CA Redwoods in No CA

[Disney Hot Mama]

My kids and I are traveling to Oregon this week to visit my parents. On the trip home instead of taking the normal route (I-5) we want to see the CA Redwoods. Any advice, tips, places to stay on such short notice? We will probably head back home via the coast too. We have done San Francisco and Monterey and San Simeon on previous trips. I am looking for something fun with kids 9 & 11 too. Probably taking a few nights to drive home with a new place to stay/see each night.

Any advice on what to do, go and see?

 

[RallyMonkey]

How fun, my family and I just vacationed (camped) in the redwoods and in the Crater Lake area a few weeks ago!
Trees of Mystery is about half hour or so from the Oregon border on highway 101. You literally can't miss it because it's right off the roadside, and you will see the 50 ft. statue of Paul Bunyon and Babe the blue ox. There is a trail where you will encounter all sorts of very interesting and odd growing trees. The trail leads to the Sky Trail which is an enclosed gondala that seats 6 on a ski lift type thing. They even allow pets on it. It takes you up through the forest for some great views. At the top you get out onto the observation deck and spend as much time up there as you want. There are even a few picnic tables up there on the deck. You have a view of the ocean and a view of the mountains, there are binoculars up there to use to see an osprey nest. After returning down in the Sky Trail there is a different trail that leads you back to the gift shop depicting Paul Bunyons life through a multitude of wood carvings. They have a huge gift shop and a Native American Museum.
Their website is Treesofmystery.net.
There is so much to see in northern CA (which to me is all north of the bay area since I am from Humboldt county originally!), but another thing you shouldn't miss is if you haven't seen it is The Avenue of the Giants in Humboldt county. It's a scenic drive that runs alongside highway 101 for about 30 miles. It's full of old growth redwoods and a very beautiful drive. You can do the entire Avenue or part of it as there are various exits. There are a lot of attractions on the Avenue, go to avenueofthegiants.net. The Hobbiton trail was closed this time, but we always eat at the cafe at Chimney Tree. Good food but kind of expensive in my opinion. They have an indoor and outdoor seating area.
You might want to check out the skunktrain.com in Willits. I've always wanted to do it but never could fit it into our trips up north.
As far as places to stay, I don't have any personal experience because we are always camping up there or staying with family as I have them living conveniently scattered throughout the state! My old home town is Fortuna which has some motels and hotels in a nice area and it is centrally located among redwood country.

 

[Disney Hot Mama]

RallyMonkey,

Thank you! These suggestions are just what I am looking for .. both places to visit sound perfect... need to start my research now on directions etc... We are coming from Grants Pass, OR to the coast.. Then down the coast to home - in Ventura County, CA

 

[RallyMonkey]

Have fun driving down the coast. I's like to take the family up to Big Sur area sometime in the near future. Haven't done that route since I was a teen, we always take the 5 up to save time on our way up to visit family etc. then cut in the bay area to get on the 101. We were in Grant's Pass a week and a half ago and did that Hellgate Jetboat dinner excursion. Have you ever done that? It was soooo much fun, more fun then I anticipated!! Our kids ages 7 and 5 loved it too! I would highly recommend it to anyone who has time while traveling in the area. We were staying at a campground at Crater Lake but the drive to Grant's Pass and back was worth it.

 

[jlmarr]

Many moons ago I remember stopping on US-199 in the Smith Redwoods State Park and walking 50 yards off the road into the forest. It was like another world. Hope it's still like that.

 

[Disney Hot Mama]

Have fun driving down the coast. . We were in Grant's Pass a week and a half ago and did that Hellgate Jetboat dinner excursion. Have you ever done that? It was soooo much fun, more fun then I anticipated!! Our kids ages 7 and 5 loved it too! I would highly recommend it to anyone who has time while traveling in the area. .

YES - we have done the Hellsgate rides several times. Each time we try a new one. Last year we did the lunch but this year my son wants to do the ALL day one.....Glad you had a nice time on the boats.. it is one of the cities claims to fame....not much else to do there but my parents own property and a house there (they lived in LA their entire life and retired there 9 years ago) We visit every year...

I have gotten some great ideas on what to do as we come home. Now to plan it out and I will hopefully report back when we get home around the 21st of Aug.

 

[disneycrazzzy]

There is so much to see in northern CA (which to me is all north of the bay area since I am from Humboldt county originally!)

Wow! I am originally from Humboldt county too...Arcata specifically. Moved away in 1982. Still miss it.

You can't miss driving down the coast from Oregon. We like to stop at Jedidiah Smith Park on 199 near Crescent City, Patrick's Point, Trinidad, Eureka's old towne area, Ferndale to see the Victorian houses, swim at Benbow if it is still operating (near Garberville), I concur with the Avenue of the Giants (specifically Mother's grove...although I can't remember exactly where that is).

One item of note if you've never driven this route before. There is a lot of two lane (one each direction) sections on this route. It isn't like traveling on a normal interstate. Take your time, drive at your own pace, pull over to let faster drivers pass, it isn't worth trying to rush through.

 

[dunbarfamily]

Holy cow! Its a small world after all!

We were in Arcata and Humbolt County last April. My husband was interviewing for a position with Humbolt Flakeboard in Arcata, and another one of their plants in Crescent City (the name of the plant is escaping me right now!) Anyways, the company flew our entire family out there and we stayed for 10 days. Beautiful area, but cost of living is INCREDIBLE!!!! I never, ever thought it'd be so expensive to live there. If we would've taken the job, we would've ended up in a house about half the size of the one we're in now and we'd barely be able to make ends meet.


We loved Avenue of the Giants, and Trinidad has some very special memories for us.

I loved our trip to northern CA, and hope to go back someday.

I'm subbing to this thread...it's bringing back many fond memories.

 

[dunbarfamily]

Oh, if you're in Eureka, try the Somoa Cookhouse! They have GREAT food! We were there twice on our trip. It can't be beat! MMmmmmmm.....if I could teleport myself there....

 

[RallyMonkey]

I have gotten some great ideas on what to do as we come home. Now to plan it out and I will hopefully report back when we get home around the 21st of Aug.

Planning a trip is so much fun (to me anyway!). I would love to read about what you did and saw.

 

[RallyMonkey]

Wow! I am originally from Humboldt county too...Arcata specifically. Moved away in 1982. Still miss it.

You can't miss driving down the coast from Oregon. We like to stop at Jedidiah Smith Park on 199 near Crescent City, Patrick's Point, Trinidad, Eureka's old towne area, Ferndale to see the Victorian houses, swim at Benbow if it is still operating (near Garberville), I concur with the Avenue of the Giants (specifically Mother's grove...although I can't remember exactly where that is).

Yes, Benbow Lake is operating this summer! We drove in and had a look, there were literally only a few families there, really quiet, but it was a weekday. I remember going there growing up and catching all the tiny frogs up on the grass area and renting canoes. We were just camping in Richardson Grove State Park in the Oak Flats campground which is probably about 10 miles south of Benbow. That is my favorite place to camp, of course all the childhood memories have a lot to do with my feelings about the place! We were thinking of renting a canoe at Benbow but we had so much fun in our inflatable boat cruising down the Eel River in Richardson's, ha ha.

Ferndale, good call, although kids may get bored with it quick. It's so quaint though. We seem to go every year while we are visiting family in Fortuna during Thanksgiving time. Neat place to look around and shop. One of the stores has some really neat toys you don't find in regular toy stores. Sometimes they have horse/carraige rides on the main street, but we've never done it. They have some beautiful Bed and Breakfast places there like the Gingerbread Mansion, we've never done those either! I love the General Store the best. If you like old cemetaries, they have a few really creepy old ones. It's interesting reading all the old headstones. One of the cemetaries is in the film Salem's Lot. Also they filmed some of the movie Outbreak in Ferndale.

 

[RallyMonkey]

Holy cow! Its a small world after all!

We were in Arcata and Humbolt County last April. My husband was interviewing for a position with Humbolt Flakeboard in Arcata, and another one of their plants in Crescent City (the name of the plant is escaping me right now!) Anyways, the company flew our entire family out there and we stayed for 10 days. Beautiful area, but cost of living is INCREDIBLE!!!! I never, ever thought it'd be so expensive to live there. If we would've taken the job, we would've ended up in a house about half the size of the one we're in now and we'd barely be able to make ends meet.


We loved Avenue of the Giants, and Trinidad has some very special memories for us.

I loved our trip to northern CA, and hope to go back someday.

I'm subbing to this thread...it's bringing back many fond memories.

Hi Brandy, my name is Brandy, too. It's funny to hear you say how expensive it is up there because to me the housing is cheap. It is so much more expensive here in southern CA, you wouldn't believe it. But we moved because there aren't many good job opportunities up there for most people. The timber industry all but died. Most of my family had to get outta there and are living elsewhere throughout the state!

 

[dunbarfamily]

Hi Brandy, my name is Brandy, too. It's funny to hear you say how expensive it is up there because to me the housing is cheap. It is so much more expensive here in southern CA, you wouldn't believe it. But we moved because there aren't many good job opportunities up there for most people. The timber industry all but died. Most of my family had to get outta there and are living elsewhere throughout the state!

Hi Brandy! While in Arcata/Eureka area, we met with several realtors who told us it was much more expensive in So CA! I can't believe it! Where we're from, you can get a really nice brand new 3 bedroom 2 bath house on 10 acres for around $200,000. Out there, that'd barely buy a 2bd fixer upper on a 60 x 100 lot!! I couldn't believe it! We were so disillusioned when we came out there. When we first walked into the realtor's office, we told them we wanted at least a few wooded acres and they laughed and thought we were just joking! They said acres were almost unheard of, and if we wanted a few, we'd be looking at several hundred thousand dollars, just in land! Incredible!!!!

Timber industry is down all over. My husband has a BS in Wood Science, and so we know lots of foresters who are really hurting.

 

[Magix]

If you want redwoods and fun things to do with the kids, I'd suggest stopping in Santa Cruz when you get to the central coast. If you haven't done it before, you can visit the redwoods of both Big Basin State Park and, closer to town, Henry Cowell State Park. Cowell has a narrow gauge train that takes you on a loop through the redwoods. You can then take the last bit of Hwy 9 down into Santa Cruz. They've got the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk amusement park, currently celebrating its 100th anniversary. My favorite place in the whole world. Be sure to ride the Giant Dipper rollercoaster and have some saltwater taffy from Marini's. Also, grab an ice cream from Marianne's on Ocean Street. SC is a great town and can be lots of fun for the kids. Where else can you get the redwood forest and a great beach all in one day. Lots of people miss the redwoods of the central coast, but they're spectacular. As a kid, we traveled to most of the redwood parks in CA, but Big Basin was always my favorite.

And I second dunbarfamily's recommendation of the Samoa Cookhouse in Eureka!! Haven't been there for decades, but oh how I loved it as a kid when we traveled up there. I miss the sourdough bread!!

 

[Disney Hot Mama]

I am writing all these suggestions down, planning as we speak. I plan to take it slowly and enjoy the drive until the kids get bored. Can't wait now!

 

[Disney Hot Mama]

The kids and I are on our way down the 101 as we speak. We saw some redwoods today... visited Ocean World in Crescent City and then visited the Trees of Mystery in Klamath, CA. THe Trees of Mystery were great by the way... I would recommend this to anyone traveling this area. Tomorrow we will do the Avenue of the Giants and a drive by/drive through tree. and then keep driving down the coast until I get tired of driving

....I will post photos when we get home... the view from the highway is beautiful!

 

[RallyMonkey]

The kids and I are on our way down the 101 as we speak. We saw some redwoods today... visited Ocean World in Crescent City and then visited the Trees of Mystery in Klamath, CA. THe Trees of Mystery were great by the way... I would recommend this to anyone traveling this area. Tomorrow we will do the Avenue of the Giants and a drive by/drive through tree. and then keep driving down the coast until I get tired of driving

....I will post photos when we get home... the view from the highway is beautiful!

Glad you are enjoying your trip. Looking forward to seeing photos!

 

[LindaM]

We are doing this in October, I can't wait to see your pictures!! I received a brochure from Trees of Mystery the other day, looks reallly nice. What is Ocean World and Avenue of the Giants?