suggestions for a loop around Northern California
 

My husband and I are celebrating our 25 anniversary in July and have decided last minute to explore Northern California. We are from Florida and not familar with any "must see's" for the area, we just know it will be beautiful. We are thinking maybe starting in San Fran, headed to Napa, then Yosemite, enjoy the travel and scenery on the way to the Oregon coast for a day, head to the Redwoods and back to San Fran. Is this doable in 12 nights? Any itinerary and lodging suggestions would be extremely appreciated as I don't have much time for research. We enjoy beautiful scenery and any outdoor activities. Thank you very much for any help.

It's doable - especially if you are like me and prefer to see a lot - v. just plop down somewhere and explore an area in depth. At least - during the first trip to a new area I like to make tracks and then have a better idea where I might like to come back and spend more time.

You could head to Yosemite from SF - 4 hr drive - for a couple of beautiful days - and then work your way back to Napa (about 4 hours - or a bit longer if you drive through Gold Country along hiway 49) - for a day or two - and from there - head north along the Cal Coast - or just zip up via Interstate 5 to Oregon (5 hours to the Border) - and maybe at about Eugene (2 hours further north - a medium sized/University town - with wineries nearby) - head over to the Oregon Coast (Florence - about an hour's drive) - and down the Oregon Coast from there.

There are some big Coastal Redwoods close to the Cal/Oregon border (google around - some are close to Grants Pass, Ore - next to the legendary Rogue River - where you can also take jet boats up river from it's mouth, at Gold Beach) - and the biggest ones are further south along the Cal Coast, near the Mendicono area?.

You can also see some huge trees in the Yosemite area, not far from the Valley Floor or a bit further over in the Sequoia National Park area, Mariposa Grove. The Giant Sequoias are actually the biggest. http://tinyurl.com/86t4sbg

There are good size, beautiful Redwood trees inland in places too, such as north of my hometown of Klamath Falls, but the Giant Coastal Redwoods are the biggest Redwoods as they need the Marine layer/fog to keep growing so big.

Another special treat is one of the 7 natural wonders of the world - Crater Lake - which you can access getting off the freeway/I-5 at Ashland (a cute little college town - east of Grants Pass - with a marvelous Shakespeare festival in the summers) and Crater Lake is about an hour away from there.

Can't reduce this at the moment, but just click on here: http://www.google.com/search?q=Crate...w=1253&bih=658

And to be fair - here are some pics of Giant Redwoods. http://www.google.com/search?q=marip...w=1440&bih=717

Agree with Tomsd about Yosemite, Crater Lake and Redwood NP's.
Consider flying to Sacramento for a cheaper rental car closer to your first stop-Yosemite. When you leave Yosemite head up Rt. 49 through the gold country. If you want to see some volcanic scenery try Lassen NP while on the way to Crater Lake.
Leaving Crater Lake head through Grants Pass to get on US 199.
The Oregon Caves is worth seeing off US 199.
Next visit Redwoods NP. The "Trees of Mystery" is worth the price of admission. Head south toward San Francisco with a detour through the Napa or Sonoma Valleys.
If you have time after seeing SF, drive down at least as far as Monterey. I hope you can get reservations inside either Yosemite or Crater Lake.

Some of the most beautiful parts of CA are along the coast in the Big Sur, Carmel, Pebble Beach, Point Lobos, Pacific Grove areas. You might want to include those areas in your loop. You can get there by taking the major highways from Yosemite going east toward Monterey. I suggest your enter the legs of your drive in Google Maps to get an estimate of your drive times and how far north you can get before it is time to head back to the airport.

For 12 days, you could do the northern part up to and through Oregon, or you can do just northern California plus montereybob's suggestion for parts south of San Francisco and skip Oregon. It doesn't look like you have enough time to do all of it: Big Sur, etc. plus northern California plus Oregon.

If you are planning on going to Yosemite, make your lodgings reservations ASAP - they might all be gone by now, but there will probably be some cancellations and you may luck out. That should be your priority number one once you know definitely when you will be in Yosemite.

Although 12 days is time to see all that you are considering including, be aware that lodging will likely be sold out IN Yosemite this close to your trip. At best, you could call every day to try and snag a cancellation, but be flexible, it might not work out.

I'd consider San Francisco (3 days)-Napa or Sonoma (2 days) - Yosemite (stopping along the way in the Gild Country (3 days including getting there). - Monterey/Carmel/Pacific Grove/Big Sur (3 days). I know I left out heading north to Oregon, but Oregon is really far. Everyone calls San Francisco Northern California, but in terms of distance from Mexico to Orego, it's really mid-state.

Redwoods National Park-
See Stout Grove, Visit Prairie Creek area, Fern Canyon

Lassen Volcano National Park-
This is a mini Yellowstone
very interesting unusual lodge

Burney Falls-Probably the best "least known" waterfall in the US. I rank Niagra and 3 of the waterfalls in Yosemite(when they are flowing nicely) as 10's. Burney is a 9.5 to give you an idea of how good it is.

Oregon Caves--interesting lodge-perhaps my all time favorite in the National Parks-it's one not many know about
Crater Lake-Great lodge here too
Oregon Coast
All great spots

You are probably to late for lodging in Yosemite and Crater Lake for this year.

Thank you very much for all the info. Time to start planning the route!!! God bless

Here are my ideas of things to do & see in the Northern Calif area - excluding Yosemite & far north coast.

http://www.fodors.com/community/unit...mendations.cfm

Stu Dudley

The main question is: have you been to California before and to which parts? In other words: why "northern California"? Maybe if you could elaborate more your reasons, we could provide more targetted information instead of just listing what we like. Thanks! :)

It is feasible. A possible itinerary:

SF, Yosemite, Lake Tahoe, Lassen, Crater Lake, Grants Pass to Gold Beach or Crescent City, the Redwoods, Mendocino, the Anderson Valley wineries, and back to SF.

Time to look at a map.

Well, yes, but do you really want to spend that much time in a car driving and driving?

The more time spent driving around means the less time spent at each location.

We've never been to California. For some reason we just wanted to go the Redwood National Park which is what triggered the idea of exploring Northern California. I think we are going to save Oregon for another trip. It seemed like too much time in the car. Great news: I was able to book 3 nights in Yosemite, In an unheated tent at Curry Village but at least we were able to get in. Thank you for the tip on cheaper car rentals in Sacramento, I was surprised how much cheaper it is. Since we are leaving out oregon I am hoping to be able to make it to the Pebble Beach, Big Sur etc. area. So now the area's we'd like to see are San Fran, Muir Woods, Pointe Reye, pebble beach area, Yosemite, Lake Tahoe (just a quick climpse), Napa Valley, Redwoods and a scenic drive down the coast. Starting and ending at the sacramento airport. Any new insights with this in mind would be great. Thank you all so much for the help, I would not have gotten this far without your direction. MUCH APPRECIATED!!

My two favorite places in northern California are Mendocino and Healdsburg, and I think the most spectacular section of the Pacific Coast Highway is between Jenner and Mendocino.

All these places are wonderful, of course. But it's still a lot of ground to cover. We live in Napa Valley and absolutely love Redwood National Park - but it is a long drive. I think you might do best seeing either the Redwoods OR the Monterey/Carmel/Big Sur area.

Yosemite 3 nights, then drive over Tioga Pass and up Hwy 395 to Lake Tahoe.
Lake Tahoe 1 night. Drive 3 hours to Napa Valley.
Napa Valley 1 or 2 nights. Drive to Avenue of the Giants (about 4 -5 hrs with stops). You can explore the wonderful Redwoods in this area (Humboldt Redwood State Park). If you decide not to visit Monterey/Big Sur, you could go further north to Redwood National Park. Otherwise spend 2 or 3 nights in Avenue of the Giants area.
Then drive to San Francisco for 3 nights. Fly out of San Francisco if you can, or drive back to Sacramento for your flight home.

If you decide to skip Lake Tahoe and shave another night off another destination, you could spend 2 nights in Monterey/Carmel/Big Sur area.

I'd recommend checking drive times between locations on Google Maps or Mapquest, so you can decide how much driving you really want to do.

Since your going to Redwoods and Yosemite, I would skip Muir Woods all together. Point Reyes is nice though. Point Reyes is somewhat similar to Oregon Coast or Monterey area, so I would probably just stick with north of SF and this would cut down on your driving. You really cant go wrong though with either direction.

My favorite hike The Redwoods is James Irvine Trail all the way to the ocean via Fern Canyon. This is about 4 miles one way. This starts near the Prairie Creek Visitor Center.
I really like Patricks Point State Park, just south of The Redwoods. This is similar to Pt Reyes.
Somewhere along the way find out when low tide is and go tidepooling--it's really cool.

In Yosemite, I would take the shuttle to Glacier Point(earlier the better) and hike down the Panorama Trail that connects with the Mist Trail back down to the valley. See the Maripossa Grove and notice the difference in the redwoods and giant sequoia. Have a meal at the Awahnee-I like Sunday Brunch there.

For a different experience you might consider Lassen National Park. It is similar to Yosemite but doesn't have the waterfalls or the crowds. Lassen Peak is a really good hike there. They have a couple of other good hikes to peaks there too.

Hi, Italy2011: we all have our favorites and our opinions, but I really like your modified trip plan. It's much more doable in 12 days without your having to drive all over creation.

Since you are starting and ending your trip in Sacramento, this would be my suggestws trip: go immediately from Sacramento to Yosemite. Spend your three nights there. Then drive - very early in the morning! - to San Francisco, have lunch in San Francisco and then start down Highway 1 to Carmel/Monterey. While you're down there, do Point Lobos State Reserve. It is one of the most beautiful, if not the most beautiful, state parks along the coast.

After you're done with Big Sur, etc., drive back up to San Francisco and spend a couple of nights there. Then north to Napa, but Sonoma County is a prettier wine country for me, and do the wine country. Then back to Sacramento for your trip home.

The distances wouldn't be that great and you'll have more time to enjoy each location.

By the way, there are two types of redwood trees. I always describe them as the Laurel and Hardy redwood trees. The ones you will see in Yosemite are the short, fat inland ones; while the ones you'll see along the coast are the tall, thin coastal ones.

Skip Point Reyes (not that many trees, great for hiking but not for redwood trees) and even Muir woods. You can get your fill of coastal redwood trees in Big Sur, especially at Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park. There are cabins there where you can spend the night among the giant trees.

I'm certain the others will pitch in and help you plan your trip better!

Have a great trip and welcome to California! :)

>>My two favorite places in northern California are Mendocino and Healdsburg, <<

I think San Francisco is pretty nice too !!!!!!!

Monterey/Carmel/Pacific Grove has some merits also !!!!!

Stu Dudley

theres already a "loop" in northern california..its the bay and is enclosed by its crown jewel: the golden gate bridge. just personally adjust the circumference of this loop to your desire so that it connects all the points of interest youre wanting to see.

may i recommend the winchester mystery house in san jose. very unique and mesmerizing.

I live in the Greater San Jose area and would NEVER, ever, recommend the Winchester Mystery House. It's a waste of time to sidetrack to San Jose to pay ($34) the equivalent of half of a one-day ticket in Disneyland to see a house that has few, if any, "mysteries" in it. IMHO, waste of time and money.

I agree. The mystery house is IMO kinda boring. But some people seem to like it. So different strokes.........

Jumping back in here, in case I wasn't clear. I totally agree with easy traveler's suggested itinerary. You'll have plenty to explore in a more relaxed fashion. UNLESS you really have your heart set on visiting the giant redwoods in the north. Then you'd do best to skip the Monterey/Big Sur portion.