mc_ite

Hi there!

I am looking to do a road trip from Seattle to SF over 3 days trying to hit a combination of nice fall color scenic drives and short hikes/waterfalls (<3 miles each), redwoods etc. Plan from Oct 16-19. Have a rough draft and looking to refine the plan. It will just be the DW and myself, so we can be quick on the road/overnight stops.

Oct 16 - 6:30 am flight from SF to Seattle; land at 8:30 am. Should be ready to start driving after breakfast. Renting car from Thrifty ($1 one way rental deal from Sea to SF). Overnighting in Portland, so considering driving Enumclaw, Rainier, Yakima to Portland. Purpose - fall colors and possibly a short 3-4 hour stop in Rainier. Is there a waterfall / short nature hike I can squeeze in?

Oct 17 - Out of the door by 8:30 am; Should I head south and east towards Crater Lake? Short hikes / outdoor activities? Stay overnight near Medford?

Oct 18 - Head towards Mt Shasta or coast to hit some Redwoods? I have done the coastal trips around SF often (up along Muir/Stinson and down along Monterey/Santa Cruz). Is the coast on No-Cal/So-Ore very different or should I stay inland and try to hit the right spots.

Oct 19 - would prefer a max 4 hour drive from wherever I am last to SF.

Suggestions for places to stop, overnights and routes welcome. Would like to freeze trip in another week so I can make hotel bookings etc.

happytrailstoyou

Enumclaw? Crater Lake? Maximum of 4 hours driving? Fall colors? Mt Shasta or Redwoods? This is a very disorganized plan. You're going to need for than three days.

HTTY

voyager61

I agree that you need to slow the trip down. Four or five days would make a lot more sense. If I were doing that drive and looking for fall color/hikes...you could drive to Rainier the first day and spend your 3 to 4 hours there..then drive south into Oregon and stay in Portland for the first night. Or, maybe stay in Hood River for a different landscape. Next night, I would stay in Ashland, Oregon, and do a nearby hike. Should be some great fall color around there, and Ashland is a fun tourist town. But driving from Portland to Ashland takes between 4 and 5 hours, so you might want to just enjoy the town of Ashland that evening and then do a morning hike and leave early afternoon for California to stay somewhere near the Redwoods and do them the following morning. I would do the last night either along the Cali coast somewhere or in wine country. So I guess I would recommend 4 nights for a trip that includes some hiking and going into national parks. If you add Crater Lake, make it 5 nights...it's not that easy to get to.

suze

Is there some reason you're going all the way east to Yakima? It doesn't really fit in with your trip, and is to me not really logical between Seattle and San Francisco if you only have 3 days.

janisj

You'd have to push things quite a bit even w/o Yakima. Seattle to SF along scenic roads w/ multiple 3-4 mile hikes -- that alone is a 4 to 5 day trip.

Mt Shasta to SF is a 5 hour drive w/o stops and just dashing down I-5. Adding hikes and rural roads you are talking one very long day.

NorthwestMale

First of all - Yakima????

What used to be "The Small Town Drug Capital of America" has absolutely no use in your fall colors itinerary.

The colors seldom change on a military firing range, so I've determined, when driving between Ellensburg and Yakima.


Yes, Enumscratch, yes Mt. Rainier (a loop or semi-loop)... then go SOUTH... staying on/near to I-5. Add Mount St. Helens because it is nearby... then to Portland as scheduled...

Maybe even south or EAST of Portland if you have time.

In a perfect world where driving 60 miles didn't take nearly an hour... get up the next morning and go east to Mt. Hood... then down Hwy #97 to Hwy #138... to Crater Lake.

(then-west) from Crater Lake back to I-5... then south to somewhere near Medford.

You'd better stay on I-5/inland... to even have a chance at completing the journey as hoped.


Hikes? Outdoor activities??

On this iterinary, your hikes are going to be from the car to the counter at McDonalds and back, and your outdoor activities will be when piddling in the semi-outdoor air at freeway rest stops along the way.

Fodorite018

NorthwestMale--LOL! I have lived there and that is much nicer than anything we ever said about it

mc_ite

Looks like I was trying to squeeze in way too much! I have never been north of Point Reyes along the West Coast, so thanks for all the advice folks.

Also, no reason to include Yakima except - http://www.weather.com/outlook/weath...0-09-29?page=6

On the plan.. hard to extend beyond 3.5 days, so have to cut down on travel or activities. Here's an alternate plan -

Day 1 - Start out in Seattle, drive through Mt Rainier with a hike; St Helens and overnight in Portland. (5.30-6 hours of driving)

Day 2 - little lost on this one. Thinking an overnight around Medford, is there a hike I can do around the area or enroute from Portland? (5 hours of driving)

Day 3 - Redwood National Forests; stay near Eureka or Crescent City? (3.5 hours of driving)

Day 4 - Drive from Redwood National forests along 101 to SF (6 hours of driving)

Hopefully this one looks more doable without Mt Shasta, Crater Lake etc.

Gardyloo

Well I'm a big fan of the "back door" route between Seattle and Portland, especially in months like October where getting east of the mountains also offers a better-than-even chance of dodging wet weather on the west side. In wet weather, the I-5 corridor takes the words "miserable" and "boring" to new heights.

Yakima itself? Of course not. But US 97 over Satus Pass and down to the Columbia through Goldendale is a marvelous ride, and there <i>will</i> be some color in the cottonwoods and (mainly) pine forest once you're through the pass and heading down to Goldendale. As for hitting Mt. Rainier en route, if you push hard on the pedal you can get to the mountain from Seattle by late morning, walk around a while, and still get over White Pass and down to Yakima by early afternoon. From there it's a couple of hours to the east end of the Columbia Gorge, and Hood River/Troutdale for dinner is easy. Done it numerous times. Is it a casual, leisurely stroll of a drive? Nope, but it's no butt-breaker either.

Past Portland, I'd beam down I-5 to Drain, then out SR 38 to Reedsport (past all the elk and through the lower Umpqua gorge) and south from there. With an early-ish start from Portland it's a piece of cake to make Crescent City; the next day is a pleasant drive through the Redwoods down to SF.

spirobulldog

The Redwoods are different than Muir Woods. A good short trail is in the Stout Grove. Another trail not to be missed is Fern Canyon. Both of these can be done in less than two hours.

I don't think you should pick just Rainier or just St. Heles on your drive to Portland.

Crater Lake is one of those places that you can just stop and look at and you don't have to spend that much time there. I still might try to include it and forget a hike for that day.

happytrailstoyou

<i>Crater Lake is one of those places that you can just stop and look at and you don't have to spend that much time there.</i>

Interesting. I haven't heard this since 1984, when a relative took me on a whirlwind look at this National Park that left me with my head spinning.

Crater Lake is 150-mile drive off of I-5 and another 100-mile drive back to I-5. For most visitors, Crater Lake is a once-in-a-life time experience that is best experienced on at least a one-night stay over. In 2004, I went back and spent the night there--an experience that took the bad taste of my 1984 visit out of my mouth.

HTTY

NorthwestMale

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmph... I will concede that the paths west of Yakima and southwest of Yakima have potential. It's just that, when you're IN Yakima, you'll struggle to let yourself keep believing...

Consider that most of the trip between Yakima and Goldendale (mentioned above) is on an indian reservation.

The Columbia Gorge is great, and would surely enhance your trip.

Betting on the northwest weather in the middle of October is not a great idea either way.

(deep, contemplative breath: )

IF I were going on that trip, with that window of time... I would cross my fingers for dry (and ideally clear) weather and then set out from Seattle... to Mt. Rainier, and then do some sort of a loop around/near the mountain (Hwy #410, Hwy #123, Hwy #12) and then back to I-5... OR a smaller, more direct highway to the back/east side of Mount St. Helens.

Then I'd overnight in Portland or somewhere to the south of Portland. My plan for the 2nd day would be ... south on I-5 toward Eugene, then perhaps cut to the east on Hwy #58... then to #97... to #138... and to Crater Lake.

Exit Crater Lake to the southwest and hit Medford for an overnight.

I respect your time constraints, and they prooooooooobably reduce your options... but as one could drive from Seattle to Sacramento in one LONG, tiresome day of driving, you can certainly afford yourself the chance to see SOME of the many alternatives given time for 3 nights.


You could DO the Oregon Coast instead... and perhaps make your trip more leisurely (meaning Seattle... Rainier... Portland... then west to the coast)

Since I doubt that your trip will entail any iron clad hotel reservations, you really can afford to improvise with the weather.

IF you get to Seattle and the outlook is for pure RAIN all day... then trek toward Mount Rainier and do the Yakima path, so at least you'll be driving on the east side of the mountains where there is hope for better weather.

IF you have sunny skies in Western Washington, then you could opt for the LOOP around Rainier, and then back to I-5, and Mount St. Helens as a side trip...

(generally, same is true of Oregon... the rain could render the coast and I-5 not so enjoyable, but you could opt to travel down Hwy #97 inland toward Crater Lake and pOSSIBLY dodge much of the rain)


Have your options firmly in mind and then improvise once you learn what you're facing weather-wise.

spirobulldog

HTTY,

I agree totally, but since OP is driving From Seattle to SF in 4 days, I was just throwing options out there. We spent two days and nights there and did the boat and hiked wizard island, etc. I just meant that you can drive the rim(somewhat like seeing the Grand Canyo). You can get a feel for it. That said, hiking the grand canyon or rafting it, is far better.

www.mapsonus.com lists the total miles from Portland to Crater Lake to Medford as 321 miles taking 5.5hrs. It lists from Portland to Medford as 273 miles taking 4hrs.

Fodorite018

One thing not mentioned here about Crater Lake is that by the time this trip happens, there is a good chance of snow on the rim drive

happytrailstoyou

spirobuldog, I, too, am often torn between whether I should explain how to do too much in too little time or suggest trimming an itinerary. HTTY

razzledazzle

The Hwy 1 drive from Mendocino to Jenner is spectacular.
Why would you want to drive 6 hours from the redwoods
to SF on Hwy 101 ? Might as well just fly back to SF
from Redding.

R5








Since you are blowing off the CA coast from

mc_ite

I like the option of driving by Crater Lake on the 2nd day. Weather seems reasonable for middle of this month (no snow on forecasts yet).

I live in San Fran, so might be easier to make it to spots closer to the bay (south of Mendocino), so am trying to squeeze in as much of Oregon/Northern Cali. But I need to return the rental car in SF, so cannot fly back from Redding. For that reason, I am even considering dropping Redwoods to spend more time at Crater Lake.. Redwoods can potentially be a later weekend trip.

Beyond the actual plan, I like your suggestion (NorthWestMale) of keeping options open and switching based on rain. I can make last minute reservations, as I am planning overnights in Comfort Inn type motels.. nothing fancy.

razzledazzle

Ah, now I understand your plan.
For future redwoods lodging-
http://www.mirandagardens.com/

R5

NorthwestMale

Now that the 10-day forecast overlaps your trip a bit, well, it confirms that a COIN FLIP is in order with regard to which way to travel from Seattle.

In case nothing has spelled it out for you, the DUAL MOUNTAIN RANGES which run north to south up here have considerable effect on the weather, specifically rain.

It should come as no surprise to anyone that the rainiest city in the "lower 48" is "Forks, Washington" (do they mention that in "Twilight"??). Then the first mountain range ("The Olympic Mountains") block much of the ocean effects to where there are certain considerably-dry spots just east of that range. Then the Seattle-Portland corridor gets its share, and finally the Cascade mountain range roughly 50 miles east of Seattle traps/blocks much of the rest of the ocean effect. Eastern Washington (east of those mountains) is considerably dry.

In fact they call Yakima "The Palm Springs of Washington" (DON'T ASK!!!)

The reasons why it makes sense to improvise based on the weather are tethered to what I just explained about the mountains.

While the Oregon coast COULD be absolutely dreary in steady rain (and wind), the inland path east of the Cascade (2nd) mountain range could be much drier.

It might even work out that IF by chance it were simply and obviously POURING RAIN between the time you landed, and when you hit the California border again, that you would do the following:

leave Seattle toward Mount Rainier (low visibility, and you wouldn't see it much until you were right at the base - but it can still be awesome, and eastern vantage points can often be more fruitful)... then keep going east, toward Yakima-ISH... then south... Goldendale, WA... then maybe even STAY toward the east, going south from either Hood River or The Dalles... via Bend, and eventually Crater Lake.


Don't forget that you will only be able to choose ONE POINT at which to cross any "Latitude" so you simply won't be able to be at Lincoln City, OR, Salem, OR, AND Madras, OR on the same trip as you work your way back to San Fran.

SO, no matter which you select, it has to be an "either or" choice... so most any path up here may be new territory, so don't be afraid to play it by ear and improvise depending upon the weather.

spirobulldog

I say spend as much time as possible at each place rather than just checking a bunch of places off your list. Really any of the places you mention are great.

If you live in SF, then I would wait on everything in Northern California and give each place 3-4 days each(Mt. Shasta, Redwoods, even Lassen would be good). There is just so many side places to even stop at. Places like Burney Falls. I consider it really just almost as pretty as anything at Yosemite(not as tall, but it is really an awesome waterfall).