1

I can recommend the Trees of Mystery Native American roadside museum, near the river crossing in Klamath Northern California. There is a huge carving of John Runyan in a blue jacket outside - you really can't miss it. The front part is a regular commercial tourist emporium, but the museum display further back is very good indeed.

In terms of exceptional redwoods, we really liked the Humboldt Redwoods SP, the Stout Grove in the Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park (outstanding, and just outside Crescent City), and a few SPs right on the beach too, between Fort Bragg and Crescent City.

Perversely - we didn't particularly like Redwood National Park - sort of ordinary compared to the more compact state parks.

2

See FAQ 235.

3

You're looking for the best "sequence" to do a trip from Los Angeles to Portland Oregon, but also say you have reservations for Yosemite which will have to be at the end of the trip. Geogrpahically, that will be way out of sequence as you will have to backtrack from Portland to central California to reach Yosemite.

Shouldn't the Yosemite stay be in the middle of the trip?

4

There are many opportunities for camping in State Parks along Highway #1, as you drive north. Especially at Big Sur and Point Reyes National Seashore, Bodega Bay, just before the town of Mendocino where there is abalone diving across the highway, and in the redwood groves further north. You do not say what month you will be driving. Yosemite Valley is just one day's drive north of Los Angeles if you take Interstate-5. Are you flying out of LAX? It is 4 hours' drive from SFO.

5

To clarify, you are driving LA-Portland-LA right?

What have you done already? Have you been up Hwy 1? Have you driven route 395? Mono Lake, etc?

Crater Lake is well worth the stop. I would continue from Crater through Bend to The Dalles and then drive along the Columbia River Gorge, with the obvious stop at Multnomah Falls (or the other way around of course).

Astoria is good. Crescent City too but perhaps not worth a multi-hour-long detour... Mendocino is great. Point Reyes is great. If you have the time, by all means drive along the coast since it's very scenic, just keep in mind it will make your trip much longer!

If you're going to Yosemite in the end, one idea would be to take the coastal route up, then inland (ending with 395) on the way back.

6

How long is this trip?

7

Crater Lake is a good suggestion, but in early summer there will still be lots of snow there. The Columbia River Gorge is also a good suggestion and the loop Crater Lake/Bend/Columbia Gorge is a very nice trip (again, snow may be an issue at Crater Lake in early summer). Also, the High Desert Museum in Bend is pretty good.

8

I have about two weeks for this trip. I've already done LA to SF via the 1 with Big Sur, Hearst, and all the others.

Interesting comment I read about Redwood National Park, the camp on the beach looked cool. I'd be interested in hiking amongst redwoods, maybe to something that led to scenic views. I've been looking at this website, http://redwoods.info/showrecord.asp?id=3507

No comments on Oregon Coast? A friend said skip it and head straight to Astoria where Columbia River comes out.

Yes, I'll be starting from LA. Right now I may need to go...
1. LA to Sacramento and see Sutters Fort (are there better 49er type sights up north, and maybe closer to Crater?)
2. Sacramento to Crater Lake
3. Crater to Portland
4. Whatever to come down the coast - eventually stop in Redwoods
5. Maybe Point Reyes
6. San Francisco
7. Bicycle tour in Napa
8. Yosemite
9. Back home

9

Also, thanks for replies. Max mex you gave a lot to think about, good ideas.

10

I was also going to recommend the Trees of Mystery. Although it looks like the world's worst tourist trap, the American Indian Museum is one of the finest there is.
It's Paul Bunyan, an American folklore character. He was a lumberjack who had a giant blue ox named Babe.

There are other wine regions you can visit in addition to the better-known Napa Valley, but Napa is good for cycling.

If that is something you want to do, there are a few ways to do it.

The drive up the Central Valley is not the most exciting in the world. It will give you an idea of why agriculture is California's number 1 industry. You can do LA to SAcramento in one very long day in hot weather. If you decide you want to do this, I can suggest some stops.

You could also do something like this route, which takes you through a lot of the Gold Rush Country. But it also takes you right past Yosemite, so you'd be going past a place you'll be hitting later. It's Highway 49, which was deliberately named after the Gold Rush. There are a number of wine regions along this route.

You could just fly to Sacramento.

You can also visit Sacramento as a day trip or an overnight from San Francisco. You can get there by car or easily by train.

There is a lot of Gold Rush things in Sacramento, mostly centered in Old Sacramento. Part of the area is a historic state park, with several small (and free) museums.

The HIstoric Old Sacramento Foundation has a History Museum that has a lot about the Gold Rush. The foundation also does living history and may have characters wandering around the streets. The Underground Tours are pretty amazing.

The Railroad Museum is justly famous. On summer weekends they run steam excursion trains down the river.

You do realize that in the US, B&Bs tend to be luxury lodging, often old homes, furnished with antiques?

11

Come to think of it, this might work better, in terms of cost and logistics:
Fly to SF, pick up car (get the car in the city, not the airport, which will save you several hundred dollars)
Head north up highway 101.
Drive back south from Crater Lake to Sacramento.
Drive to Yosemite
Back to SF, get rid of car and fly back to LA.

12

#8: Yes, that would be a good route. Alternatively, reverse it and do the coast on the way up and the inland on the way down. Whatever fits your plans best, it's about the same distance either way.

I'd strongly suggest crossing Yosemite on Tioga and driving 395 down to LA.

Other things to consider along the way: Bodie, Lassen, Kings Canyon, Sequoia, Death Valley, White Mountain. And Olympic/Mt Rainier if you wanted to go north of Portland.

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It's Paul Bunyan, an American folklore character. He was a lumberjack who had a giant blue ox named Babe.

Hahaha ...thanks nutrax - I did know that .. but I'm on summer holidays, and a couple of Chardonnays can cause a sip of the brain. Anyway - it is a lovely Native American museum.

I'd be interested in hiking amongst redwoods, maybe to something that led to scenic views.

As I noted above, some of the state parks have extremely good hikes (either deep in the hills or right on the coast), but I concede that Redwood National Park does have some expansive views if not the most outstanding redwood forests. There is a pleasant beach right near the entrance and the highway - I recall it had some large herbivores living there (deer or elk or buffalo - can't quite remember).

14

Like the Willamette Valley, home to world-class pinots.