North Coast Travel Recommendations

[Blake]

My wife and I are planning a road trip next year up the coast from Sacramento and possibly going all the way to the Canadian boarder using HWY 101. We have about two weeks reserved. I want to get recommendations on what to see, where to stay, what time of the year to travel, etc. Essentially a best of list.

-Blake & Shelby
www.tinyurl.com/blakeh

[Jenn Frederick]

Make sure to stop at Humboldt Redwoods State Park near Weott, CA. Hwy 1 goes inland and this is the area where there are a lot of old growth redwoods. Rockefeller Grove in the park is the largest grove of old growth redwoods left on earth (thats what a sign there claims) and it is amazing. You can drive right up to it. Also, there is a stretch of old Hwy 101 called "the Avenue of the Giants" which is really neat to drive along instead of the new larger Hwy 101. It cuts right through Humboldt Redwoods State Park. The stretch is about 21 miles long, after which it rejoins the new highway. Nearby in Legget, CA there is a drive-through redwood (or sequoia, I'm not sure) on private land, and you pay $5 to get into their park and drive through the tree. Our bus almost fit, but we have a Riv top, which is taller than a Westy top. I think a Westy top might make it all the way through!
Farther up north in California and Oregon, there are old fire towers in the mountains which you can rent out for a night or two. They used to be the home of a fire watcher looking out for forest fires, but now the forest service rents them out. They all have spectacular views, usually with 360 degrees of windows, and a bed and stove, and an outhouse nearby. You can drive to most of them. They can be reserved by calling the nearest ranger station, or online at recreation.gov. At the website, choose "cabins or lookouts" under the drop down menu called "Looking for:"

[Blake]

Jenn, thanks for the suggestions. The redwoods were defiantly on my list. The lookout tower is new info and sounds like it would be a blast. I'll look into it.

[Big Blue's Driver]

Jenn touched on our favorite area - the lost coast! Find Petrolia on a map and head there from the 101 near ave of the giants. There's a great campground at the end of Lighthouse Road just outside of Petrolia - you shouldn't need reservations. This is great forgotten country.

From there on up, you skirt along the coast getting back on the 101. As soon as you hit Oregon, campgrounds are cheaper, and cleaner. I'll be posting some info on the Oregon coast on BigBlueVW in the next few weeks, but it's all good stuff along there.

That's about as far as we have gone in the bus, but we took the modern car to the San Juan islands and those should not be missed if you have the time. remarkable stuff. You could spend 2 weeks there alone. Take the ferry north of Seattle and island hop. It's a blast.

[Blake]

Thanks for the ideas. I've been to Victoria once and rode around the island on my bicycle with my dad and a group for about a week. It was beautiful. That is the turn around point that I would like to reach. I wish I had more time than two weeks.

[Big Blue's Driver]

Here's a link to the Indian Creek site near boonville:

http://vwcamperfamily.ning.com/group/campsitereviews/forum/topics/i...

[Ma'ili Point Westy]

I found that the best time to drive the coast is after the Labor Day weekend. I drove the Oregon coast after the Labor Day weekend and all the crowds were gone. The campgrounds were empty. I'm planning another post Labor Day weekend road trip next year to the PNW.

[Blake]

Thanks for the tips guys.