Driving from Beaverton, OR to Crescent City, CA

Hi all,

I am new to this site but see that you have some great info. I am hoping you can help me out. Our family is renting a travel trailer this July and plan to drive from Beaverton, Or to Crescent City, CA. We have a campsite reserved in the Redwoods for 6 days. What I need help with is what to do on the way there. Places we really need to stop and see and places that we should avoid. Places that are great eats, and ones that are not. We have 2 girls ages 7 %26amp; 10, we will also have our dog with us. We love the outdoors and exploring.We have not decided on our route as of yet. We are trying to decide if we should take the coastal hwy. all the way or if we should stick to I5 most of the way and then cut over. Any help at all would be much appreciated!

Driving from Beaverton, OR to Crescent City, CA

Hi, welcome to TripAdvisor.

Are you planning a round trip? If so, you could go south via one route and north via another, switching off I-5 and 101.

It%26#39;s much easier to pull out on 101 going southbound, especially with a trailer to let traffic around you, as most of the turnouts are on the west side of the highway.

How much time do you have for your days enroute? Will you be camping or moteling it along the way?

Driving from Beaverton, OR to Crescent City, CA

Hi~

We are planning round trip. I think taking 2 routes sounds great!

Our travel time is flexable, we have 6 days total. I hadn%26#39;t really thought about how long to allow for getting to Cresent City....so I am open to ideas. Our main goal is to make it a super fun, relaxing, family trip. We love to explore and see new things. We will be camping the whole way.

Oh, you have a total of six days? Including your travel days? So four days in Crescent City.

You%26#39;ll have to drive the whole way in one day then, each direction. I-5 will take you about 6 hours, plus stops. Hwy 101 will take at least 8 hours, not counting stops.

There%26#39;s some confusion here (maybe just with me).

The way I read it, Happy has reservations for 6 days camping in Redwoods PLUS 6 days roundtrip travel time to and from the campground. Is that right?

If so, they can spend 4 days coming down the coast and 2 days returning via I-5. Or 3+3....or 5 days leisurely down coast and 1 long day returning home.

On the other hand, I might be confusing things even more. It happens occasionally.

Sorry to be confusing! I think I even confused myself (lol)

I guess I had not thought of travel time when I made our reservations in the Redwoods. We pick our trailer up on the 17th. My plan was to leave early (6am ish) on the 18th and ';leisurely'; drive to our campsite. Our reservations are check in on the 18th, out on the 23rd. We have to return the trailer on the 24th.

I don%26#39;t know much about whats on the way and was looking for kid friendly fun things to stop and enjoy on the way there, and to do while we are there, and then just do a strait shot back home as I am sure everyone will be tired and cranky by then :-)

Okay, so one day to drive there, four days there, one day home (and then clean up the trailer!)

So if you don%26#39;t mind the extra hours, I%26#39;d go south via Hwy 101. Beaverton is an awkward place to get to %26amp; from easily, and since it%26#39;s a Saturday I would NOT take Hwy 18 to the coast. Dundee will be jammed, as will Lincoln City.

Probably your best bet would be to take I-5 to Eugene, then west on Hwy 126 to Florence. That%26#39;s an easier road than Hwy 20 for an RV. (I%26#39;ve spent many years RV%26#39;ing.)

I don%26#39;t think you%26#39;ll have any time for a dune buggy ride around Florence :-( Not sure if they%26#39;d be interested in this in Bandon?

http://www.gameparksafari.com/

Road is good, but watch the humps and bumps between Gold Beach and Brookings, and take it slowly. Also, if you plan to stop off at any day-use State Parks, look carefully before you pull off! Some are not suitable for trailers and have no turn arounds - some are far too narrow to drive into (San Sebastian is one of these).

There are NO signs at the entrances to most day-use State Parks warning about suitability for RV%26#39;s!

Crescent City has a Safeway and a Ray%26#39;s at the north end of town, so supplies are easy.

I assume you%26#39;re staying at the KOA or Hiouchi?

Here is some info about Crescent City:

Crescent City as a destination is rarely on tourists%26#39; agendas, because if all you do is drive through on Hwy 101, you see an older, more working class somewhat congested town.

But it has a lovely side to it too, with some very interesting sights:

Battery Point lighthouse - access is across a causeway accessible only at low tide. The only lighthouse on the west coast like this. Very cute.

Point St George - a gorgeous open walking area along the bluffs above the sea.

Howland Hill Road - an awesome drive through the redwoods on a dirt/gravel road, about 6 miles. You are close enough to touch them from your car window! Several places to park and wander through the giant trees. One note, however, the road is fine for normal cars but I would not recommend a really low sports car as there are potholes.

The jetty - near the lighthouse, this is a lovely walk out on a man-made harbour jetty, with a nice pier. Even in summer, the waves come rolling in and crash on the rocks, so use common sense here.

The beach - a long crescent shape (hence the name) where the driftwood logs usually outnumber the people. One side is ocean, the other is hills covered with redwood trees.

Brother Jonathan cemetery - an historic cemetery (okay, historic for here!) for victims of an 1865 shipwreck. A nice walking area.

Marina - a great place to have a walk, and you can get quite close to the sea lions there. It%26#39;s still a working harbour and is quite picturesque.

If you%26#39;d like to drive a bit and see more of this lovely area, take Hwy 101 south. About 6-10 miles south of the town of Orick is Stone Lagoon, and you%26#39;ll be sure to see elk all over around there, as they claim the ';world%26#39;s largest'; elk herd lives there! Orick itself is an interesting little town with many woodcarvers. It%26#39;s about 1.25 hours leisurely driving time from Crescent City.

On your drive back north, take the Newton B Drury scenic route. This is old highway 101 and it will loop you back to the current 101 just south of Klamath.

Here are some helpful websites:

shannontech.com/ParkVision/鈥edwood.html

http://www.exploredelnorte.com/

http://redwoods.info/showrecord.asp?id=2464

Good to know on the drive there with traffic and on the turnarounds in the parks. This is our first time with a camper. The Bandon Safari looks like it would be right up my girls ally, they are both huge animal lovers.

We thought about doing the jet boat rides once we get there, I also read about something called the trees of mystery...is this worth the time and cost? Any other places or activities you could suggest while we are in that area? We are actually staying at the Redwoods RV Resort, it was one of the few places that any places left available. But we will have a vehicle and are not opposed to driving to diff. places for exploration.

Thanks for all the helpful info. so far, looking forward to more!

Wow thanks so much for the wealth of info.! I am finally starting to feel as if I can make a real plan! Much of it sounds like stuff our family will have lots of fun with.

What beach would you recommend for great tide pools? That is a favorite for our family.

I did the Trees of Mystery several years ago. IMHO, there wasn%26#39;t much there that you couldn%26#39;t see for free other places. They do have the tram ride that is pretty spectacular, but if you are afraid of heights at all I wouldn%26#39;t recommend it.

The lighthouse was very fun poking around there. Keep in mind, the snail shells are not empty. I had a little crap come out of one and pinch my finger. While it did not hurt, it did scare the you know what out of me, since I am used to picking shells up on the Oregon Coast and they are generally empty.

I think half-brit covered everything in Crescent City area. Though, I by no means an expert in that area. LOL!!

Watch Return of the Jedi before you go. You will expect an ewok to jump out from behind a tree at every turn. LOL!!