tileaftilly

We will possibly be driving from San Francisco to Crater Lake and would rather not do the drive in one day. Is there a town with some character or scenic quality that would make a nice stopover? Perhaps there is a lodge or destination not particularly associated with a town? I would be willing to detour off of Interstate 5 or 97 to get there as long as it isn't too far out of the way. Thank you for your help.

janisj

Any of these:

Mt Shasta resort www.mountshastaresort.com/

Best Western Tree House in Mt Shasta city (just a motel but a nice one w/ some suites/large rooms)

or my favorite - the McCloud River Inn http://www.riverinn.com/

tileaftilly

Thank you janisj. McCloud looks like the perfect spot to stop. There appears to be a few nice looking places to stay in this area including the McCloud River Inn. Thanks for pointing me in the right direction.

Tomsd

McCloud is a very nice/scenic area, but if you went an hour further north (75 miles or so - but it's all freeway) - to just past the Oregon border, Ashland is a very cute little college town with good restaurants and the fabled Oregon Shakespeare festival - held in a beautiful outdoor theater.

http://www.osfashland.org/

tomfuller

What time of day do you plan to start out of San Francisco?
It takes 6.5 hours (485 miles) to drive from SF to Chiloquin, OR.
It is less than an hour from Chiloquin to the Crater Lake Lodge.

janisj

I assume you want to stop somewhere that breaks the journey into doable 'bites'. If so, driving into Oregon really doesn't make sense. If you are driving that far . . . you might as well just drive all the way to Crater Lake.

tileaftilly

I prefer not to drive more than five hours that is why I was inquiring about a place to stop between the two places. McCloud is about 5 hours from S.F.

janisj

I knew that

BarbAnn

Besides, there is no decent place to spend the night in Chiloquin. Only decent restaurant is the Mexican restaurant in the bright yellow building on Hwy 97. Tileafilly, stay in McCloud as janisj suggests.

Tomsd

How did Chiloquin get in the discussion?

I grew up in nearby Klamath Falls - which is a lot larger than Chiloquin - so if you wanted to head up 97 at Weed - the Running Y Ranch is a great place to stop, but I have to admit - Ashland offers more opions. http://www.runningy.com/

Tomsd

Again - it's all up to you and how you feel driving 5 or 6 hours. Uno Mas - McCloud is very pretty (did you know the fabled New Zealand Rainbow trout were taken from McCloud River stock over 100 years ago?) - but limited in it's accommodations - as is Mt. Shasta (both very small) - and if you went another hour further north - Ashland offers a ton of places to stay - things to do.

janisj

Jeeze louise! Give it up. They DO NOT want to drive an extra 1.5 to 2 hours.

tileaftilly made it pretty clear what they are looking for.

(If you read the thread you will see where Chiloquin came from)

tomfuller

McCloud, Mt. Shasta and Dunsmuir are lovely towns. I would not trade a night in any of them for the chance to stay 2 nights at Crater Lake Lodge.
Sorry I mentioned Chiloquin.
The north entrance of Crater Lake is now open. http://www.nps.gov/crla/parknews/nor...road-opens.htm
If you had the time, you can make it from the north entrance to Bend in less than 2 hours.

Tomsd

tomf - no problem, and I think you were just doing it for convenience sake - but as one who grew up in the area - I would not recommend Chiloquin for a night's stay. Great fishing near there on the Williamson and Wood Rivers - but not as place to stay. If someone wanted a beautiful place on the Williamson river - try the Lonesome Duck - which is very nice - but pricey: http://www.lonesomeduck.com/

And yes, I agree with you - that McLoud and Mt. Shasta are scenic/cute - but I am not a big Dunsmuir fan.

What I was recommending is that the traveler consider driving another hour - that's one hour/75 miles on the freeway - to cute Ashland - where there are a number of options/things to do, etc.

tileaftilly

Our intention is to spend two nights at Crater Lake. Ashland is not on the docket for this trip. McCloud seems like a good place to stop for a night. Thanks for your help.

Tomsd

Have a great time. Did anybody mention on this thread that if you can't get two nights at Crater Lake - nearby is the Diamond Lake Resort. http://www.diamondlake.net/