SF to Portland Coast Rd?
 

Hello to beautiful Oregon from Australia!
We're having three weeks in NW USA in March and April next year, with hire car, but are committed to arriving in San Francisco and leaving from Los Angeles. We've booked three nights in Portland, and six in Seattle, but not the two nights we think it will take to drive up from SF.
I know it is the wromg time of year - hopefully the traffic won't be heavy at all. But is it too far to travel the coast road in two days- three really, as we can arrive in Portland at night?
Is it feasible to stay in say, Crescent City and do a day trip to Crater Lake?( Have been before and would like to see it again, but it's not essential) Or perhaps drive up the 5 to Medford for 2 nights, then across from Roseburg to the coast and up. Would we miss much? We have driven the 101 to Eureka many years ago, but none of the Oregon coast. What is the best part?

Thanks for any suggestions.

Yes, you can make it from SF to Portland in two days on Highway 101. Crescent City is a decent place to stop, almost halfway to Portland. But you will be driving a lot. Although you will get beautiful views, 101 goes through many small towns with slow speed limits, so you will have to be patient. Maybe 8 hours per day or so of driving.

You probably won't miss much cutting over to Portland at Lincoln City.

It's not that bad a time of year, actually. You can get beautiful weather on the Oregon coast in March-April. It's never warm enough to swim, anyway.

Andrew

SF to Portland via I80-I505-I5 can be done in a day if you don't make stops. I would be inclined to be flexible and choose based on weather and road conditions. If there are closures and lots of storms, maybe spend the extra day in SF and just drive the freeway route. If conditions seem reasonable, spend the two nights along the coast; it's a reasonable amount of time - you probably have 4-5 hours/day of driving across three days.

Crater Lake will have limited access at that time due to snow. I'm not a big fan of the I5 route for touring, maybe because I have driven it so many times; I would tend to choose either 101 or 97 (inland via Bend/Mt Bachelor).

Daytrip for Crescent City to Crater Lake is marginal - the road is pretty slow across from there. Daytrip to Oregon Caves (or staying in the lodge there) is more feasible.

The park service lodge at Oregon Caves is interesting, but a little ragged. The one at Crater Lake has been completely reconstructed and is quite nice, though I'm not sure if it is open in winter.

Traffic should be light on any of the routes. Weather could cause delays (snow in inland mountains, mudslides along coast).

Thank you Andrew and Curmudgeon!
We have used Priceline to book most of our holiday, but these two days are probably best left to chance, depending on the weather. We usually take it with us when we travel!Very seldom have we had really bad weather, except once traversing Canada in the Autumn.

What is the prettiest part of the Oregon Coast?

And g'day from Oregon!

You'll get some debate over what is the prettiest part of the Oregon coast, Carrabella. Without offering my opinion or overgeneralizing (that a word?), the southern Oregon coast tends towards more rugged, while the northern coast has more broad, long, sandy beaches, some of which are dominated by huge rocks or rock formations. Both areas offer some pretty spectacular scenery, but I believe there is general agreement that Ecola State Park, near Cannon Beach on the north coast is a place you shouldn't miss.

Looks like a great trip. Happy planning.

The northern coast is gorgeous! We just enjoyed a six week stay in the area. Ecola at Cannon Beach is a don't miss. I was spoiled going there often to surf at Indian Beach. :)

Oswald West State Park is also very nice. A short hike down to the pretty beach there. If you want a great place to dine in this area, check out the Nahalem River Inn. Our meal there was excellent and we will definitely return. Let me know if you would like more recs for great eats in this area.

If you like history, check out Astoria. www.oldoregon.com Have a great trip! ***kim*** ((*))

I think one of the prettiest parts of the coast is from Florence up to Lincoln City - there is a beautiful light house at Heceta Head- just north of Forence- that is one of the most photographed in the US- you can take a tour of the light house and there is a beautiful beach there -
From Coos Bay up to Florence you dont have many ocean views- mostly just trees and a few sand dunes.
Florence to Lincoln City there are many spectacular ocean views and photo ops

Thanks for the further replies - am afraid our style of travel is more self-cater than restaurants ! For the cost of a couple of restaurant meals, we can add another day to our holiday, and this is what we tend to do, but thanks anyway Kimamom. Before USA, we are going to Kruger Park in South Africa, Ireland and Germany - see what I mean?

Hi Carrabella

The only things I can add are you may want to send the night in Brookings Or. instead of Crescent City. It adds about 30 miles to the drive but there is a real nice Best western motel that is right on the beach (there are two in town). There is plenty to see and do on the coast, do not waste your time going inland. (That can be another trip) Make time to visit at a least one lighthouse.

Have Fun
GP

Hi Carrabella,
As much as I love Crater Lake, in March and April you would be lucky to get there at all. It is often snowed in until June. Stick to the coast along 101. Each section of the Oregon coast has something to offer. You have impressive rock formations, sand dunes, possible raft trips, sea lion caves, etc. Stopping at Brookings and Newport makes this easily doable.

Thanks for the further replies - will try to book something at Crescent City or preferably Brookings, and forget about Crater Lake, leaving the second night free, depending what the weather is like.
I have Lonely Planet's North Pacific Book now - it all sounds wonderful.

Coming back, we've booked the first night night after Seattle in Eugene, the next in Reno then a few in Vegas, so we'll be doing a lot of inland driving anyway. Thanks again. Hooroo!