Road Trip San Fran - Portland
 

Hi
My husband and I are making the drive from San Francisco, California to Portland, Oregon. Can anyone suggest some a "must-see" for the way up? I want to find out some neat, beautiful, or fun things to see or do. We'll have our bikes with us too in case there is a good ride. Also if there are any particularly great places to stay, let me know. Thanks for your help!

This was my question in May, there might be some answers for you, since it would be a matter of starting out in Ca and coming up here..:)

http://fodors.com/forums/threadselec...p;tid=34802447

First of all need to know how many days you have for the trip because:::
up the Oregon coast is great but does take longer than Interstate 5..
(now that school is out 45 MPH will be the average!!!)
there are "combo" routes if time is short.. (half-way up 5 and crossover to middle of the coast)
It might be fun to do a "search" on "Oregon coast" on this site to see what comes up.
Plus theire are some great posters that know all about the area in question.
good luck

..

I would suggest the Rogue River jet boat trip out of Gold Beach- its really a day trip so you'd have to spend a night in Gold Beach- one of the most fun things you can do in Southern Oregon

In Portland check out the "Springwater Corridor Trail" for a fun bike ride- you can get a map at any of the bike shops in town. It goes along the riverfront into the Sellwood community
and beyond - part of it is paved with no cars/ part is city streets -

My favorite route is to go up the Napa Valley to Calistoga, up and over to CA20 and E. to Williams and Granzella's.
http://www.granzellas.com/deli/

Then up I-5 to Redding and the Sundial Bridge, Lake Shasta, Dunsmuir and Mt. Shasta, and on to Ashland. From There, either Crater Lake and Bend, or Over US 199 to the Top of the Redwoods and on up the Coast as far as you like all the way to OR 18, US 26, or to Astoria and E. on US 30.

Sunbum gave a great suggestion with the Springwater Trail. We have riden/ran on it on the far east side and it is really enjoyable!

For the old world lodge experience, visit Oregon Caves, take the cave tour and stay at the Lodge there. It was built out of logs and tree branches, has waterfalls outside the doors and a creek flowing right through the restaurant downstairs.

We <b>really</b> do need to know how long you plan for the drive. All these great suggestions are useless if you only have 2 days . . . . . .

Take 101 to Willets, then over to the coast. A unique place to stay is Howard Creek Ranch. www.howardcreekranch.com just north of Fort Bragg. Each room is unique and you are steps from the beach. It includes a fantastic breakfast.
You can head back over to 101 and enjoy the Avenue of the Giants. Stop at the Visitor Center in Meyers and get advice for beautiful easy trails. You will see no people on most of these, but will inhale the pure oxygen of the ancient redwoods and walk through shady forests filled with ferns. The trees are huge and magnificent!

The Vortex was always a fun one for us.

Thanks for all the great tips. Sorry for the delay on answering the &quot;how long do we have&quot; question. So, to answer it... We are leaving Sonoma on Monday (probably later afternoon) and need to get to Portland by Thursday night or Friday. Also, I've read a few good suggestions about where to stay near the Redwood Forest, but I'll take some more. Any good B&amp;Bs or lodges - not too expensive? Also, thoughts on Eureka? Thanks again for the great help!

Myers Country Inn is in Myers Flat on the Avenue of the Giants. It is a B&amp;B. When we stayed there it was friendly, had a great bed, and delicious breakfast. There is another place we stayed, north of Garberville but south of Myers Flat, that we enjoyed. I can't remember the name or the &quot;town&quot; but it is on Avenue of the Giants and had little cabins deep in the redwoods. It was an old place but nicely maintained, had fabulous decks and patios, renovated rooms - also a pool.