Highway 1 Trip Next Weekend

My son and I will be driving the coast highway from San Francisco up to Oregon (in the Speedster of course) and I'm wondering if anyone has any suggestions.

We will be leaving on Saturday 5/22 and will return on Friday. We plan to spend some nights camping out and some in motels and if there is a Salmon run on, when we get to Oregon, we will probably do some fishing. We have plenty of time to explore, so are there any "must see" sites or "don't waste your time" sites along the way?

I've done this trip several times in my motorhome towing a car.
Crescent City is a unique town just south of the Oregon border. There are some interesting wood carving shops. South of the city is the Redwood forest. It's interesting but nothing like the giant Redwoods in the Sequoia Nat. Forest. Don't bother driving through the tree advertisement. It's just a tree with a hole cut so you can drive through and, since it's on private land, you have to pay. Better yet, drive through the tree's in Sequoia. In Florence, stop at the Sea Lion Cave. It stinks of seal poo but well worth the visit. Just about all the sea board towns in Oregon have something of interest to see. Plus, the scenic beauty of the highway is fascinating.

There is a marker noting Sir Francis Drake's visit to Humboldt Bay. Being a descendant of Francis' brother, I thought it was neat.
That was the northernmost point of his circumnavigation of the globe. He hid out there while the Spaniards (whose gold he had stolen off of the Eastern coastline of the Americas) were scouring the oceans for him.
For the record, he did NOT circumcise the world with a 100-foot clippers.
I was a participant in something called a kinetic sculpture race.
It looks like they're having one this Memorial Day, too:
http://kineticgrandchampionship.com/

Troy, we've made that drive several times, although not in the Speedster. The Russian River and Fort Ross are on the way. I disagree about the drive through tree,,,it does cost a few bucks, but kinda cool for a photo opp. If you end up going through Gualala, there used to be a decent Mexican food joint on the highway. I don;t know how old your son is, but Fort Bragg also has the Skunk Train that heads toward Willits which was the home of "Seabiscuit." Actually, the train is great for all ages due to the scenery, but one should make reservations.

Best advice, get gas at every opportunity along the way, there are long stretches of vast emptiness!!

Enjoy!

Troy,

Why drive from Fresno to SFO before you get to Highway 1? You miss a lot of fun stuff along the way. Here is a link to one of the best little known roads in California. If you head south to Moss Landing for lunch before you get to Santa Cruz try Phil's Fish Market out in the marina.

Best Ciopino (sp) on the planet!

http://www.mapquest.com/mq/6-aPEtCE71zS599q2S

Your welcome.

@ Larry. Thanks Larry. Funny, I only live an hour away from Sequoia National Forest, but I have not driven the Speedster up there yet. I did take it to Yosemite last year and it is truly an unbelievably spectacular drive, especially at this time of year.

@ Cory. That Kinetic Grand Championship looks like fun, but we will be river rafting the American river on Memorial day. I emailed you about the window posts.

@ Scott. My son is almost 19, but the train still sounds like fun. Thamks for the tip about gas.

@ Dave. We are starting off from San Francisco because I have already done the southern coast route 4 times in the Speedy. Thanks for the link. I didn't know about that route over to the coast. I'll have to try it next time. If you look down that map a little you will see Carmel Valley and a road going south and ending up in Greenfield. Last year, my son and I were trying to get over to the 101 freeway from Monterey and accidentally got on that road. It turned out to be a very VERY nice drive with lots of scenery and twistys, with nobody else around. Fortunately, I filled up with gas in Monterey.

I've driven that route half a dozen times. Be wary on weekends north of San Francisco, lodging is stupid expensive and there ain't no chain motels, just private inns. The farther north you can get the first night, the better off. Fort Bragg or north and your home free.

The side road from Humboldt to Cape Mendocino is nothing but one curve connected to the next curve. I was awfully busy in my truck, but that sure is a speedster road. Probably nothing over 50 MPH but lock to lock for 50 miles.

At Gold Beach, the jet boat run up river is a unique experience. We went to the lodge at the far end overnight. Nothing like going up a six foot waterfall at 30 MPH and dodging garage size rocks less than a foot away, all in two or three feet of water - literally.

Port Orford is scenic, if memory serves, that is where they launch the fish boats off the top of a huge rock via sling and crane. Just standard procedure. The restaurant in the marina there has great fish.

Bandon, visit "old town" and follow the signs to the Jetty a mile away.

Coos Bay, if time allows, take Mclain -Libby road to Charleston and out to Cape Arago.

15 miles north of North Bend, right turn into Lakeside and Tenmile Lake. That's where I spend my summers - two weeks behind you - otherwise I'd offer a lake cruise and free overnight. North Lake Resort has good campling and is almost across the lake from my cabin. There's also a county campground within walking distance of town. Follow North Lake Road to the end of pavement for a fun drive of five miles.

Winchester Bay (Salmon Harber). Visit Griff's for best fish on the coast. Follow the paved road out into the dune buggy area. Only a few miles. Totally unique view of more sand than you have ever seen in you life, and dunes 100s of feet high. A side road up to the light house offers a beautiful ocean overlook and view of a commercial oyster farm.

Reedsport to Florence - very scenic, keep an eye out for lakes all around you. Catch a few "dunes overlooks" for more sand and ocean.
Yes, the sea Lion caves are unique - and stinky.

Damn, now I'm itching to get going myself. Enjoy!

No worries Troy. If you want just go from A to C then take 25 North through Hollister to 101 North. Trust me you will love the twisties.

You know the road less traveled........;-)

Thanks David. We probably won't be going any further in to Oregon than the Rogue River, just not enough time. We will probably do the jet boat tour like you suggested and if there is a salmon run on, we may hire a guide and do some fishing. I've fished there several times, but I have never done the jet boat, because I didn't realize it was as exciting as you say. Thanks for the tip.
Troy

Troy, check out the Samoa Cookhouse. It is near Eureka. Very cool little town called Samoa that was completely owned by a logging company. The old cookhouse serves a HUGE breakfast and seeing the town is interesting. Have a great trip, and stay warm!

Troy - Father & son road trip! Call it a hunch, but think no matter the route, you two will have a great time exploring the hwys in that awesome ride of yours. Be Safe and have a great trip!!

FT Bragg is awsome, we stay at the hotel right next to the bridge that crosses the outlet to the sea(cliff something) the end rooms have hot tubs with a big picture window overlooking the outlet and the ocean. there are some excellent food joints right in the small bay directly across from the coast guard boats.

@ Will. Thanks Will. I found Samoa on the map, just north of Eureka. We will try to time it so we are there for breakfast.

@ Jim. I'm looking forward to it and hoping it will be one of those memories about me that he has long after I am gone.

@ Bob. I Goggled Fort Bragg cliff hotel and it looks like you were referring to the North Cliff hotel. I took their virtual tour and it does look very nice.

hi troy,

did your article ever get published? your photos are the best i've ever seen. they could be posters...

mendo bistro in fort bragg has the best food in the area
mendobistro.com
301 North Main Street
Fort Bragg, CA 95437-3472
(707) 964-4974

brutocao in mendocino and hopland has the best red wine that we've ever had
brutocaocellars.com/

stanford inn in mendocino is our favorite place to stay/swim. you must see their pool... stay upstairs. eat elsewhere.

the monterey rock& rod festival happens this weekend at the monterey fairgounds. montereyrockrod.com

best wishes on your journey.

mark

Troy,

If you don't make it to Eureka by Breakfast just south of town take King Salmon road to the coast. There is a small Mom and Pop local joint that makes the BEST Crab Omelets on the planet. When I visit my customers in Eureka it is a must do.

Samoa Cook house is great as well but a little more tourist type.

You guys have fun!

Troy,

Don't know how far north you are going or where/if you plan to turn inland. The best stretch of Redwoods is the section between Crescent City and Gasquet (hwy 199). There's a little truck though. From the coastal highway, go north and turn toward Jedediah Smith State Park (camping available). That section, moving east toward Gasquet is stunning. Lots of pullouts where you can just stop and head off down a trail immediately into the redwoods.

After you get out of the redwoods in 199, you get into a fun twisty driving road as you head east. Good pavement, lots of curves, can be a bit narrow as it follows the path of the Smith River. You can take that to I-5 if you want to shorten your return trip. We are on I-5 just 27 miles north of the California Border. If you need a place to spend the night, we have a spare room and would love to have you both for company! Also on 199 is the Darlintonia Wayside. It's marked as a "botanical trail" on the sign. It's actually a cool thing to see because it's the largest group of pitcher plants (the kind that eat bugs) in Oregon. This particular plant only grows in serpentine based soils which we do have in that area and throughout the Kalmiopsis wilderness.

**Warning** If your GPS directs you through Gold Beach toward Agness, turn 180 degrees and go another way. That is the directive for Bear Camp road. The finest piece of driving road you'll ever encounter but it is closed due to snow (closed again this weekend). Very untrustworthy this time of year.

angela

Steve - Paint it Black

Thanks for the info on the Redwoods. My wife and I live in So. Cal, and are taking 9 days to travel to the northern part of our state to see the redwoods, Ferndale, etc. Your info is very informative.
Thanks
Simi Mike

Just reporting back in after the trip with my son TJ up Hwy 1. We had a great time inspite of having to dodge the unseasonable rain for the entire week and we put 951 trouble free miles on the speedy..
We had clear but cold weather on the day we were actually driving along the coast and it was beautiful. We made it as far as the Humbolt Redwoods state park where we camped overnight. In the morning, it was clear that it would soon be raining and we were not going to make it to our goal of Gold's Beach in Oregon, so we headed back down to San Francisco and found a hotel with indoor parking and we beat the rain by a couple of hours. The next 3 days were spent at the Academy of Sciences Museum, Alcatraz, a walk across the Golden Gate bridge and with 6th row center orchestra seats to see Wicked, which was very good!
We return home on Thursday and rested up for a day and then my daughter Kelsey joined us and we drove up to Placerville (not in the Speedy)and rafted down the American River on Saturday.
All in all, in spite of the bad weather, it was a memorable trip.
Troy

Troy, it sounds like you had a great time with your son on the Hwy 1 cruise/camp-out and a blast with your kids on the American River! These experiences are memories that will last a life time. Glad to hear you were able to improvise due to weather and had a safe trip as well!!

You've just increased your son's "cool quotient" among his friends by a factor of 10. I'll bet they wish they had a dad as cool as you.

i live close to that river and have been down it many times. i noticed u werent filming while doing the wild rapids that are interspersed during the ride, it is enough just to hang on.

You're right Bob. They would not let me tape during the "wild" rapids sections. The river is flowing at around 5000 cubic feet per second and it is normally around 2500, so it was VERY wild, especially at "Satan's Cesspool." Here is a sequence of pictures to show it. We lost two of our raft mates there.
Troy

you did the upper half starting at chili bar, going by marshalls gold discovery site and ending up in coloma. satans cesspool is gnarly, they usually lose 2 people a year there, get pulled under and wedged in rocks and surface eventually after they are dead. The bottom half of river is fun too, ends up in folsom lake, hospital bar rapids is my favorite spot of all the rapids. good fun.

Hi Bob.
No, it was the lower half of the South Fork, called the Gorge section and we got in near Coloma and went through both Satan's Cesspool, where the girl in the pictures fell out, and then Hospital Bar. The pictures below are from Hospital bar. We ended up in Folsom Lake for the drive back up to Coloma.
Here's a link to a 360 degree photo of Satan's Cesspool and you can see the rock that we went up against in the pictures where the girl falls out. There is also a 360 degree photo from Hospital bar at this link. http://www.aorafting.com/river/ipix/sfa-satan.htm
Troy

Here's some sequences from Satan's Cesspool and Hospital bar.

you are correct, i was thinking of troublemaker on the upper half, that is where people die every year. the bottom half(gorge) is the most fun.
if u want more excitement go to forestville and there is a class 5 ride there with helmets required.about a 40 minute drive from coloma.

My wife got me interested in white water a few years back, culminating in a trip to the Gauley in West Virginia. We did the reverse Gauley (lower on day 1, upper on day 2) on the first weekend of the fall release schedule. The upper in particular has quite a few class IVs and Vs. What a rush!!!!! I don't know who I'm quoting, but "You never feel more alive than when you're close to death." Incredible!!