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roadtrip sfo - seattle
Goodday!
We are planning a road trip from San Francisco to Seattle, and then taking the train to Vancouver. We were looking at 7 days driving, and stopping in Eureka, Orick ( to stay a day in the redwoods), Eugene or Florence, Portland and Seattle. Would this give us enough time, and are we missing some must see / do activities or sites? Any help or ideas would be most welcome! Have a great day, Luc |
Looks like your first post; welcome to Fodor's!
What month will this be? |
Welcome to Fodors! Are you planning on spending any time in San Francisco before heading north?
There are Coast Redwoods much closer to San Francisco than Eureka and Orick. I fear that you will be spending more daytime hours driving than sightseeing. Have you looked at the drop fee for renting in San Francisco and dropping in Seattle? My plan would be to spend some time in the SF area and see Coast Redwoods (Muir Woods or Butano) and then take the Amtrak Coast Starlight overnight to Eugene (arrives about 12:30 PM) and then renting a car there for a 24 or 48 hour loop in Oregon and then taking the Coast Starlight again to Seattle. The early train from Seattle to Vancouver is too early for many people. There are several buses that also take 4 to 4.5 hours to get to Vancouver. The buses load right outside the newly remodeled King St. station which is close to CenturyLink stadium. Go Seahawks! |
It is great to be here, thank you!
We did a roadtrip a few years back, and loved driving in the states, so we wanted to do some more driving. I believe there is no extra fee for regurning the car in Seattle. So the driving is part of the destination, if you will... We will be going in the first two weeks of may, and are looking for nature, as we live on an island, trees and big nature was the idea. Also big wine fans, but we have done california wine country and San Francisco before. Looking forward to planning the trip! |
I honestly would skip the California sight-seeing and just head north from San Francisco.
7 days would give you a nice drive that could include some of the Oregon Coast (then Portland and Seattle). Yes Eugene is a fun town. Keep that on your list. And as you continue north from there you could visit some of the Willamette Valley wineries, since you mention that interest. |
Yes Eugene has an airport. I would fly there or to Portland and skip the SF area since you have already seen it.
Oregon has some wine country as well. Will you make the 7:45AM #510 train out of Seattle or will you be on one of the later buses? |
Thank you for your help!
We are debating the train or the ferry frim Seattle... We will go straight north from SF, along the coast, hopefully see dramatic nature. And those redwoods, thank you for the tip. Are there things not to be missed? I read Hood river before, it is difficult to know where to go as we have never been... Any tips for great hotels, roads and sights will be greatly appreciated! Willamette valley sounds like a great plan! Thank you all for helping us plan a great trip! |
On our drives up the Oregon coast, this property has amazed us twice so far in terms of being just lovely, well appointed, and afforadable to boot. www.thelodgeatottercrest.com
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Oh wow!!!
Thank you, these are the tips that make these forums great!! Thank you very much again! |
First, again, welcome. You've started a second thread regarding accommodations en route; I'd recommend you keep to one thread (this one) which will help prevent confusion and people stepping on each others' feet, as it were.
A few things... There's no ferry from Seattle to Vancouver; there's a freeway and train tracks. Orick is not much of a place (in fact rather depressing.) For an overnight in the redwood country, look at Ferndale, Arcata or Trinidad, all in the Eureka area. Ferndale is a picturesque little town full of very beautiful Victorian buildings, Arcata is a university town (Humboldt State Univ.) and Trinidad is located on a beautiful little rocky cove. And don't be overly distracted by areas being designated as Redwood National Park; the many California State parks in the area are equally beautiful and their designations actually predate the national park's. Don't miss the Avenue of the Giants byway south of Eureka; it parallels US 101 through some of the most beautiful and impressive redwood groves. The most beautiful (IMO) part of the Oregon coast is the southernmost 60 to 70 miles (say 100km) between the California state line and Port Orford. The little town of Bandon, a little farther north, has the nicest downtown and "old town" area and is a good overnight point before heading inland. The coast becomes impressive again once you're north of Florence, so I'd stay on US 101 all the way to Cape Disappointment at the (awesome) mouth of the Columbia River, then east along the north bank of the Columbia to I-5 and south into Portland. May is generally still in the rainy season throughout the Pacific Northwest, and there will still be deep snow at higher elevations in the Cascades. However the Columbia River Gorge, just east of Portland, is stunning at that time of year, with many waterfalls full of water from melting mountain snow, wildflowers and orchards in bloom in the Hood River Valley, and - if you want - there will still be snow and skiing at Timberline Lodge on Mount Hood, an hour or so from the heart of the Gorge. Then to reach Seattle I'd continue east from the Columbia Gorge to US 97 at Maryhill (visit the fun Maryhill Museum and nearby Stonehenge replica) then travel through beautiful "old west" country and the Yakama Indian reservation, through the Yakima Valley and into Seattle on I-90 over the Cascade range. This is a terrific route that adds very little time to the drive from the Columbia Gorge, but which is infinitely more scenic than I-5. Map - https://goo.gl/maps/FaWVjmug9tP2 With 7 days on the road, I'd suggest this timing: 1. SF to Ferndale/Arcata/Trinidad via Avenue of the Giants 2. F/A/T to Bandon via more redwoods and the southern Oregon coast 3. Bandon to Cannon Beach/Astoria/Ilwaco (northern Oregon coast or SW Washington) 4. CB/Astoria/Ilwaco to Portland, PM in Portland 5. AM in Portland, PM to Hood River via Historic Gorge Highway (waterfalls etc.) 6. Day in Hood River area - more waterfalls, Hood River Valley, Timberline Lodge 7. Hood River to Seattle via Maryhill, US 97, I-82/I-90 |
Thank you very much for your help!
We'll stick to this trip, you just made it, fabulous! I have a question though, would the first stage of the trip be better if we took the number 1 rather then 101? I love the idea of driving into Seattle like this, never thought of it! Thank you again, we will be finalizing booking flights and look forward to a great trip!!! Have a great day! |
<i>I have a question though, would the first stage of the trip be better if we took the number 1 rather then 101?</i>
Yes, it's quite scenic but also MUCH slower than US 101; taking CA 1 would add at least 3-5 driving hours to the first day, making it quite long. In my view you'll have enough beautiful coastal scenery on the drive to compensate skipping this part. |
Thank you again! You just made our trip!
Have a great day, we apreciate all the help!! If you're ever in Aruba and need help, let me know, I'll be happy to return the favor!! |
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It most certainly does, thank you!
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First of all, Welcome!! You'll get some excellent information here. Gardyloo in particular is extremely generous with some of the most detailed and thoughtful itineraries.
Next, please heed Gardyloo's advice. By all that's holy, don't stay in Orick. If you're just curious, you can see it on this YouTube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ESX9ghivck4 Sounds like a fun drive. |
Here is the link to the other thread
http://www.fodors.com/community/unit...fo-seattle.cfm (And if you'll notice -- not one of the places mentioned in that thread is in Orick ;) ) |
Thank you again!
I guess Orick is off the list! We will be doing Gardyloo's trip, once we figured the complete itinerary, i will post it here, thank you all!! |
Goodafternoon!
Thank you all very much for the help! We have finalized, and are sticking to the trip outlined by Gardyloo. We fly into San Francisco, spend the night in an airport hotel ( fly in at 11 pm), the next day we'll pick up the car and take a easy drive to Santa Rosa, do some wine tastings and dinner. Then we start, next day off to Ferndale, then Bandon, Astoria on day 4, Oregaon city, because the next day we want to do a hot air balloon ride, and continue to Hood River, and end up in Seattle, where my wifes brother will join us, then take the day train to Vancouver for the night, come back by train the next day, spend the day in Seattle, and fly back home the next day. We are looking forward to this trip, thank you all, and especially Gardyloo, for your help, the countdown app says only 79 days!!! This was great help, can't thank you enough! |
Instead of Santa Rosa, stay in either Sonoma or Healdsburg.
And re the balloon ride, May should be decent, but they are totally weather dependent so definitely have a plan B. |
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