We are planning a road trip from Seattle to San Fransisco in June. We have 8 days. Any ideas are welcomed. We love nature.
Get on Highway 101. Head south.
You'll have a gas.
Tell me your 5 spots NOT to miss along the way.
The Redwood National Park is an area that should be a must see. The trip you are making should be near this fabulous park. You might be interested in Napa Valley if you enjoy some fine wines. Sonoma Valley, also in California, is another great wine area, although not as popular or well know as Napa Valley. They are both in the area of your trip.
Taking Highway 101 is more scenic, but probably will take longer that taking I-5. You maybe can mix the two to balance your schedule and still see some beautiful country.
In Seattle, visit the Experience Music Project location at the base of the Space Needle and visit the Space Needle itself. If you have the time, go up and take a ferry over to Vancouver Island and visit the town of Victoria (just like being in the UK) and then go see the Butchart Gardens. Back in Seattle, get some good seafood near Lake Union or across on the east side of Lake Washington. Visit the Japanese gardens on the west side of this lake. Between Seattle and Portland, visit the Mount St. Helens visitor center, which will tell you all about the explosion of this mountain some years ago that caused this 4 state area to be entirely in darkness for about a week. Don't miss the "Trees of Mystery", then go to the Muir Woods, when in San Francisco go across the Bay Bridge and take the turnoff for "Treasure Island" (the view of San Francisco from there, especially at night, is spectacular",
I also suggest you take at least 2 days and visit the areas south of San Francisco or east of San Francisco or both. South of San Francisco, visit the Winchester Mystery House in San Jose, take the "17 mile drive" near Carmel, get off 101 and take Highway 1 from San Jose to Santa Cruz to Monterey and all the way down to Cambria, see the Hearst Castle near San Simeon (get tickets online before you go since they do sell out in the spring/summer), go to Moonstone Beach in Cambria. go east to Yosemite National Park, and circle back through the old mining town of Murphys (now a major wine/concert destination in the summer), and stop in the college town of Davis or in the zinfandel wine region near Lodi on your way back to SF.
Enjoy
P.S. Forgot to mention Oregon, but that is only because Daawgon is the expert on it. He has posted some information on a thread titled "Pacific Coast-USA" that gives lots of good information about visiting Oregon. (or you can just write him for more information).
just posted this in another thread but it's even more relevant here
My wife and I took the following trip this past summer:
Seattle > Mt. Rainier National Park
Mt. Rainier National Park > Portland OR
Portland, OR > Crater Lake National Park
Crater Lake National Park > Redwood Nat'l Park
Redwood Nat'l Park > Napa Valley CA
Napa Valley, CA > San Francisco
This trip took about 12 days but we felt a little rushed at times. Would have liked more time to explore Seattle and Portland. And we were only in SF for an afternoon before flying home. All three Nat'l parks we visited were phenomenal. We camped a few nights in Crater Lake and Redwoods and rented a tiny little cabin outside of Rainier.
The Chihuly museum in Seattle is amazing if you like glass work, he's a freakin wizard. Crater Lake is a bit out of the way but it is a must-see in my opinion. You can explore a good bit of the park in a day or two. Driving on the 101 and through the Avenue of the Giants was awesome and any part of the Redwoods is fantastic. We did a ton of hikes in all three parks. If you want any more details let me know. Oh, and we splurged for a convertible rental car, which was awesome when the weather was warmer. Cheers!
This trip took about 12 days but we felt a little rushed at times. Would have liked more time to explore Seattle and Portland. And we were only in SF for an afternoon before flying home. All three Nat'l parks we visited were phenomenal. We camped a few nights in Crater Lake and Redwoods and rented a tiny little cabin outside of Rainier.
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