Yosemite to North CA coast trip, help!

[v.t.]

We are attending a family wedding in Yoesmite in 3 weeks! Plane tickets and rental car (Oakland) are booked and we will be staying with the family in Yoesmite, but that is it for accommodations. We will have 5 nights after the wedding to travel around Northern CA. DH wants to see Lake Tahoe, DSs want to visit Lassen Volcanic NP, the Redwoods, the Peanuts museum in Santa Rosa and Alcatraz (did manage to get tickets for that). So, any suggestions for hotels or cabins (family of 5, 3 teens) and places that are a must see?

Thanks!

 

[gottalovepluto]

Might want to check out the California and the West part of the boards here on the Disneyland side of the boards. That said it sounds like you’re flying into OAK, driving to Yosemite for 5 nights for fam stuff and then you’ll have 5 nights for your fam to explore the state?

1) OAK-Yosemite is a significant drive after getting off a plane, especially if you hit afternoon traffic, so be ready to be very tired by the time you hit Yosemite.

2) that’s too much. Drop 2 between Tahoe/Lassen/Redwoods. You’ve already got tickets to Alcatraz and need to be in OAK for your flight home so I would Yosemite-Redwoods or Lassen or Tahoe for a couple nights-Santa Rosa (on way to SF, this gives an edge to doing Redwoods)-SF for a couple nights-OAK. You are already going to be smack dab in the City for Alcatraz so take advantage of that & do SF for another day or two.

3) Parking is super expensive in SF and driving in the City sucks. A lot. Public transit is a much better option so math out parking costs vs a one way rental (return car on hitting SF) and then make sure to stay at a hotel with easy BART access. Just BART to OAK airport at the end of your trip. Obviously there are many factors to consider for your personal situation such as how many in your family so how much would BART cost you but it’s quite convenient.

Given all the places you listed and the fact you’re flying into OAK to go to Yosemite I’m assuming your family are the road driving warrior type but please remember that driving in CA can involve lots of traffic at certain times you might not anticipate- for instance Fri afternoon the Bay Area partially migrates to Tahoe and returns Sun afternoon/evening. You can spend hours in that traffic.

There is much to see in all those places but if you spend all your time in the car speeding from place to place you won’t get much of a chance to soak any of it in

 

[barkley]

really jump on looking for lodging-3 weeks is not allot of time esp. since if my calculations are right-your non wedding dedicated week is the week the 4th of july falls during so many places will have been booked months ago.

i agree with cutting back on the number of places-there's significant distance between them and even the shorter distance places can have horrendous traffic (esp. during holiday periods of time).

 

[V.I.N.CENT.]

I would ditch the Peanuts museum, Santa Rosa is a bit far. Go to the Disney Family museum the same day as Alcatraz. If you are even the most mild of Disney fans, the museum is worth it. Also in SF, the California Academy of Sciences, DeYoung Museum, Legion of Honor. All a short drive from Pier 39 and Alcatraz.

 

[barkley]

I would ditch the Peanuts museum, Santa Rosa is a bit far. Go to the Disney Family museum the same day as Alcatraz. If you are even the most mild of Disney fans, the museum is worth it. Also in SF, the California Academy of Sciences, DeYoung Museum, Legion of Honor. All a short drive from Pier 39 and Alcatraz.

i kind of agree. it's a long drive for not much of a venue. depending on the ages of the kids-mine loved both the exploratorium in san francisco as well as the bay area discovery museum in sausilito (you could ride the ferry as well).

 

[v.t.]

Thanks guys, very helpful information. I know the traffic is bad around the cities, how much extra drive time should I allow? Like double the time listed on maps? Is it just as crowded on the coast and by Lassen?
I will try the other forums, I forgot about the Disneyland planning boards.

 

[clutter]

My favorite NP is Sequoia, but that's a lot of driving to see it and other things. Second choice for redwoods would be Big Basin SP over Muir Woods.

Its not just traffic that makes driving take time. Once off interstates, some of the roads just wind a lot because of the hills.

Have fun!

 

[imbatman]

Lassen Volcanic NP, the Redwoods,

This is my neck of the woods. The drive from Lassen to the Redwoods is not accurate on whatever app you're using. Add in at least an hour for construction. More like two. We've been walloped by massive weather in the last year and there's a lot of repairs. Also, lodging on the coast might be expensive now that the schools are out here. That area is absolutely beautiful, though. I'd pick it and skip Lassen.

THEN, the drive from the Redwoods to Santa Rosa is looooooong. Beautiful, but long. Also add in 30 minutes for construction or random rubberneckers. I get your intent is to see it all, but to put it in perspective, it takes me 20 minutes one way to get to work. And I live "close" to Redding.

 

[v.t.]

I have Lassen to Eureka as 4.5 hours, Eureka to Santa Rosa as 4 hrs, Santa Rosa to San Fran as 1.5. Are those unrealistic? DS wanted to do Lassen because it looks like Yellowstone, his favorite. I guess we need to skip that and head straight to the Eureka area? We really don't need more than a day in San Francisco. I know that is a shame to miss but we really, really dislike large cities. We have been to Seattle twice (with locals) and the kids are miserable because of the traffic and crowds. (The kids are 20 & 17. LOL) I thought the Peanuts museum would be fun since it is DH's favorite but we may just find a place on the coast for 2 nights instead of so much driving.
Thank you so much for everyone's' advice, while I am researching as much as possible, first hand knowledge is so much better. All advice and suggestions are greatly appreciated.

 

[barkley]

Santa Rosa to San Fran as 1.5. Are those unrealistic?

depending on the day of the week/time of day it could be twice as long. commute hours used to be fairly predictable back in the day but what with most bay area employers offering a myriad of alternate work schedules (4/10, 9/80...) it's a c-shoot to nail down. when i commuted nearby there a 10 minute difference in departure time from home or work could mean an extra hour of commute time.

 

[imbatman]

I have Lassen to Eureka as 4.5 hours

Total pipe dream. Add in at least an hour for construction. Also, as a heads up, the facilities are few and far between on this trip. And the redwoods are north of Eureka, I think by an hour-ish.

DS wanted to do Lassen because it looks like Yellowstone, his favorite.

There is absolutely no comparison--Yosemite wins hands down! There are so many things to see and do there. Lassen you'll spend hours driving around and then have to hike into Bumpass Hell. It's cool, but it's NOT Yosemite.

I thought the Peanuts museum would be fun since it is DH's favorite but we may just find a place on the coast for 2 nights instead of so much driving.
Thank you so much for everyone's' advice, while I am researching as much as possible, first-hand knowledge is so much better. All advice and suggestions are greatly appreciated.

Spend a day up in Eureka or in Crescent City if you want to be away from the crowds. They have drop-dead gorgeous beaches and the drive through the redwoods is fun. If you do get to Eureka, the Samoa Cookhouse will never leave you hungry. Patrick's Point is a great park and Agate Beach is nearby, too.

In terms of non-crowds, I'd take Eureka area over Santa Rosa or San Francisco any day. You could always drive through Sebastopol and see the coast that way!

 

[BamaBoy]

We are going on our family vacation later this month to this area. Our plan is SF on Sunday and Monday, drive up the coast to Fort Bragg on Tuesday. Wednesday we hit the Avenue of the Giants up to Fortuna. Thursday we go up to Redwoods NP and possibly into southern Oregon (just to say we have been there) and head back to spend Thursday night in Eureka. Friday we drive back to Oakland, maybe through Napa Valley. Spend Friday night in Oakland to fly out Saturday morning. Does this sound like an okay plan? Thanks in advance for your insight!

 

[barkley]

We are going on our family vacation later this month to this area. Our plan is SF on Sunday and Monday, drive up the coast to Fort Bragg on Tuesday. Wednesday we hit the Avenue of the Giants up to Fortuna. Thursday we go up to Redwoods NP and possibly into southern Oregon (just to say we have been there) and head back to spend Thursday night in Eureka. Friday we drive back to Oakland, maybe through Napa Valley. Spend Friday night in Oakland to fly out Saturday morning. Does this sound like an okay plan? Thanks in advance for your insight!

i would REALLY look at map quest, add allot more time for traffic/windy coastal roads and consider the massive amount of driving this will entail. friday in particular when you are going to oakland may be a nightmare depending on the time of day. eureka to oakland alone (absent any bad traffic) is close to 5 hours. if you add in a side trip to napa there's no way you'll avoid the traffic and getting out of napa is a NIGHTMARE (i commuted in/out of it for years).

I ADORE FORT BRAGG, one of the only reasons i miss living in northern california is the yearly vacations we would take there. it's stunning but be warned-there's not much there to do (kind of the appeal to the funky little beach towns way up the coast).

 

[BamaBoy]

i would REALLY look at map quest, add allot more time for traffic/windy coastal roads and consider the massive amount of driving this will entail. friday in particular when you are going to oakland may be a nightmare depending on the time of day. eureka to oakland alone (absent any bad traffic) is close to 5 hours. if you add in a side trip to napa there's no way you'll avoid the traffic and getting out of napa is a NIGHTMARE (i commuted in/out of it for years).

I ADORE FORT BRAGG, one of the only reasons i miss living in northern california is the yearly vacations we would take there. it's stunning but be warned-there's not much there to do (kind of the appeal to the funky little beach towns way up the coast).

Thanks for the input. I think we will skip Napa, not high on the list anyway. As for Fort Bragg, we are just spending a night there after driving up the coast then up the next morning to Avenue of the Giants. I know it is a lot of driving, that is why I am trying to break it up. But for us coming from the South it is a once in a lifetime trip, so you do what you have to do!

 

[fortwildernessishome]

I have Lassen to Eureka as 4.5 hours, Eureka to Santa Rosa as 4 hrs, Santa Rosa to San Fran as 1.5. Are those unrealistic? DS wanted to do Lassen because it looks like Yellowstone, his favorite. I guess we need to skip that and head straight to the Eureka area? We really don't need more than a day in San Francisco. I know that is a shame to miss but we really, really dislike large cities. We have been to Seattle twice (with locals) and the kids are miserable because of the traffic and crowds. (The kids are 20 & 17. LOL) I thought the Peanuts museum would be fun since it is DH's favorite but we may just find a place on the coast for 2 nights instead of so much driving.
Thank you so much for everyone's' advice, while I am researching as much as possible, first hand knowledge is so much better. All advice and suggestions are greatly appreciated.

I can't offer any advice on your specific destinations, but just want to throw out there that I have always had excellent luck using MapQuest. I have always found it to be pretty accurate. Of course I always pad the time to account for bathroom stops/gas/grabbing a quick bite to eat etc. One neat feature is it does account for traffic at different points of the day. if you put in your info at 8:00am Monday morning, it gives you the length of drive while taking into account the traffic at that time. You put in the same exact info at 2:00 in the afternoon and it gives you what the drive time will be then. It also tells you if the traffic is heavy at that time. I have used MapQuest for years and years and just discovered that feature last summer.

As an example I needed to find out how much time it would take us to go from our Lodge in Olympic NP to the lodge in Mount Rainier NP. I found out that the MapQuest time estimates varied greatly depending on if we were traveling on the weekend or weekday, or if it was 5:00 in the morning, 8:00 in the morning or 2:00 in the afternoon.

Last year we flew into Seattle, drove up to Olympic NP, then visited a lot of places on our drive all of the way down to Anaheim. Every single MapQuest estimate of time was accurate for us.

Keep in mind too, that what is a long ride for some is not for others. Also, while some may need days or a week at a place your family might be happy with less time. We live in NH and have done 5 National Park western trips. We fly out, rent a van and travel a LOT and then return our van to a completely different airport, usually well over 1000 miles from where we started!! While our trips aren't for everyone, they are perfect for us!

Have a GREAT time in Yosemite!!! I have been lucky to have visited twice and I LOVED it both times!! I have been to a lot of NP's and Glacier NP and Yosemite are tied for my favorite!! You are going to have so much fun!!

Oh and we did Alcatraz too a couple of years ago. One night in SF was enough for us. Different strokes for different folks!! We did Alcatraz, rode the cable cars and rented bikes and biked right across the Golden Gate Bridge! We also visited a few sites run by the National Park Service that are right there. Great time and lots of fun, but we didn't have a burning desire to stay much longer. Have fun!

 

[fortwildernessishome]

There is absolutely no comparison--Yosemite wins hands down! There are so many things to see and do there. Lassen you'll spend hours driving around and then have to hike into Bumpass Hell. It's cool, but it's NOT Yosemite.

OP said, Yellowstone, her son loved Yellowstone, that's why he wants to see Lassen.

But, I agree with you, Yosemite is awesome!!! Tons to do at Yosemite!! One of my most favorite places in the world!!

 

[imbatman]

Lassen as of today:


Yes. We had snow this year.

 

[Earstou]

I see someone mentioned Crescent City. We stayed at the Crescent Beach Motel a while ago. The motel is nothing fancy, but the view is fantastic! Right on the beach, with a wooden back porch with chairs. We walked the beach, which had a few other people on it, and watched the sun set. Next morning it was empty, and I walked it again, collecting sand dollars. This motel sits by itself, just south of Crescent City and just north of one of the redwood forests.
I would love to go back some day, one of my best memories!

 

[Becca1007]

Make a stop at some of the local breweries (for beer and food) in the Eureka area, Lost Coast is in Eureka and Six Rivers Brewery is in McKinleyville (just a short hop away)

 

[mel2014]

While the Avenue of the Giants/Eureka area is great, I would suggest, given your limited time, that you visit one of the more southern redwood groves. If you are going to Santa Rosa, Armstrong Redwoods state Reserve is beautiful. Muir Woods is also great, though very crowded and you need parking reservations, which might not be available at this point. Or you could detour to Calaveras Big Trees on your way from Yosemite to Tahoe. And while Bumpass Hell is interesting, I think Lassen overall will be underwhelming after Yellowstone.

So I would suggest Yosemite to Tahoe, two nights in Tahoe, two nights in the Guerneville area to take in the redwoods, the Peanuts Museum and maybe take a float down the Russian River, and then head to SF for your Alcatraz day. That would cut your driving by half or two thirds.