3-week trip Oregon-California
Feb 13th, 2010, 11:48 AM
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2003
Posts: 978
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
3-week trip Oregon-California
Hi folks,
Could anyone suggest a schedule for a 3-week trip during august. We are 4 adults and 2 kids (14 and 12). We are interested in nature mainly and culture. We would like to be on the road for 2-weeks and rent some house for a 1-week stay. Thanks ahead for all your help!
Could anyone suggest a schedule for a 3-week trip during august. We are 4 adults and 2 kids (14 and 12). We are interested in nature mainly and culture. We would like to be on the road for 2-weeks and rent some house for a 1-week stay. Thanks ahead for all your help!
Feb 13th, 2010, 01:29 PM
#2
Give us more info -- like where are you flying in/out of?
Oregon is very large and California is huge - so you need to help us a bit here. Do you want to stick to the coast/redwoods? Or are you interested in the mountains and places like Crater Lake, Tahoe, Yosemite?
Do you want to spend time in San Francisco and/or LA?
You have laid out a totally blank slate -- we need more before we can give much useful advice. Also what is you budget for the vacation rental?
Oregon is very large and California is huge - so you need to help us a bit here. Do you want to stick to the coast/redwoods? Or are you interested in the mountains and places like Crater Lake, Tahoe, Yosemite?
Do you want to spend time in San Francisco and/or LA?
You have laid out a totally blank slate -- we need more before we can give much useful advice. Also what is you budget for the vacation rental?
Feb 13th, 2010, 01:38 PM
#3
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 21,369
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Well, California is a huge state and Oregon isn't tiny either. Three weeks is not nearly enough to see everything if you hope to see the range from San Diego to Portland. The most practical thing if you want to include Oregon is to limit the scope of your trip to only northern California and Oregon. Then you could see the following things (randomly throwing them out):
San Francisco
Northern California and Oregon Coast
Napa Valley
Yosemite
Crater Lake (Oregon)
Portland
California Redwoods
Mt. Hood
Mt. St. Helens (in Washington but easy striking range from Portland)
Columbia River Gorge
You could fly into San Francisco and head for Yosemite then head up I-5 to Oregon (stop in Crater lake), see Portland, Columbia River Gorge, Mt. Hood and/or St. Helens, then head back to California via the Oregon Coast/US 101. Alternately, you could skip Crater Lake in Oregon and just shoot up US 101 along the coast from SF and fly out of Portland, so do an open-jaw. Requires a one-way rental car crop charge though perhaps.
So to make a list of a potential round-trip (I know I'm leaving some stuff out):
San Francisco
Yosemite
Crater Lake/S. Oregon
Portland
(day trips from Portland to Columbia River Gorge and Mt. St. Helens possible)
OR Coast: Cannon Beach
OR Coast: Newport or Yachats
OR Coast: Gold Beach (day trip up Rogue River)
CA Coast: Crescent City
Redwoods (day trip from Crescent City or stop in Eureka which is to the south of the Redwoods)
San Francisco
Spend your week on the Oregon Coast somewhere.
San Francisco
Northern California and Oregon Coast
Napa Valley
Yosemite
Crater Lake (Oregon)
Portland
California Redwoods
Mt. Hood
Mt. St. Helens (in Washington but easy striking range from Portland)
Columbia River Gorge
You could fly into San Francisco and head for Yosemite then head up I-5 to Oregon (stop in Crater lake), see Portland, Columbia River Gorge, Mt. Hood and/or St. Helens, then head back to California via the Oregon Coast/US 101. Alternately, you could skip Crater Lake in Oregon and just shoot up US 101 along the coast from SF and fly out of Portland, so do an open-jaw. Requires a one-way rental car crop charge though perhaps.
So to make a list of a potential round-trip (I know I'm leaving some stuff out):
San Francisco
Yosemite
Crater Lake/S. Oregon
Portland
(day trips from Portland to Columbia River Gorge and Mt. St. Helens possible)
OR Coast: Cannon Beach
OR Coast: Newport or Yachats
OR Coast: Gold Beach (day trip up Rogue River)
CA Coast: Crescent City
Redwoods (day trip from Crescent City or stop in Eureka which is to the south of the Redwoods)
San Francisco
Spend your week on the Oregon Coast somewhere.
Feb 15th, 2010, 07:57 AM
#4
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2003
Posts: 978
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Thanks janisj and andrew!!!
janisj - I know it is a totally blank slate, but we organize from scrap.
janisj and andrew - an open jaw ticket is no problem.
our habit of traveling is as follows: 3 weeks, with the first 2 weeks tripping, easily some 250 miles a day or some 500 when staying for 2 nights in the next stop, with preferably a very calm last week renting some house by the sea.
for the kids, it is obvious that sites as important as Yosemite should be part of the trip, but we know we can't do them all...
personally from what i read till now, I would be more attracted to San Francisco and then up north.
i know i still have some problems acknowledging the hugeness of the country, i was struck by the distances when looking at the road map and wondered how to get through this immensity at 55 mph...
andrew - i'll draw your suggestions on the map to see the distances, thanks a heap.
please don't mind to tell us to focus! it's what we always say to you americans(presuming you are us citizens)when coming over to europe.
Thanks
Paul
janisj - I know it is a totally blank slate, but we organize from scrap.
janisj and andrew - an open jaw ticket is no problem.
our habit of traveling is as follows: 3 weeks, with the first 2 weeks tripping, easily some 250 miles a day or some 500 when staying for 2 nights in the next stop, with preferably a very calm last week renting some house by the sea.
for the kids, it is obvious that sites as important as Yosemite should be part of the trip, but we know we can't do them all...
personally from what i read till now, I would be more attracted to San Francisco and then up north.
i know i still have some problems acknowledging the hugeness of the country, i was struck by the distances when looking at the road map and wondered how to get through this immensity at 55 mph...
andrew - i'll draw your suggestions on the map to see the distances, thanks a heap.
please don't mind to tell us to focus! it's what we always say to you americans(presuming you are us citizens)when coming over to europe.
Thanks
Paul
Feb 15th, 2010, 08:58 AM
#5
Join Date: Jun 2003
Posts: 1,040
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Feb 15th, 2010, 10:33 AM
#6
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 21,369
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I always enjoy a stop in Ashland, but I'm not sure it's worth a long detour if you aren't already passing through it (on I-5 for example).
Rick, I like to use Google Maps for planning road trips; the driving times may not be exact but at least they give you a good idea. Here's a quick one-way itinerary I threw together between San Francisco and Portland:
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&sour...9,4.938354&z=8
This is rough and includes a long drive from Yosemite back up to Eureka; I'd probably break that up somehow since you have the time. But at least you can see driving distances.
No one drives 55mph on the freeways in the US; in California you'll get run off the road driving that slow. The interstate highways in California have speed limits of 70mph in many places but only 65mph in Oregon. Then again, you'll be on US 101 (not an interstate) much of the way if you follow this route, and 101 (often a two-lane road) has lots of slow-downs for small towns especially once you get to Oregon.
There are lots of options really. You don't necessarily have to go ALL the way up the Oregon Coast. The southern Oregon Coast would give you plenty of coast scenery highlights especially if you spend more than a day or two there. You could detour long before Cannon Beach back over to Crater Lake then up to Portland and use Portland as a base for the Columbia River Gorge and tours of the mountains. If you are going one-way might also find enough time to fit in a few days in Seattle - an easy 3 hour drive from Portland - and depart out of Seattle.
Rick, I like to use Google Maps for planning road trips; the driving times may not be exact but at least they give you a good idea. Here's a quick one-way itinerary I threw together between San Francisco and Portland:
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&sour...9,4.938354&z=8
This is rough and includes a long drive from Yosemite back up to Eureka; I'd probably break that up somehow since you have the time. But at least you can see driving distances.
No one drives 55mph on the freeways in the US; in California you'll get run off the road driving that slow. The interstate highways in California have speed limits of 70mph in many places but only 65mph in Oregon. Then again, you'll be on US 101 (not an interstate) much of the way if you follow this route, and 101 (often a two-lane road) has lots of slow-downs for small towns especially once you get to Oregon.
There are lots of options really. You don't necessarily have to go ALL the way up the Oregon Coast. The southern Oregon Coast would give you plenty of coast scenery highlights especially if you spend more than a day or two there. You could detour long before Cannon Beach back over to Crater Lake then up to Portland and use Portland as a base for the Columbia River Gorge and tours of the mountains. If you are going one-way might also find enough time to fit in a few days in Seattle - an easy 3 hour drive from Portland - and depart out of Seattle.
Trending Topics
Feb 15th, 2010, 12:52 PM
#8
Join Date: Jun 2003
Posts: 1,040
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Andrew, just depends on how much nature and culture they want.
2-3 days as a base for explorations gets you a mountain town, biking, rafting, jetboat trip, Crater Lake day trip, restaurants and Vineyards, and Shakespeare.
2-3 days as a base for explorations gets you a mountain town, biking, rafting, jetboat trip, Crater Lake day trip, restaurants and Vineyards, and Shakespeare.
Mar 11th, 2010, 01:39 PM
#9
Join Date: Mar 2010
Posts: 3
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
The Oregon coast would be a great way to go if you have the time. If you plan on staying on the coast put your reservations in early. Newport is a great place to stay and has a great beaches along with the Oregon coast aquarium. Probably would need more time but it would be a good midpoint on the coast where you could explore other areas from there.Try newportoregon.info for more info.
Mar 11th, 2010, 01:42 PM
#10
Join Date: Mar 2010
Posts: 3
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
The Oregon coast would be a great way to go if you have the time. If you plan on staying on the coast put your reservations in early. Newport is a great place to stay and has a great beaches along with the Oregon coast aquarium. Probably would need more time but it would be a good midpoint on the coast where you could explore other areas from there.Try http://www.newportoregon.info for more info.
Mar 11th, 2010, 05:14 PM
#11
Join Date: Mar 2010
Posts: 5
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Our Oregon and California trip was our best ever. We flew into Portland from Atlanta and flew out of San Franscisco back to Atlanta. We rented a convertable and drove for 2 weeks. Powell's bookstore in Portland is a must see for your book lovers. From their we went to Mt Hood and Timberline. Snowboarding in June! Stayed the night in Hood River and loved the world class wind surfing! The Columbia River Gorge is one of our country's treasures. Newport and Cannon Beach are a great place to stop for a night or a week. 5:30 am walk to Haystack Rock (anenomes, starfish, and many other treasures) is a memorable experience. We were on the beach and still 10 feet below sea level! I would agree that you want to spend the week on the Oregon coast. For our last week, we drove the coast line to Napa and San Francisco and spent our last days touring the wineries, the Piers, Sea Lions, Botega Bay for some great food. Giant Redwoods! Incredible coastlines! The Golden Gate Bridge! Lombard Street! Wonderful!!
Thread
Original Poster
Forum
Replies
Last Post
ladynole35
United States
9
Mar 18th, 2004 11:36 AM
