greggor1

I am looking for advice for our road trip down the Pacific coast.
My wife and I are traveling July 22 to 31 We are spending a day in Portland then taking 2 nights and 3 days driving down the pacific coast highway 101 ending in Sonoma, CA where we will spend the last 5 nights touring the wine country while reserving one of those days day to see San Francisco.
My itinerary so far is.
Day 1 and 2 (Friday- Saturday) Arrive in Portland Friday eve leaving 1 full day in Portland, attending a beer festival at the Belmont Station and looking for a hotel near there.
Day 3 (Sunday); Leave Portland visit Cannon Beach, Newport then tent camping at Sunset Bay State Park near Coos Bay; 310 miles, 7-1/2 hours of drive time.

Day 4 (Monday); drive from Coos Bay visit Gold Beach cross into California and camp at Humboldt “Avenue of the giants” State park; Hidden Springs Campground to spend night; 270 miles, 6 hours drive time.

Day 5 (Tuesday); Drive from the Humboldt State Park visiting the following spots along the way Point Arena and Nicks Cove then turning inland to Sonoma; 250 miles 6 hours drive time.

Days 6-10 (Wednesday to Saturday); We will arrive Tuesday night in Sonoma and spend the last 4 days in Sonoma enjoying the vineyards and we hope to spend one of those days in San Francisco.

Head home on Sunday

We would like Advice for scenic stops, memorable restaurants, and alternate (more scenic) camping suggestions for our drive down the coast. We like to hike and love shooting landscape and nature photography. Were big fans of micro-brewed beer and wine I would welcome any suggestions?

Do my drive distances and overnight stops sound reasonable for the 3 days on the road between Portland and Sonoma?
I purposely scheduled the drive between Leggett and the California coast for the start of my third day since I have read that can be a miserable stretch of road to drive.

I am looking for suggestions on what to see when we spend the day in San Francisco (is 1 day enough?) live music (indie, rock jazz), standup comedy, museums and turn of the century architecture. Finally which vineyards to visit in Sonoma for wine tastings?

janisj

"Do my drive distances and overnight stops sound reasonable for the 3 days on the road between Portland and Sonoma?"

No - those are some hellacious drives!

Portland to Coos Bay via Cannon Beach will easily tale 8 hours car time -- no breaks, no meals, no photo ops, nothing else. In real life that is about a 10 hour drive minimum. and more if you stop to explore anything.

Day 5 will take about 6.5 hours - again, car time. W/ all the places to see along the way this is more than a full days itinerary. Just a couple of beaches and Mendocino will add at least 4+ hours to the trip.

janisj

meant to add--if you enjoy hiking there are just TONS of fabulous places/hikes all along your route -- you just won't have time to hike them.

happytrailstoyou

Are you returning to Portland, or are you flying into Portland and renting a car that you will drop off somewhere in the Bay Area?

I'm confused.

In any even, I think it would make a better trip to travel at a more leisurely pace and to spend fewer nights in Sonoma.

hazel1

My thought is that this sounds horrible - all that driving, then set up camp just to break it down the next morning and do it all over again. You're spending the majority of the time in the car. Are you planning to reserve campsites? If not, what if they're full by the time you pull in? I think you need at least one more day in the driving/camping portion of the trip.

janisj

I was going to say what htty mentions "travel at a more leisurely pace and to spend fewer nights in Sonoma." -- but figured I'd already beat you up too much.

If it was me -- I'd spend 6 days on the coast and 2 in Sonoma (or maybe 5 enroute and 3 in Sonoma/SF)

greggor1

Thank you for the response. I kind of felt like the drives may be too long and yes I do want to get out and enjoy the ocean towns and get in some short hikes. I am driving to Portland from Utah (my home) and then back again from Sonoma.
I am begging the wife to take an extra day's vacation on the front end to give us an additional day driving down the coast. The last 5 nights are booked in Sonoma so I have no flex there. I have thought that I would skip Cannon Beach and take the expressway straight to Lincoln City or Newport to shave time, would I be missing a lot by doing that? As far as camping I plan to reserve the site ahead of time and our little 2 man tent pitches in minutes. Were not extravagant campers, just sleeping and out in the morning, I've set it up at 1 AM more times than I can count. I would like to camp in an area that has nice sunset/sunrise views and some hiking/exploring options nearby.

greggor1

I don't mind getting beat up its better than being un-realistic. Truth is the trip is primarily a trip to Sonoma with the coast drive added to it. Sounds like this is a bad idea and I should do the coast next year alone.

easytraveler

Your first thought was a good one - drive straight from Portland to the coast via McMinnville, skip the upper part of the Oregon coast. IMHO, the lower parts are more scenic anyhow.

Can't help you much with the campgrounds part. Here's the Oregon State Prks website, which you've probably looked at already.

http://www.oregon.gov/OPRD/PARKS/camping.shtml

For scenery, Devil's Churn and Cape Perpetua near Yachats are quite amazing. The Cape should be seen on a clear day.

Bandon is worth a stop.

In California, as an alternative to camping - Hostelling International has a couple of hostels right in the parks. As far as I know, HI is the only hostel organization allowed to operate inside the parks. Here's one:

http://www.norcalhostels.org/redwood...nce,2009-8-27/

Along the California coast, I'd suggest stops at:

Crescent City

Fort Ross

5 days in Sonoma seem excessive. Is there any way you can cut down your days there and spend a couple of nights in San Francisco? There is an HI hostel at Fort Mason, great location. It's called "Fisherman's Wharf" but it's really on the grounds of the old fort, Fort Mason.

Sounds like a nice trip! A lot of driving, but you'll make it it!

tomfuller

End of day 2 stay at Champoeg State Park either in your tent or one of the yurts. There are yurts at Sunset Bay as well.
This will shorten at least one of your drives.
http://www.oregonstateparks.org/park_100.php
Staying in a yurt beats folding up a wet tent.
I don't see the attraction of Sonoma/Napa for 4 days. If I want a good bottle of wine, I go buy it. I don't need to see where the grapes were grown.
If you are skipping the coast and coming down I-5, take a detour through Crater Lake NP.

janisj

"Sounds like this is a bad idea and I should do the coast next year alone."

That is the best idea you've had so far -- camping and hiking on the coast (Both CA and OR - redwoods and beach side) would make a GREAT week's trip out of Portland. But I assume you aren't camping in Wine Country -right? Don't mix apples and oranges - do the hiking, outdoorsy, camping next year.

This year do Sonoma and maybe a bit of the Marin/Sonoma coast and a day or 2 in SF.

happytrailstoyou

I have thought that I would skip Cannon Beach and take the expressway straight to Lincoln City or Newport to shave time, would I be missing a lot by doing that?

You would miss the most developed part of the coast and the scenic stretches there; however, the drive from Port Orford, OR, to Eureka, CA, is also offers may spectacular ocean views--and then you are in the redwoods.

Considering your stay in Sonoma, I would make distance on the first day by driving to Bandon via I-5 and Highway 42 (289 miles and 5 1/2 hours). I would look for a place to pitch a tent on the ocean south of Port Orford.

Healdsburg is our favorite town in the Sonoma Valley. Have a meal on the beautiful town square there.

Have a great trip.

HTTY