the north coast . . . and THEN go to Portland and Seattle/Victoria?

I will hand it to you - this is one of your more 'creative' creations . . . ;)

$150 a day seems very low when hotels will b more than that. Let us know if you made it with that budget as I for one want the info behave a great time visiting the west coast. Very ambitious driving ahead.

<i>$150 a day seems very low when hotels will b more than that.</i>

- - -

<i>...We have set a max budget of $150 per day but want to save where we can. Travel ,car hire and <b>accommodation</b> are extra.</i>

I think one of the prettiest parts of the Oregon coast is between Florence and Lincoln City. Many scenic spots to stop and enjoy.

The drive between Coos Bay and Florence is lined with trees on both sides of the road and not so much to see.

My favorite stop is Devils Elbow State Park- also known as Heceta Head. It's a beautiful little cove just north of Florence with a nice trail up to the lighthouse. The lighthouse is the most photographed in the U.S.
The lighthouse keepers house is a B&B. I enjoyed staying there with a group once- fabulous breakfast in the AM.

I hope you'll have time to stop and enjoy the sghts- not just do a drive by

We've made changes to our trip that we both think will enhance the trip. The best part is - you saved me some $s when I cashed up the cost of the revised plan! So the itinerary now is:

30 Jun-2 July San Diego
3-5 July Studio City, Los Angeles
6 July Peppertree, Santa Barbara
7-8 July. Cambria Pines Lodge
9-10 July. Gosby House, Pacific Grove
11-12 July. Yosemite View Lodge
13 July. Stockton
14-16 July. San Francisco Union Square
17 July. Little River Inn near Mendocino
18 July Crescent Beach Motel, Crescent City
19 July. Silver Surf Motel, Yachats
20 July. Mcmenamins Edgfield
21 July. Portland - couldn't book mcmenamins for 2nd night as it was fully booked but may use my Hilton honours points to save money.
22-23 July Seattle
24 July. Victoria and then with family in Comox

The part of the journey bit we are unsure of is the best road to travel inland after Yachats. We were thinking Highway 20 from Newport. I assume we than take the i5 to Portland and turn east along the 84 to Hood River.

Will we able to build Mount St Helens into the trip? the car has to be back at Seattle Airport by 9pm on 22 July.

Yosemite - in 2 minds whether to eat in or go out for a meal in the evening It'll be my birthday but don't want to go out for the sake of it and from what I've read the food there is mediocre and pricey. We're not mean but don't want to feel ripped off.

Thanks again for your help.

On 13 July skip Stockton and go to Sacramento. Stockton is an armpit. See the state capitol grounds and maybe have a late birthday dinner in Old Town Sacramento.
The Firehouse restaurant is fancy and a bit pricey.
After Yachats (pronounced ya HOTS) continue north to Tillamook and visit the cheese factory on the north end of town for great ice cream and cheese.
Take Rt. 6 east out of Tillamook to Banks (US 26) on the west side of Portland.

Tom: >>On 13 July skip Stockton and go to Sacramento. Stockton is an armpit. <<

Apparently you missed the bit where there are <i>visiting friends</i> in Stockton . . .

Missed that detail. Stockton is not as much of an armpit as Bakersfield.
DW and I did spend a night in Lodi last year. We saw "Bridge of Spies" in a nice theater there.

Our thinking behind Stockton is that we can spend most of the day in Yosemite and then be close enough to visit friends in Sacramento the following day. This could change so appreciate the tips for Sacramento. Already looked at the menu of the Firehouse .
Janisj - do you know of any good lunch options on our journey up the coast. I particularly like places where you can sit out and look over a view of the Ocean?

Oh -- jeeze louise -- why didn't you say Sacramento in the first place? ;) That make a HUGE difference. Do NOT stay in Stockton. Drive on to Sacramento to visit -- stay IN Sacramento NOT <B>NOT</B> Stockton. It is only an hour longer to Sacramento. or less depending on where your friends are. What part of town do they live? That matters re the route you take.

And also I would not set on the Firehouse quite yet. It is a lovely place/atmosphere but there are many wonderful restaurants in central Sacramento - some very innovative chefs and all kinds of cuisines. Several w/ better food than the Firehouse.

>>Janisj - do you know of any good lunch options on our journey up the coast. I particularly like places where you can sit out and look over a view of the Ocean?<< Which part of the coast?

Sacramento is much nicer than Stockton (have relatives there).
Regarding the Getty Center and Getty Villa, it depends what type of art you like. Getty is mainly more paintings, modern and older while the Villa is mostly Greco-Roman antiquities. You do need reservations for the Villa due to limited parking.

They live near Curtis Park Sacramento but we do want to make the most of Yosemite as well. However now we have 2 days in Pacific Grove we will be able to get up and off early to make good use of the time we have in Yosemite so we can probably be a bit more flexible about the balance of time between there and Sacramento. Hope that makes sense??

If you want to spend some time closer to Yosemite rather than going all the way to Sacramento, why not spend the night in one of the marvelous little gold rush towns along (or close to) Calif. Hwy 49 heading north from Yosemite? Look up the towns of Murphys, Columbia, Sutter Creek, Amador City or any of the towns along SR 49. They're very picturesque and MUCH more pleasant than the likes of Stockton, and still close enough to Sacramento to make it easy the next day.

In Oregon, I'd use US20 from Newport. Have a look at the Oregon State University campus in Corvallis - a very typical US "college town" that's right on your way.

Go to Sacramento -- Curtis Park (really lovely area (100000000% better than Stockton >) )

From the center of Yosemite Valley to Curtis Park is less than a 4 hour drive as long as you miss the morning commute. From your hotel is a little over 3 hours. No reason to detour anywhere. The gold rush towns Gardyloo mentions are lovely -- but that would complicate things.

From El Portal to say Murphys will take 2.5 hours, then you'd have a 2-ish hour drive the next morning.

. . . PLUS - If you head straight to Sacramento and don't waste a night in Stockton, you can make up a night somewhere else.

Bear in mind sunset comes early in Yosemite Valley because of the high granite walls. So you could spend the day then leave El Portal say 5PM (already nearly dusk in the valley) and be in Sacramento before 9PM /dusk in the Sacramento Valley.

The next day you can go to Lunch and spend most of the day w/ your friends. Leave Sacramento for SF after 6:30 PM to avoid the worst of the afternoon commute.

Oh -- just thought of something (tomfuller won't believe this ;) ) . . . You could turn in your car in Sacramento and <u>take Amtrak</u> to SF. That way you don't have to worry about the nasty traffic along the I-80 corridor or in the Bay Area. The train goes from downtown Sacramento - your friends can easily drop you at the station. It stops at Emeryville just across the Bay from SF and then Amtrak runs a bus into near Union Square.

Great suggestions. It's quicker to get back to Sacramento than we thought so we are likely to move our booking there. Also if our friends offer a bed for the night we will now be in a much more informed position to accept so a big thanks from us. They've had some illness in the family so we've not yet been able to firm up arrangements. Plan B will be Murphys or Sutter Creek

The final bit of planning is restaurants and sights we mustn't miss after leaving San Francisco. Glad we will now be able to see the glass beach north of Mendocino. On the food front we are looking for local authentic local cooking. The place doesn't need to be posh as long as it's clean. Preferably with a view.

Jamie99 - thanks. Think our preference will be the Getty Museum.

I'm feeling very indebted to you all for your time and trouble. It's much appreciated.

Janisj - thanks for the suggestion of public transport. We are used to city traffic but would rather not sit in long traffic jams. Amtrak looks to be a very good option. We've recently toured Andalusia by bus. That's a trip I would thoroughly recommend.

Ok -- from Union Square to Little Rive entirely up the coast is about a 4 hour drive plus (very frequent) photo stops. So w/ an early start you could definitely wait - drive all the way to Little River, check in, then pop up the road to Mendocino for lunch.

But if you want to stop en route some options are Timber Cove which should be re-opened by then timbercoveresort.com Or --- if I've counted right you will be driving up the coast on a Sunday. If so . . . St Orres would be terrific (they only serve lunch/brunch on Sundays).

www.saintorres.com/#