Vancouver to LA via the Grand Canyon

[Einstein]

Hello from a NooB!

I'm planning on a family roadtrip this summer from Vancouver to Los Angeles (and back). I see a lot of very valuable info from this community so !

I've got 15 days that are broken down as :

Travelling on the 101 =

Vancouver to Cannon Beach = Day 1

******need to make stops Until I reach San Francisco

SanFran = 2 days ..mmmm Napa :)

Get back on the 101 to LAX (non stop or should I break - if so where)

Time in LAX = 4days

Return = ~3 days..

Any suggestions on where to stop ? Places of interest etc..I like to do approx 6 hrs driving max as I want this to be a leisurely enjoyable drive.

[Mark Sedenquist]

Hello from a NooB!

Welcome to the Great American RoadTrip Forum!

I'm planning on a family roadtrip this summer from Vancouver to Los Angeles (and back).

sounds like a lovely holiday.

Vancouver to Cannon Beach = Day 1

That is a reasonable journey for the first day. On the next day, stop at the Tillamook Cheese factory -- nice tour. Depending upon when you get back on the road, you could make Eureka (spend some time in Redwood NP) on the way. Mendocino has long been a favorite haunt of mine.

Get back on the 101 to LAX (non stop or should I break - if so where)

I would urge you to use CA-1 and check out Monterey and the Big Sur. Do a search of the cool stuff to see along Highway One (the green navigation bar on the top of this page) It is a long day to go from San Francisco down the coast to LA in one day (~12 hours of driving). If you need to zoom -- US-101 the route is about eight hours.

Happy Planning -- look at the suggestions at the bottom of this page.

Mark

[Patman2648]

I'm going on a road trip and along the way we're stopping in Vancouver for a day, what would you recommend doing there? Because you live there I thought you might know the better stuff to do. Thanks.

[Einstein]

I'm going on a road trip and along the way we're stopping in Vancouver for a day, what would you recommend doing there? Because you live there I thought you might know the better stuff to do. Thanks.

One day for Vancouver is probably too little but you have many options..

1) Driving in to Vancouver , take the Peace Arch Crossing and come through Richmond to Downtown Vancouver

2) Granville Island is a great attraction - http://www.granvilleisland.com/en

3) Then, take a leisurely drive through Stanley Park - the largest Urban Park in North America - great Views of the City and the North Shore mountains

4) Head off to Grouse Mountain for a spectacular birds eye view of the city - at sundown and great food in their Altitude restaurant.

By this time you are ready to head off to bed and take off to your next destination.

[Patman2648]

Thanks, I really like your ideas and will definitely look into them. If you're in Napa, you should visit the Alexander Valley Vineyards, its a bit north of the tourist center but they get a couple hundred a day, they're really good family friends and have some great wines, award winning in fact, they're almost the only wine we drink besides the two buck chuck.

[Mark Sedenquist]

they're almost the only wine we drink besides the two buck chuck.

Yech! Because of the local liquor distributor taxes, two buck chuck cost $3 in Nevada -- the only good use for that stuff is for coating drain pipes -- hard to imagine actually drinking it... [But, RoadTrip Advisor Megan, actually likes this oh-so-rare-vintage...]

mark

[Einstein]

Our plans have evolved !

Here is what we'd like to do :

Travel Down (or up) 101

Spend 2 days in San Francisco, 4 days in Los Angeles and 1 day in Grand Canyon. Return to Vancouver. We have about 15 days to cover the trip.

What would would be the best route to take ?

[PNW Judy]

Gosh, there's no best route. Each route has its plusses and minuses. I think the best route is the one that takes you to the places you most want to see. Only you can answer that.

I think going down 101 and CA-1 through Washington, Oregon, and California is one of the most beautiful drives in the country. Amazing sites and lots to see and do.

And I would never return home the same route. It's always fun to see something different on the way home.

So, for your return route, you might want to consider going north through Utah on I-15, then taking I-82 north of Salt Lake City into Idaho, through Idaho, and into Oregon, where you can hook up with I-82 to go through Washington and back to Vancouver. (OK, this is if you're in Vancouver BC, if you're in Vancouver, WA, you'd want to stay on I-84 all the way to Portland).

Anyway, that should make a fun roundtrip with lots of great sites to see along the way.

[pashnit]

******need to make stops Until I reach San Francisco

Einstein- presumably you are traveling down Hwy 101 through California's coastal mountains, make sure once you get past Eureka/Fortuna, a few miles to the south is the Avenue of the Giants. A can't miss 31 mile long historic drive. Lots of touristy stuff along the way, and you can stop anywhere in any grove and be in awe.

Avenue of the Giants


Make sure at Leggett, (drive through tree is here) make the turn west onto Hwy 1 for a super-twisty route through the coast range to the coast, then down through Fort Bragg and beyond.

Take a note of the Point Arena Lighthouse. Just off Hwy 1, little museum there, and you can climb to the top of the lighthouse if it's open. (check hours on the website). View is awesome from the top.

Point Arena Lighthouse, Hwy 1, CA


Btw, this section of Hwy 1 is what dreams are made of.

If you near San Francisco, don't miss Bolinas Ridge to Mt Tamalpias. What a view! On a clear day, you can see all of San Francisco, and just below that is the quite famous Muir Woods- a redwood forest within spittin' distance of downtown SF (really crowded on weekends).

Bolinas Ridge Rd, Marin Co, CA


If you like lighthouses, there's also the Point Bonita Lighthouse in the Marin Headlands which is just north of the Golden Gate Bridge and easily missed. It's the one lighthouse in the entire United States that's only accessible by a one-person-at-a-time suspension bridge. Again, if you like historic stuff, literally underneath the Golden Gate Bridge (they built it right over the top of it) is Fort Point, a Civil War era fort that's open to the public right on the edge of San Francisco Bay. Really something.

Point Bonita Lighthouse via Marin Headlands