Redwoods Natl & State Parks Lodging?
 

My wife and I are planning a road trip to the northern California redwood region in late September. We can easily enjoy spending 7-10 nights in the area. Once there we won't want to drive much each day, say a half hour in the car each way, max.

The parks seem to be spread out over 3-4 hours of driving, with a combination of coastal and inland areas. Would it make sense to split up our trip with 3-4 nights in the Crescent City / Klamath area, then an equal amount of time farther south by Avenue of the Giants?

Or what about Patricks Point, it seems centrally located. Would it be a good place to stay?

Our driving route would likely have us arrive from the north and depart to the south.

We don't need many restaurants or fine dining, just a decent grocery store and sandwich joint and we'll be happy. Suggestions appreciated. Thanks!

I really like Patricks Point. It was one of my favorite places to camp last summer. There's a decent grocery about 10 minutes away in Trinidad. Better than decent, actually.

I'd split your stay (the first option) especially if you want to do some hiking. But keep in mind that it's definitely more of a driving park, and I think 30 minutes is wishful thinking, even if you stay in two different spots. That's usually what I aim for- but my radius was more like an hour, and that was with being too lazy to backtrack south for all of the avenue of Giants area. (I was going south to north, and drove through the very far south bit in the dark).

>>Once there we won't want to drive much each day, say a half hour in the car each way, max.<<

Unfortunately there aren't many places in the entire region within half an hour's drive of each other. It is a BIG place. People often need to drive 45 mins to an hour just to get groceries.

w/ 7 to 10 nights I'd choose three bases. One up north, one in the middle somewhere around Garberville/Ave of the Giants, and one in the Mendocino/Ft Bragg/Little River area.

Do you plan to camp or is that just an assumption others are making?

If not (or even if) I'd look at two areas for accommodations. One is around Eureka, the other closer to Crescent City.

For the Eureka-area options, I'd look at Ferndale, a lovely little Victorian village a few miles south of Eureka and off the main highway, and Trinidad, at the other (northern) edge of the Eureka/Arcata area, with my personal preference Ferndale. From that area you can visit the Avenue of the Giants, or take a day to explore the edges of the Lost Coast, the last wilderness coastline in California.

From the northern area you can travel down to the Redwood NP area (note the national park and various state parks are all jumbled together) or east to the Jedidiah Smith redwoods along US 199. Or, for a change of pace, you can pop over the state line into Oregon and cruise the southern coast; the first 70 miles or so of that part of the Oregon coast are IMO the most beautiful.

I do think, however, a half hour driving range is unrealistic. The redwood region is very linear and quite spread out.

Thanks for replies. OK, it sounds like splitting the stay to 3 places, or maybe even 4, is the way to go. We could spend 2-3 nights in each location and still come in around 10 nights.

If we can stock up on 3 days worth of groceries then maybe we can stay somewhere that is closer to hiking trails and beach combing, the main activities that will interest us.

Patricks Point is looking appealing. (janis, do you consider Patricks Point "up north", or did you mean even farther north to Klamath / Crescent City?).

In any case, I'll start looking into options, with splitting up the trip as the plan.

Gardyloo, thanks for your reply, which I just saw.

No we are not planning to camp, staying in motels / hotels / B&Bs.

I'll check out the towns you mentioned. A friend just sent me an e-mail about the Crescent Beach Motel. They stayed last year and really liked it. I also see a couple of motel options in Klamath.

They also enjoyed the Fort Bragg / Mendocino area but we'll have more time and can add additional stop(s) as janis suggested. Looks like plenty of options.

I've got the message on the my unrealistic driving hope.

Last time we were in the area, DW and I stayed at the Ravenwood motel in Klamath. It was quiet and the bed was comfy.
The breakfast was not great but was the best available in the area.
There was a bar/restaurant within walking distance of the motel. It seems to be the only place in town.
We did spend a couple of hours at the "Trees of Mystery" with a gondola ride up to the top. If the weather is clear, you should be able to see the ocean in the distance from the top platform.

Thanks Tom, I'll check it out. I'll need to decide between Klamath and Crescent City for that side of the parks. I can see an argument for either.

Crescent City has some nostalgia for me, it was a significant point on a long bicycle trip I did decades ago. I haven't been there since. It's no doubt changed beyond recognition, perhaps an argument for Klamath. A no-lose decision in any case, I guess.

I was in the middle of posting when the site went down on Monday . . . If you are staying in that area I HIGHY recommend the Requa Inn

http://www.requainn.com

Thanks Janis, looks great. I just tried their online booking and it says sold out on our approximate dates, but I suspect the system is not working that far out yet.

I'll give them a call.

While Fodors has been down we've decided to spend the first few nights in Crescent City, probably at the Crescent Beach Motel, then stay in 2-3 more places as we slowly make our way south towards Mendocino / Fort Bragg.

Klamath area could be the next stop. I spoke with a National Park Ranger the other day and he slightly preferred Crescent City to Klamath, but indicated both are worthwhile places for hikers to spend a few days. He wasn't allowed to recommend a particular business.

Thanks again.