Redwoods itinerary help
 

Hello! A few months ago, I posted about a potential Redwoods trip, and everyone was so helpful that, now that the trip is going to be a reality, I thought I'd float some ideas by the experts.

We live in Portland and are planning on a 10-ish-day trip in early August with our two kids (ages 7 and 4), so we're probably going to stay in non-B&Bs where the kids will be welcome. So here's the tentative plan:

Day 1 - Drive from Portland to Grants Pass, with stops in Winston (Wildlife Safari) and Rice Hill (ice cream). This is the day when we're counting on covering a lot of ground. (Our kids are pretty tolerant of long car rides.)

Day 2 - Grants Pass to Eureka. (Considered staying in Crescent City, but it seems as though the Eureka area may have more to offer...but my mind's not made up.)

Days 3-5 - Poke around the Redwood Nat'l Park, Klamath River, beaches. (Any specific suggestions?)

Day 6 - Drive to somewhere in the Bandon area. (I must confess that I haven't gotten quite this far in terms of planning - not sure exactly where would be best for more beach time, a visit to the dunes, etc.)

Days 7-8 - Stay put. Enjoy.

Day 9 - Drive back to Portland. (We may want to split up this drive into 2 days, but, on the other hand, everyone may be ready to get home. It's pretty easy to get down to Newport or north for weekends, so perhaps there's no need to make an extra stop.)

So. Thought? Comments? Concerns? Suggestions? In terms of lodging, I've only really looked at the Eureka area and, much as I hate to say it, it looks as though the two Best Westerns in Eureka may be our best bets. They both have a pool and seem to be clean and reasonably priced. But I'd love to hear lodging (and dining!) suggestions for elsewhere.

Many thanks for any help!

Stay in Eureka which is closer to some of the best known redwood areas: Avenue of the Giants and the Rockefeller (?) grove.

Thanks, Michael, although previous posters suggested that we skip Ave. of the Giants in favor or less-touristy Redwood areas further north. Opinions??

The Avenue of Giants is worth it. There is a reason why it is touristy. The Rockefeller Grove, at the north end of the Avenue of Giants but two or three miles west of Hwy 101 is less touristy, and is for walking around. You can also continue from there to the coast via Petrolia and loop back to Eureka but the roads are very narrow and some people are reluctant to use them.

Your kids will love the touristy Paul Bunyon & Blue Ox. Take the skylift chair up to the top of the trees, fun to do with kids. The walking tour through the area is a small fee, but great for kids, easy fun walk.

mark

But aren't Paul Bunyan and the skyrail thing further north? Maybe I'm confused... (Actually, that's a given, but...)

Any other opinions out there?

With the amount of time you have in the area, you'll have plenty of time to see the Avenue of the Giants and not shortchange the other redwood areas north of there. To the extent it's more touristy than the areas to the north, it's in a charming, kitschy way. And Founder's Grove is worth seeing in any event--it was my favorite of the short hikes I did in the various redwoods parks on my recent trip down there.

The Petrolia drive is *awesome* and the beach you drive along between Petrolia and Ferndale is absolutely beautiful. But as someone else mentioned, the drive is not for the faint of heart. But if no one in your party tends towards car sickness and the driver is ok with lots of curves and steep drop offs, it's well, well worth it.

Another place I thought was great (but it's not redwoods) is Patrick's Point State Park in Trinidad. Great shoreline views from the Rim Trail (and if your kids are part mountain goat like many kids I know they will love climbing the Wedding Rock). The native village in the park sounded interesting too although I didn't have time to check it out.

There's one Best Western in Eureka that definitely looks nicer than the other (I saw them both from the outside as I was driving through town but didn't stop)--I can't remember which one is which though--but I'm pretty sure the reviews on TripAdvisor will make it clear which one is preferrable.

I hope NWTraveler is referring to the Bay View Best Western in Eureka...we walked into the other one and right out again because my wife didn't like the smell. Go figure. OTOH, we have stayed at the Bay View several times. Eureka has far more to offer than Crescent City, IMHO.

Go to the Bandon Bakery, for sure. Hard to miss, it is in Old Bandon.

Ok, I looked it up on TA, and the BW Bayshore (as opposed to the BW Humboldt Bay) in Eureka is the one that looked nicer and that gets better, more consistent reviews.

There is no need to go to Eureka, too much driving back and forth. Both Eureka and Crescent City are logging towns with motels located on the main drag through town, it only depends on whether you want the larger or smaller version. Arcata is a university town, more charming less industrial, Trinidad is a neat place in a beautiful location. The Redwoods and beaches in the National Park area and north of Eureka are wilder and more inspiring than the south of Eureka. If you do go south of Eureka The Petrolia drive is beautiful but it is a long drive, your kids may not see the value in it.
I would stay in Arcata or Trinidad and explore that area northward.

Trees of Mystery is in Klamath in the middle of Redwood National Park, but there's more kitsch along Avenue of the Giants, though nothing as good as Paul and Babe at Mystery. Here's a couple of webpages:

http://www.roadsideamerica.com/attract/CAPHItree.html
http://www.roadsideamerica.com/attract/CAKLAtrees.html

Hi miamatusow

You might try this day 2 and 3 stay in Trinidad. There are a few places with cabins between Trinidad and Patricks Point. Day 4 and 5 Stay at either the Benbow Inn or the Best Western in Garberville. On Day two stop for a while at Jed Smith State Park check out Stout grove, you can swim in the Smith. After that you can head for Trinidad then back track north on day 3 as far as the Trees of Mystery. Do check out Patricks Point. On day 4 you can check out Ferndale, Bull Creek, Founders Grove Then head to Garberville. Day 5 do the Ave of the Giants lots of day hikes can also swim in the Eel. As always be careful when swimming in rivers.

Have Fun
GP

Hi all,

Thanks for your recommendations! While Trinidad sounds just wonderful, it looks as though most of the lodging options are either really expensive or not entirely kid-welcoming. Our kids are cool and well-behaved, but they can't pass for over 21 (or even over 10). Does anyone have any specific suggestions for Arcata or Trinidad hotels? The cabin thing sounds intriguing - is it sketchy?

In McKinleyville, which is right by Arcata, we stayed at a Holiday Inn Express. We were on a road trip with our kids heading back to Portland, and this hotel was perfect for our overnight. We thought it was brand new, but it wasn't...just very well kept. It is near the airport, and there is actually a decent restaurant there. If you show your room key, you get a discount. Our kids (and us) enjoyed watching the planes take off and land while having dinner.

Ahhh...Rice Hill...always a must stop:)

mms: Watching airplanes is perfect for my crew. We often arrive way early to pick up my husband at PDX because we like to have picnics on top of the parking garage.

So the only issue that I see with heading further south (of the greater Eureka area) is that I have one kid who doesn't do so well on really curvy roads. (We've learned that hard way that it pays to travel with garbage bags, wet wipes, extra water, and paper towels. That one incident with realtor...long story.)

The rest of us are perfectly game for curves - the more, the better. Maybe we should just wait until the little one's napping...

Hi miamatusow

Try this link http://www.trinidadcalif.com/
click on the visitors guide and then lodging.

Have Fun
GP

Thanks, GP! It looks as though there may be some good options in Trinidad after all!

If you are fogged in along the coast and want to find sun along with the redwoods then going south of Eureka along the Eel River is good. The fog moves in at night and will burn off up river earlier in the day while along the coast it may not burn off at all.

Ferndale is a quaint town south of Eureka- in the fog belt.

We are going up this summer and will spend a couple nights at the youth hostel near Klamath. It's family oriented. You can check it out at www.norcalhostels.org. They have private rooms for families, and it is right in the park. My kids have often enjoyed hostels because there tend to be other families and kids around - free entertainment and away from TV!

A place we love to stop at is Praire Creek Redwood State Park. It is about an hour north of Eureka. You drive to the beach and walk up through the fern canyon. Our son loves it. We then have a picnic while watching the elk on the the beach.

We've spent a lot of time up in Redwood National Park. The best way to see it is by camping there. Other than camping, your choice for lodging is either standard motels which are right on the highway or expensive B&Bs and luxury inns which are probably not what you need.

If you don't want to camp, I'll suggest another option which hasn't been mentionned. There is a town called Gasquet on Hwy 199 just outside Jedidiah Smith State Park. There are several motels here and you're right near some of the finest Redwood groves. But, you are also on the Smith River which offers a number of swimming holes and floating and tubing options through the redwoods that your kids would probably love. We've camped at the park a number of times and this is our favorite area.

Besides Jedidiah Smith, the best redwood groves are in Prairie Creek State Park and the Tall Trees Grove in Orick. Prairie Creek has a great campground on the beach. This is also where Fern Canyon is which is a must see.

Although the redwoods south of Eureka are also wonderful, I don't think you need to head down that far. There's plenty to see in the National Park itself. Other than a possible visit to Ferndale, I would also avoid Eureka and Arcata. You have great coastal towns on the Oregon Coast that probably offer more to see.

I'm not knocking these towns. We have spent a lot of great times in them. Our son lives in the Arcata area. But, for tourists from Oregon, there's not that much reason to go there.

I hope this helps and whatever you do, have a great trip.

booking