lorifrombama

Good afternoon everyone! I have been reading for several months on the forums trying to come up with an itinerary for our family of 5 road trip. We are flying into Seattle late March and flying out of San Francisco. We have rented a car and want to sight see along the coast. The trip is from Saturday-Saturday. I have a basic itinerary of what we want to see and where I've thought about stopping but I am completely open to any changes you guys think we should make! There is so much to see in 7 days!

Day 1- 4:00 pm Seattle- Space needle, Fremont Troll, ________
Day 2- Seattle- Pike Place Market , ___________? Drive to Astoria or Portland
------- With kids, ages 7,10,12, which would you recommend? Astoria or Portland? Not sure if we will have time for both
Day 3-Tour Astoria or Portland drive to Florence area that evening
Day 4- sand dunes, Heceta Head lighthouse, sea lion caves, whale watching, etc.
Day 5- Drive through Grant's Pass to Crescent City seeing redwoods; stay night in Crescent City?
Day 6- Head to Mendocino, Ca
Day 7- San Francisco
Day 8- San Francisco- fly home in evening

I've read how beautiful it is south of Bandon. Should we stay on the coast and not head over to Grant's Pass?

This is very much a rough draft and every time I try and edit it, I get very overwhelmed! So so much to see and not enough time. I would appreciate ANY thoughts and advice! Thank you so much in advance!

Lori

sunbum1944

With kids that age I would look into the dune buggy rides just south of Florence and the jet boat ride at Gold Beach. Although Grants Pass is a nice little town, I would stick to the coast - there is a lot to see and do around Crescent City

tomfuller

I agree with sunbum - stay on the coast. Along US101 visit "The Trees of Mystery" in northern California.

lorifrombama

Ok Thank you. So maybe more something like this? If so, how would you suggest spreading out those days along the coast?

Day 1- 4:00 pm Seattle- Space needle, Fremont Troll, ________
Day 2- Seattle- Pike Place Market , ___________? Drive to Astoria or Portland

------- With kids, ages 7,10,12, which would you recommend? Astoria or Portland? Not sure if we will have time for both

Day 3-Tour Astoria or Portland drive to Florence area that evening
Day 4- sand dunes, Heceta Head lighthouse, sea lion caves, whale watching, etc.
Day 5- Bandon, Port Orford, etc (not sure what all to see in this area) stay night in Crescent City?
Day 6- Head to Mendocino, Ca
Day 7- San Francisco
Day 8- San Francisco- fly home in evening

My husband's friend loves Portland and always talks about it being his favorite city. I can't really find anything that stands out for the kids to do and lean more towards Astoria. Any thoughts on that? Or should we skip both and go from Seattle to Columbia River Gorge and down to Newport from there?
Thanks in advance

sunbum1944

Do you realize that late March in Oregon can be very cool and rainy?

Gardyloo

Okay, I'm going to pile on, forgive me.

You don't have enough time in Seattle to do more than sleep off the time change since I assume you're coming from Alabama. Postpone Seattle for another time, NOT in March.

And that's the big problem. March is, just in my view, a terrible time for this itinerary. You will almost certainly be in foul weather all the way to California. Puget sound will be wet, the mountains snowed in, and the northern Oregon coast (in fact, the whole of the Oregon coast) will offer excellent chances of horizontal rain. You may get a sunny day - they do happen in March, but the odds are against you, big time.

Now this is NOT to say I think you should scrub the trip altogether, but let me make a couple of suggestions for alternate plans.

One, fly into Portland instead of Seattle. Spend two or three days (the ones you would have had in Seattle) in Portland, but more specifically, visit the Columbia Gorge. In March, the many waterfalls along the Gorge walls will be spectacular with water from melting snows coming over. The kids (I assume there are kids in your party) will love visiting Herman the Sturgeon at the Bonneville hatchery. Depending on when in March, the many orchards in the Hood River Valley may be in bloom, and if you're interested and the roads are passable, you can visit Timberline Lodge on Mount Hood for a "snow day" - probably a rare thing for kids from Alabama.

Anyway, then head south along the Oregon coast. I'd probably blast south on I-5 and cut across at SR 38 to Reedsport, from which the south coast is readily available.

For the balance of the trip I'd focus on the Redwoods. These are usually a big hit with kids (not to mention their parents) and more time is better than less in them. You will be in the redwood groves pretty much from the California state line all the way to Garberville.

OR, two. Fly into San Francisco and just do a loop north to the Redwoods and back. If you want to see the southern Oregon coast, you can easily do it as a day trip from a base in, say, Trinidad or Crescent City (or Brookings or Gold Beach.) Take US 101 north - faster, then return via Calif. SR 1 along the coast. This would be more relaxing - you could probably pick some places for two-night stays, rather than having to break camp every morning and do kid-and-car wrangling to start the day.

(There is actually a third option, not trying to re-plan your trip, but just thinking. Fly into SF and head south to the Monterey Peninsula and Big Sur. The weather will definitely be better, the aquarium in Monterey is a knockout for kids, there might still be a bunch of butterflies in Pacific Grove, and you can still see redwoods, for example at Big Basin State Park. Then head down the Big Sur coast (more redwoods) through coastal scenery that is the equivalent of the Oregon coast, but probably in the sunshine rather than the rain. Visit Hearst Castle at San Simeon (a huge hit with kids) and see the elephant seal breeding beach just up the road from the Hearst visitor center. Back toward Monterey, stop at Point Lobos State Park just south of Carmel - lots of marine wildlife. This would be a terrific week's itinerary, with big trees, gorgeous coast, sunshine, historic sites, wildlife, and probably wildflowers at the side of the road. Oh, and no one-way drop fee on the car.)

Just some thoughts.

lorifrombama

Thank you everyone. I really appreciate your feedback. I do realize that it will be cool and rainy. Due to the kids school break we have to travel the last week of March. I earned flight vouchers that had to be used by the end of March as well so traveling next summer was not an option. We were trying to go somewhere that we wouldn't ever travel to by car and see things nature wise that we just can't find here in the South. I knew that the weather is not ideal, but we decided to just try it anyway. Our flights have already been booked, into Seattle on March 21 and out of San Francisco on March 28 (Sat-Sat) so that cannot be changed.

After reading your suggestions and comments, which are extremely helpful, I'm feeling like this trip is going to be disappointing I would ask more advice but I'm not sure what to ask.

Thanks again for taking the time to provide your thoughts and expertise.

Gardyloo

Our flights have already been booked, into Seattle on March 21 and out of San Francisco on March 28 (Sat-Sat) so that cannot be changed.

Fully understand. However, a couple of thoughts. First, you could ask the airline what it would cost to change the tickets. Often with vouchers there might not be a change fee, but asking is free.

Second, one-way flights from SEA to SFO for March 23rd (allowing two days in Seattle) are $105 each. I know there are five traveling, so that's up to $525 in additional cost, but you might save a big chunk of that by returning a rental car to the same location as opposed to higher one-way rental car fees.

Just hypothetically, what if you did an itinerary like this?

3/21 - Arrive Seattle, settle in for evening.

3/22 - Day trip to Whidbey Island and Deception Pass - this is a great all-weather outing offering a fun ferry ride, cute towns on Whidbey, and stunning Deception Pass. You might also see snow geese in the Skagit Valley. Head north to La Conner, a cute waterfront town bear the Skagit Valley tulip and daffodil fields (too early for tulips, fine for daffs) then visit Deception Pass - Google it, you won't be disappointed. Then south on Whidbey to Fort Casey - cool lighthouse, coastal gun emplacements, then on to Langley, another very cute town, then the ferry to Mukilteo (yet another cute lighthouse town) and finally back to Seattle via SR 526, the "Boeing Freeway," past the Boeing Everett plant, biggest building in the world. Route - http://goo.gl/maps/cmOuH

Snow geese, Skagit Valley, March - http://gardyloo.us/20100319_56as.JPG
Daffodils, Skagit Valley, March - http://gardyloo.us/DSC_0077c.JPG
Mukilteo lighthouse - http://gardyloo.us/20140531_3Ha.jpg

3/23 - Morning to Pike Place, then Seattle Center (Space Needle, etc.) then see the troll, maybe visit the Ballard Locks in the afternoon. Then to the airport for an evening flight to San Francisco.

3/24 - Head to Monterey via Big Basin Redwoods. Visit aquarium in downtown Monterey, dinner maybe on Cannery Row, fisherman's wharf, etc.

3/25 - Drive from Monterey to San Simeon, stopping at Point Lobos and the elephant seal rookery. Many pullouts on the Big Sur coast.

3/26 - Morning tour of Hearst Castle, afternoon return to Monterey. Stop at Pfeiffer State Park (more redwoods) en route.

3/27 - Hang out in Monterey, or head back to SF, maybe via the Steinbeck center in Salinas.

3/28 - Head home.

This would cover a lot of things - beautiful and historic Puget Sound country, gorgeous California spring coastline, redwoods, lots of wildlife at Point Lobos, the Hearst castle... and all pretty doable in your time frame. You wouldn't have super-long car days (with it raining outside) as you might by driving through Oregon, and my hunch is that cost-wise, it wouldn't be that big a hit. But again, just a suggestion.

voyager61

Given that you cannot change your itinerary at this point, then you need to make the best of what may be a mostly indoor trip. Let's hope you get a non-rainy day or two so you can actually be in the nature instead of looking at it from a window, but it's probably best to plan a lot of indoor activities and adjust the plans if you get lucky with the weather.

In Seattle, do Pike Place Market and the Space Needle and possibly the Experience Music Project (kids usually like it), Pacific Science Center (designed for kids) or Chihuly Glass Museum; all three are located near the Space Needle. The Seattle Aquarium on the waterfront would also be a great indoor spot for kids. Seattle has fantastic seafood, particularly salmon, mussels and dungeness crab, so plan for lunch where you can take advantage of that. You parents will enjoy it even if the kids are just eating off the kids' menu.

As noted above, heading south will provide you with better weather as you go along. Portland will be comparable to Seattle although possibly slightly better for weather; I can't speak to the kid attractions there. I can't see Astoria being a great draw for young children; it's more something that adults can appreciate. If the weather is OK, Cannon Beach is great, but the weather may not cooperate. You could get lucky though; we spent spring break there a few years ago and it was cold but sunny and we were able to be outside quite a bit.

I would agree with the recommendation for the Redwoods. Plan a night there and then head to the Bay Area, where the weather will be better and there are tons of things to do for kids that age.

I would plan for 2 nights in Seattle, 1 night somewhere on the Oregon Coast, 1 night in the Redwood area of California, and 3 nights in San Francisco.

You will enjoy the scenery even if the weather is lousy and you will experience a different slice of life than what you are used to, so I think you may be surprised by how much you enjoy it even with rainy weather.

janisj

I think gardyloo's last post is a brilliant way to make lemonade out of this lemon. Now, you are also likely to have iffy to bad weather on the CA coast(or you could luck out and get wonderful spells)

But there are lots of bad-weather options in SF and places like the fabulous Monterey Bay Aquarium.

tomfuller

You don't really have time to "tour Portland". Take I-5 to Kelso/Longview, and take the bridge over the Columbia River to US 30 West to Astoria. See the Astoria Column and whatever else you want to see and then head south on US 101 to either Seaside or Cannon Beach.
The next day, see Haystack Rock before leaving Cannon Beach.
On your drive south on 101, stop at the Tillamook cheese factory for great cheese and ice cream.
You don't have to go all the way to Monterey to see a great aquarium. The Oregon Coast Aquarium is just south of Newport.

lorifrombama

Thanks again everyone. I've earned these flights through a travel company so no changes can be made to them. I truly appreciate you taking the time to offer some excellent suggestions.

I am now thinking more along the lines of this:

Day 1- 4:00 pm Seattle
Day 2- Seattle and drive in the evening to Cascade Locks
Day 3- Columbia River Gorge/afternoon head to coast (spend the night in Yachats or Newport?)
Day 4- Sand dunes, Heceta Head lighthouse, sea lion caves, whale watching, etc. Spend the night in Yachats or Newport
Day 5- Drive to Crescent City stopping for photos along the way if weather permits. Redwoods
Day 6- Head to Mendocino, Ca (possible on to San Francisco using today to just sight see in the car? We drive A LOT on a normal basis and our kids are fantastic car riders.)
Day 7- San Francisco
Day 8- San Francisco- fly home in evening

I've still gotta tweak Day 5-8. I would like to be in San Francisco by the evening of Day 6. I swapped out Astoria for Cascade Locks hoping for better weather there to see waterfalls. The activities I have planned around Newport are just wishful thinking. We will do whatever the weather permits. Any suggestions?

lorifrombama

I meant to add, we are going to opt out of the aquarium. We have two of the best aquariums nearby us so that's not necessarily a draw for us.

And voyager61... I like your idea of how to spread out the days.. haven't figured out the logistics yet but I'm thinking more in that direction.

janisj

The drive from Yachats to San Francisco down the coast is over 13 hours -- and could be much longer in nasty weather. You basically want to do that in a bit over 1.5 days -- that isn't a vacation w/ hopefully time to stop/see/do, it is a forced march.

I suggest you seriously consider something like Gardyloo's plan: Seattle (fixed), fly to SF, see SF for a coupe of days, pick up rental car and tour out of SF for 2 or 3 days, Drive from Monterey to SFO in the afternoon, fly out of SFO (fixed).

The savings from a shorter car rental and no drop off fee will nearly pay for your flights from SeaTac to SFO.

lorifrombama

thank you for your reply janisj... unfortunately making changes to the flights are not an option for us at all so we have to make the best out of what we have. We'll plan a stopover between Yachats and San Francisco.

Gardyloo

It's good to know your kids are good in the car, because your current plan will have them there pretty much full time.

I REALLY think this itinerary needs to be trimmed so that it's not just one long car ride after the other.

So my recommendation -

Day 1 - Arrive Seattle, head south until you're too tired to continue (remember, 3 hour time change.)

Why skip Seattle? Well, because Day 2 is a Sunday, and in the off season, the Pike Market is pretty dead on Sundays, and everything else, while open, is going to take away hours that - just IMO - could be better spent elsewhere in the coming week. Plus, if your flight arrives at 4 PM on Saturday, you probably won't be able to get the car and into a hotel much before 6, or even later, pretty well wiping the options for that night, but with a more expensive night in a hotel than you'd encounter down the road.

If you're alert enough and there's enough daylight, you could make it all the way to Portland on Saturday, but if not, there are plenty of okay places to stay along the road.

Day 2 - Portland and the Gorge. You can stay near PDX airport and have excellent access to the main Gorge sights. Take the historic highway between Troutdale and Multnomah Falls, then frankly I'd hightail it back to I-205 and blast down the freeway (becomes I-5) and spend the second night somewhere around Eugene or Corvallis. I would NOT try to get out to the coast that afternoon; the roads are likely to be wet and twisty, not fun driving after a day of sightseeing.

Day 3 - Out to the coast. By all means see Heceta Head, but skip the Sea Lion Caves and save your money (and your olfactory nerves) for later. Look at the sand dunes (meh) but the aim is to get all the way to Crescent City (or maybe Brookings) that night so that you have all of day 4 for the redwoods.

Day 3/Plan B - Now, if the forecast is for rain/wind on the coast (and this is VERY likely) then I'd suggest a dramatic alternative. Just keep heading south on I-5 to Grants Pass, then out to Crescent City via US 199, but keep going down 101 to Eureka. You'll see wonderful Redwood groves both on US 199 and on US 101 south of Crescent City, but you'll also be able to (a) stop at the Oregon Caves along US 199 if you want (surprisingly interesting) and (b) take the kids to the Samoa Cookhouse in Samoa (across the bay from Eureka) for dinner - http://www.samoacookhouse.net/ - a very fun place.

Day 4 - Brookings/Crescent City to Mendocino. This is actually quite a long day, as US 101 from Crescent City to Eureka is very twisty and slow in places, and CA SR 1 from US 101 out to the coast is also very slow going. You also want to give enough time to visit the "Avenue of the Giants" and some of the major redwood groves en route.

Day 4/Plan B - If you've opted for 3B above, then head consider a short detour to Ferndale and a glimpse of the "lost coast" before continuing down the road to the Avenue of the Giants and Mendocino. Ferndale is a lovely little Victorian village, and although the Lost Coast isn't accessible by car, a drive in that general direction will give you a real sense of what the last wilderness coast in California looks like.

Day 5 - Mendocino coast. Take a day off and enjoy the beautiful coastline around Mendocino. Chances are good (not guaranteed at all) that the weather will be better than farther north.

If you've missed the Oregon coast altogether (plan B days) the point of this is that the Mendocino coast is (IMO) equally beautiful, with whale watching, seals, rocks, lighthouses, etc., - pretty much everything you'd have seen in Oregon, but with (probably) better weather and more infrastructure.

Day 6 - Follow SR 1 all the way to the Golden Gate. Or, if it's foggy/rainy, cut back to US 101 on CA 116 along the Russian River, a very scenic route inland from the coast. Either way, stop at Fort Ross, the fascinating one-time Russian fort just north of the CA 116 turnoff.

Day 7 - SF.

sludick

Just to clarify - the suggestion to fly from Seattle to San Francisco was not that you should change your set flight reservations. Rather, that you don't waste time driving down, but catch a discount flight down to San Francisco. You can optimize your time in both the Pacific Northwest and then in the San Francisco Bay Area this way, for what may be either a wash or even a savings over driving a car one way, gasoline, plus some unexciting hotel nights on the road.

You'll still use your set flight arrangements and salvage a good experience.

janisj

>>thank you for your reply janisj... unfortunately making changes to the flights are not an optionNOT asking you to change your current flights in any way. Where did you read that? I am suggesting you book separate flights on either Southwest or Alaska from Seattle to SF after a couple of days in Seattle.

voyager61

Lori, I think trying to drive to Cascade Locks/Hood River on the evening of your second day is not going to allow you any time in Seattle, and the drive won't be a quick one. I would either do the Hood River/Gorge area or the Oregon Coast, but trying to do both in two days, plus make progress down the coast, is probably too much driving, even for kids who don't mind car trips. You can let the weather dictate which direction to go, because it might be too wet and windy on the coast to enjoy the outdoors. In my mind, for three kids that age that time of year, plan around the Seattle Center and the waterfront area in Seattle; Cannon Beach/Tillamook or Gorge/Hood River; Redwoods; Bay area/San Francisco.

To save time you might want to cut over to I-5 after seeing the Redwoods when it's convenient and take that down to the Bay area before heading west again. Driving along the coast the whole time will be slower.

janisj

>>To save time you might want to cut over to I-5 after seeing the Redwoods when it's convenient and take that down to the Bay area before heading west again