We are driving the kids from SF to Redwood Nat Park (and then beyond) in June and want to break the drive up into two 3-4 hour drives. Any suggestions where is a good place to stop half-way up, to spend a night and to show a 3 & a 9 year old something intreresting? We're from The Bahamas so the whole area is virgin territory to us. Any good hotel/motel suggestions to go along with it?

If you have enough time, you might consider driving up Hwy 1 along the coast and staying in Mendocino or Fort Bragg. There's a lot to see and do in that area. This would be our choice if making a multi-day trip up the RNP.

Otherwise, the drive up Hwy 101 is not all that interesting until you get into the redwoods near Richardson Grove. There's a number of places to stay along the Avenue of the Giants and there are some very nice State Redwood Parks to see in this area.

If you are only interested in seeing the trees in Redwood National Park, then it would be best to drive up to Eureka (or nearby Arcata or Trinidad) and spend the night there. That's about a 5 hour drive though. Then you would be much closer to the redwoods north of Eureka and could spend the whole next day (or more) touring that area.

It really depends on how much time you are allotting to see redwoods on your drive to Oregon.

To stay within your allotted driving time, I'd suggest the 101 alternative. The kids might like the Skunk train depot in Willits. The train runs between Fort Bragg on the coast and Willits. After a stop there continue up to the Avenue of Giants area for the overnight stay.
Second day the Redwood National Park and maybe up to the Lady Bird Johnson Grove.

For a description of what to do in the Redwoods, it would be hard to beat this trip report that was recently brought back up by another poster.

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threadselect.jsp?fid=1

I would never do all this in one day as the OP did, but you may gain some useful ideas for your trip.

Why not visit the Redwoods just outside of San Francisco in Muir Woods? Then I'd take Hwy #5 north and visit Lassen State Park. Its got great volcanic activity... boiling mud etc. Kids might find it really interesting. You could also go into Oregon, and visit Crater Lake... I think the drive to Mendicino will make the kids car sick. Its very twisty!

"I think the drive to Mendicino will make the kids car sick. Its very twisty!"

The roads up to and through Lassen are not all that straight either. Besides, the Lassen road is often closed until mid-June and in some years until early July.

While Muir Woods is certainly very beautiful, it does not compare with the Redwoods further north. Redwood National Park is a combination of federally protected groves of redwoods and three state parks which not only protect the trees but also feature spectacular coastal and riparian ecosystems.

If you decide to also visit Mendocino, I would not worry about the roads. There are three excellent highways that lead into there from the south. Thousands and thousands of people drive them every year. If your kids do get carsick easily then you might want to reconsider the entire trip and fly to Oregon.

According to mapquest Crater Lake is 7 hours driving time from San Francisco.