San Francisco Travel Forum

dear all,
maybe anybody can help me here....
we've planned a trip from san francisco to seattle (with rental car). Our time is short ... we have only 1 week to spend there!
We want to stay 2 nights in SanFran & 2 nights in Seattle.
The remaining days we would spend on "the road".
We are interested in visiting the Redwood Nationalpark!
Is 1 night there enough?? We just want to see some of the awesome trees and maybe make a short trail...
Which part of the route would you recommend to drive on the pacific coast highway (101) ?? which part is the greatest one?? I think the whole route (sanfran to seattle) is too long to spend on the 101?? I'm right?? Because we have only about 4 days left. And we would not spend all the time in the car ;-) Hope you can give me some advise! thank you!!

It's a shame you don't have more time for this beautiful part of the world. The drive up along the Oregon coast is very nice. You could stop off there for a night on your way north.

Actually, from just north of San Francisco to Leggett, California, Highway 1 is the coastal road. It is a slow, windy road, but quite a pretty trip. While you were in the San Francisco area you could visit the Muir Woods: (www.nps.gov/muwo), and the Point Reyes National Seashores: (www.nps.gov/pore). Since you'll have a car, you might actually consider a stay in the Pt. Reyes area. The Point Reyes Lodging Association web site: (www.ptreyes.com). The Golden Gate Park might be an area you wish to visit. They have the new California Academy of Science, a Japanese Tea Garden, the Conservatory of Flowers, a botanical garden, and several museums there. You can rent bikes there, (and also at Fisherman's Wharf, for a ride to the Golden Gate Bridge), from a company named "Blazing Saddles". Gary

One quick note, if you decide to stay in San Francisco itself, a rental car can be a huge bother. Traffic can be quite slow, parking is at a premium, and in some areas of The City, your hotel parking must be paid for, above the cost of the room. San Francisco has very workable public transit options. Gary

There are also redwoods very close to San Francisco. http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=539
Not as impressive as the ones up north, but it's a very, very pretty area, and they are still redwoods.
The most famous part of the Coast Highway (CA 1) in California is the Big Sur section south of Monterey. Personally though, I prefer the section north of Eureka. The Coast Highway south of San Francisco is somewhat flat and the coastline isn't as pretty, but it's still nice.
But I agree with the other poster that the Oregon coastline is more impressive, particularly up north, closer to Portland. Just do a couple of sections of coastline, then switch back to I-5, because you're right in that it's going to take a very long time to see it, leaving you no time in the cities you're visiting.
Personally, I would just fly between the two, because you're going to two of the greatest cities in the country, both of which require about a week to see in the first place, and will be spending at least one full day (likely more) on the road.

Am I correct in reading your letter as saying you have 3 days to drive to Seattle? If so, you have plenty of time to drive up the coast. Take 101 the whole way to Tillamook, then cut over to Portland and take 5 to Seattle. Don't worry about redwoods - you'll see plenty. Also lots of beautiful coastline. The driving time is about 15 hours to Portland, then another 3 to Seattle. If you don't mind 6 1/2 hour drives (and there aren't many prettier drives) you could easily do it.