Our family of 2 adults and 4 children ( ages 14,13,11,9 ) are planning a trip from San Francisco to Seattle - 25 June to 1 st of July 2010 to take a cruise to Alaska.
We want to do a self drive trip and would really like some information on the best routes to take. We are considering to take Highway 1 alongside the coast and overnight Mendocina/Fort Ross area - before turning east toward Highway 101 to visit Humbolt area for 2 days.( Any suggestions on places to stay ? we want to experience the forest) Then on to Redwood National park ( another 2 days ? ) and then we have 2 more days to reach Seattle. Please advise what will be our best option for the last stretch of the road - we are from South Africa and need advise please !

A very beautiful part of the Oregon coast is between Florence and Lincoln City- there are huge sand dunes-you might enjoy going dunebuggy riding - very fun- and there are lots of scenic places to stop and enjoy - so you might consider driving that part of the route- then cut over to I-5 up to Portland - Seattle is a 3 hr drive from Portland- if the traffic is not bad - but can be longer so allow some time for that.

What do you plan to see in the Humbolt area? In essence, the scenic elements past Mendocino are the redwoods, and highway 1 ends just south of the redwoods on highway 101. I would drive through from Mendocino to the redwoods and plan to stay there perhaps two nights to spend a day walking in the redwoods. The Rockefeller Grove at the northern end of the Avenue of the Giants (which you will want to drive) might fit your bill. Farther north is Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park which has a large elk population in the prairie at the entrance of the campground.

The Oregon coast is different from the California coast, including a large dune area that children might enjoy. However, if variety is what you are looking for, I would cross over from Crescent City to Interstate 5 and then go to Crater Lake National Park. Farther north, Mt. St. Helens is definitely worth a stop.

I believe that many of the pictures are geo-mapped, which might be useful in planning a trip:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mksfca/...7622981132189/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mksfca/...7622991196341/

We've enjoyed the Miranda Garden Resort, a rustic but nice group of cabins in the Redwoods. This is in the Avenue of the Giants area. I'm not too familiar with other places to stay in redwood country. We'll be going this route late in the summer and are hoping to 'wing it' with a combination of tent use and random motel stops. Ferndale is an interesting stop as is the Trinidad area.

Here's a link for Miranda Gardens Resort: http://www.mirandagardens.com/index.htm
They have a number of cabins suitable for families such as yours.

An inn in Mendocino/Fort Bragg area that has family lodging is Howard Creek Ranch. It is north of Fort Bragg in Westport. We stayed there a number of years ago and loved it. It has a combination of forest and beach. www.howardcreekranch.com

Thank you very much for your valued tips!
Now we will try and fit in Crater Lake and Mt St Helen - unfortunately, as always, time to travel is never enough to see all the wonders available to us - we also wondered if
we should try and fit in Olympic National Park, but I suppose we will have to pick either Olympic or Craker Lake/MtSt Helen - any suggestions ?
On route through redwood country we want to try and sleep over in smaller towns.Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Thanks again.

Olympic is out of the way. I do not think that it is worth the detour in the short time that you have. Crater Lake/Mt. St. Helens is more direct between SF and Seattle. From Crater Lake, go toward Bend and follow the Cascades on their eastern side. You might want to look at my trip report (SF to Seattle in 10 days) to get a sense of that itinerary.

well now, just to put another kink in your planning- consider the Columbia River Gorge east of Portland
It really is spectacular- lots of waterfalls and opportunities to get out and do a little hiking- and with children that age, might appreciate a chance to let them burn off energy.
Mt St Helens is interesting - but requires a lot more driving to see it all

hannes - that's a lot of driving with four kids in the car if you only have six days. You might be better off flying into Seattle and then touring the National Parks that are close by including Olympic and/or Mt. Rainier as well as Mt. St. Helens. These are all spectacular places and probably more interesting for kids than Redwood National Park. Also, in late June you stand a really good chance of having foggy weather on the Mendocino Coast and in the Humboldt Bay Area.

If your cruise ship is not going to Victoria, BC, you might consider an overnight trip to there as well. In that case, just seeing Olympic National Park and Victoria could fill your six available days.

Yeah. Just fly into Seattle, and screw the rest.

I think that the trip is very doable, but then my report of last summer (2009) includes an itinerary of four days (the OP has five) to get from SF to Seattle.

A few summers ago, my family and I did the opposite, where we went from Seattle down to SF. Lots of great stops and great scenery. I'd recommend the drive up the Oregon Coast on US-101, crossing the Astoria-Megler Bridge to Washington, heading east on WA-4 to I-5 and then zooming up I-5.

Some great stops along the way are listed on myscenicdrives.com. HTH .

http://www.myscenicdrives.com/drives...e-oregon-coast
http://www.myscenicdrives.com/drives...each-peninsula