Chasing Cars: Portland and Sonoma (and the North West)

[Mark Sedenquist]

Redding and Lassen Volcanic NP seem to be considerably to the south of Redwood NP.

Not really, if you look at a globe, Lassen is less than a degree south of Redwood Np ( ~41.058 N versus 40.572 N)

Having said all that, I would love to have the opportunity to drive at least some of US-1 from Eureka down to San Francisco. I'd not even considered this but maybe it's possible?

If you elect to do the Lake Tahoe route, I would suggest that you use US-101 to Cloverdale and then diagonal northwest on CA-128 and stop for some brews at the Boonville brewery before reaching the coast at Albion and then north to Mendocino and on up the coast.

Mark

[PNW Judy]

I thought we made recommendations all the time based on people's time constraints, interests, budgets, etc. I don't think recommending that something might not be appropriate for this trip means that it's never appropriate.

[UKCraig]

Thanks again guys. I'll need to crunch the numbers and see how it all works out mileage and time wise. I'm not massively fussed about Reno, to be honest, this trip is all about the scenery for me I think. I know it's a case of 'how long is a piece of string' but any idea how long I would need to allow to do a circuit of Lake Tahoe? Maybe I could have a bit of a lazy day on the Monday and do that then head east afterwards.

I'm still undecided about the route after Yosemite and will need to ponder on this. Has anyone drive US-199? I have heard that it's a place that can't be missed. But then so is US-1 so the opportunity to drive some more of the beautiful coast is swaying me... Decisive, me? Hell yeah! :)

[Mark Sedenquist]

Has anyone drive US-199?

Many, many times -- it is a connector road -- I like other ones more.

But then so is US-1

(RoadTrip Advisors aren't supposed to make this mistake....-- US-1 is runs from Key West, Florida to Fort Kent, Maine. I bet you meant CA-State Highway 1? Yes, there are plenty of choices. One thing to remember -- CA-1 north of Eureka is only rarely on the coast -- the coastline is shrouded by redwood trees....

Mark

[UKCraig]

Doh! Yes, of course, you are right. And you'd only recently explained the differences! I think I need a bigger scale map that I can read properly :s

The route I was pondering was, very roughly, Crater Lake NP then south via OR-62 towards Medford then I-5 past Cascade-Siskiyou NM & Mt Shasta and then CA-89 to McArthur-Burney Falls SP before hitting the north end of Lassen Volcanic NP.

Once I've seen LVNP I'll head west on CA-44 through Redding, stopping to see the Sundial Bridge and then pick up CA-299 towards Eureka. On my map there seems to be a tiny road (no number) that cuts up from Willow Creek to Crescent City and Redwood NP.

From Redwood NP I would make my way back to San Francisco. Hopefully, if I have any time in hand, via US-101 and the Avenue of the Giants and then turning onto CA-1 and following this down the coast. Of course, if time is short, then I will have to find a faster route but this what appeals right now.

See any pitfalls there or any better suggestions?

Thanks :)

[lhuff]

I found this thread on the road in the Archives. It has lots of specifics on what to see and do. I feel kind of bad that you're helping me so much with my trip and I haven't been able to give you any advice on yours.

Laura

[UKCraig]

Thanks for that link - looks like a nice lot of info on there - fantastic!

I'm now getting quite excited about this trip... then realised it's best part of a year ago. Bah.

[W. Larrison]

Cascade-Sisikyou NM isn't much, at least in my opinion. There aren't an real ways to get into the NM, and its basically been set aside as protected environment. Not super exciting -- I think you'd find Castle Craigs (south of Mt Shasta on I-5) a bit more interesting.

From a route standpoint, unless you're into mountain roads and lots of trees (and you'll see lots of them on this trip, no matter what route), you migth consider taking the south exit out of Crater Lake NM, then south east on 62 to Fort Klamath, and then down the western edge of Klamath lake to Odessa, and then take 140 west to Medford. A bit more varied country, a little bit of history at Fort Klamath, and a bit faster set of roads. Your choice though -- faster roads, but I think the time difference will be less than an hour.

If you're heart's not set on Cascade-Siskiyou NM, you can take an eastern route down through Klamath Falls via 97 to come in along the north side of Mt Shasta to link up with I-5 at Weed. A very good route -- I took it in the reverse direction this summer. From here it's a pretty simple route south east from Mt Shasta town past Burney Falls, and then to Lassen National Park. If you visit the park, you do need to drive into the park a ways, at least to Bumpass Hell. You'll pass Mt Lassen itself, and the peak is a walk-up, but it'll be a couple of hours (3?) hike to the peak and back.

An alternative from Lassen is to go through the park, and come back to I-5 at Red Bluff. From there you can hook north back to Redding, or continue west on CA 36, which winds through the Shasta Trinity mountains and comes out south of Eureka at 101.

And a note:
>Once I've seen LVNP I'll head west on CA-44 through Redding, stopping to
>see the Sundial Bridge and then pick up CA-299 towards Eureka. On my
>map there seems to be a tiny road (no number) that cuts up from Willow
>Creek to Crescent City and Redwood NP.

You need to check a bit more on this.. I show it as CA 96 (aka "Bigfoot Scenic Highway", I kid you not...) which takes you up in the Hoopa Indian Reservation, and then CA 169 which does sort of NW from Hoopa -- but I'm not sure it goes through all the way along the Hoopa Reservation to come out at 101. It does connect with a road that goes sort of west from there -- Bald Hill Road -- which comes out about Barry Glen on the 101, but that's still south of the really nice parts of the Redwoods, in my opinion. Most of it looks very winding and not very wide, and I'd check on the conditions on it before taking it I think...

[UKCraig]

Larrison,
Thank you for that input... it is very helpful!

I wasn't particularly fussed about Cascade-Siskiyou NM; simply saw it on the map and added it as a 'possible'. I am very happy to take your advice on the route and will very likely take OR-62 SE to US-97 down to Weed then I-5 and CA-89 (stopping at McCloud Falls) to the north entrance of Lassen Volcanic NP. I like the idea of cutting right through LVNP and exiting to the south.

I checked out that 'short cut' from Willow Creek to Redwood NP on Google Earth and Streets & Trips and you are correct; both suggest that the route ends abruptly approximately 45 miles inside Six Rivers National Forest. Glad we sussed that now!!

One big question I am left with really. Is Redwood NP a real 'must see' or would I be better off visiting one or two of the state parks to the south of Eureka and spending the saved time meandering back to San Francisco along CA-1? I guess that's something to decide on the ground when I know how much time I have at the end of the trip, but it'd be real helpful to get peoples thoughts on that.

[Mark Sedenquist]

Is Redwood NP a real 'must see' or would I be better off visiting one or two of the state parks to the south of Eureka and spending the saved time meandering back to San Francisco alongCA-1?

You just need to be sure that you understand that the coastal route between Eureka and San Francisco is not spectacular in the way that the Big Sur coast is. Most of the time you can not see the coast -- you can see the ocean -- but the shoreline is blocked.... The redwood groves south of Eureka are pretty great -- I still think you can concentrate on the Avenue of the Giants and stop in for one of those amazing burgers at Knights Restaurant in Myers Flats.

Mark