California trip advice for a visiting Euro

[FormerKnuckleDragger]

One thing to consider is whether you want a car in SF. If you stay in the Union Square neighborhood a lot of the sights are within walking distance, and parking is expensive and some places scarce. OTOH there are places worth seeing like Golden Gate Park which are farther away, and public transportation in SF is not as good as in Europe.

Cleanliness and sanity of your co-riders notwithstanding, it's hard to think of a part of San Francisco that isn't accessible by a Muni bus. Old Goat is right that parking is super expensive in hotels ($50/day at some). Once you add in the rental cost, it might be cheaper to take Muni where possible, and UberX when you're in a hurry.

Pay close attention to where your SF hotel is. Some are closer to undesirable parts of town (the Tenderloin, parts of Soma) than others. Also, the "SFO airport hotels" are not in San Francisco at all, but are instead about a 20 minute drive south and in the middle of suburbia. Finally, the big chain hotels are all pretty much in the downtown area, which (tourist things aside) isn't really "San Francisco."

Think about getting an AirBnB place in Pac Heights/Russian Hill/Telegraph Hill (spectacular views and super nice neighborhoods), the Marina (frat bros but on the waterfront), or Hayes Valley or parts of the Mission (can be sketchy, but some of the better food).

[Dhelihiker]

Pretty hard to beat Yosemite

SF is def worth a few days. Eat in the Mission Every night, if anyone suggest otherwise, don't trust anything the say.

Hwy 1 is pretty spectacular either direction. The north coast gets pretty desolate fast.

Napa is gay as fuck

Driving through Yosemite and circling back through Tahoe would be an efficient route. Bode is a ghost town on that route sorta.

[irbis]

Guys I would like to say a heart felt thank you. Much appreciated, it goes to show how well our tribe functions (Triungulate, the only one of you I have met in person, no less than three times, calls it a tribe and that is spot on). Once our plans are finalized I will share them so I can buy (some of) you a beer somewhere in California.

[old goat]

Too bad you'll miss the Folsom Street Fair in October

[yogachik]

If you plan to go to Yosemite, book reservations if you can, right away. Usually the reservations sell out a year in advance, so good luck.

Also, take a look at the FAQs at tripadvisor's forums: http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowForum...alifornia.html

[Ottime]

No car in SF. - just a PITA

Napa is lame - I'd prefer driving through the SC mountains tasting

Monterey is very much tourist a tourist trap. The Aquarium is great, as is the drive around Pacific Grove. Carmel appeals to my parents. High end shopping.

The coastal drives north an south are both great. If you end up coming through Santa Cruz, PM me. Nearby we have very uncrowded redwoods, plenty of tide pools, surfing, hiking, MTB, and a number of good local breweries. Kayaking in Elkhourn Slough, 30 minutes south, is pretty nice.

June can be foggy on the coast. If you are hoping to drive and see Big Sur, check the forecast. If it is fogged in, you don't see much.

SLO area also has some good wines.

Yosemite is pretty great. It also tends to be crowded in summer. Schools get out the first Friday in June. If you plan to visit Y, try to get there before the hoarded. You can rent a hotel room or one of their fancy lodge tents. It is pretty damn stunning.

[splat]

Appropriate attire.

[old goat]

Appropriate attire.

For a Texas beach maybe.

[old goat]

Friends of ours have a Donner Lake cabin. Their daughter and her German husband live in a village across the Rhine from Basel. Frequently Wolf brings family members when they pay their yearly visit. One year his cousin, his wife, and their two kids spent two weeks in a van seeing Yellowstone, the Grand Canyon,Yosemite, LA, SF, Tahoe, and the several days at Donner Lake. I don't recommend a trip like that. But they saved the highlight of their epic trip for last--Sutter's Fort in Sacramento. Turns out John (Johann) Sutter came from their town in Germany. (Sutter's Fort is a recreation of the compound built by the man on whose land an hour from Sacramento gold was discovered. The vast majority of Sacramentans have never been in Sutter's Fort, unless they were dragged there as schoolkids by their teachers. I'd skip it if I were the OP>)

[Ottime]

+1 on Pinnacles if you are in the area. You can actually loop Big Sur coast, headed a from Monterey, inland at SLO to Pasa Robles wine country and up to Pinnacles. From there you could head inland to Yosemite, back to Oakland and SF. Easy in two weeks. And that heat would be nice after staying out by the coast.

Not a lot of lodging on Big Sur coast. Vantanna is $$$$ and nice, but no kids under 18. There is lodging and I think tent cabins for rent there. Then in Lucia there is one hotel. Several in San Simeon.

Laden is cool for a northern route. In general, is take 101N, an head out to the coast and pick up 1 in Jenner. Drive from there to PT Arena is nice. Spend a night at a B&B in Mendocino. Check out the local art scene. Head inland toward Healdsburg. Drink wine. Head to Lassen from there. Hike the trail across the road from the S side of Lassen. Tar pit things are like Tatonee. Eat olives in Calaveras to break up the horrible drive down 5 back to SFO

[old goat]

Driving in California is generally a PITA--it's a crowded state with crap for public transportation for the most part, especially outside the big cities. Plan your trip to minimize driving, maximize sight-seeing out of the car. While Big Sur, for example, is beautiful , it's a lot less beautiful when you're following an RV at 15 mph on the winding coast highway. My suggestion of SF, north coast, redwoods, yosemite will have no drives of more than a couple of hours and mostly less depending on how many different places you stay, except for the drive to Yosemite and then from Yosemite back to SF.. BTW in Yosemite, in addition to the Valley, you should check out the Mariposa grove of Giant Sequoias--not as big as the trees in Sequoia Nat'l Park, but big enough.

[Viva]

Forget Yosemite. Visit Mineral King to the south. Should you visit Yo Semite, GO EARLY, as the lines to enter can be obscenely long.

San Francisco's cool, cause it's a walkable city (al la New York, Boston, Montreal, Paris, Kathmandu et al.

If you want to experience real, authentic Mexico during your trip, the areas immediately west and south of downtown Los Angeles are pretty nice. East LA is more old school chicano, if you're into zoot suits and low riders and shit, yo.

[The AD]

BTW in Yosemite, in addition to the Valley, you should check out the Mariposa grove of Giant Sequoias

Agreed. Amazing.

[Ottime]

SF is walkable like NYC? No, it is not. SF is fine enough, but it is nothing like NY. SF is such a car city. There are driveways everywhere, which should give a clue that it is a car city. And the public transportation blows and pretty much shits down at 11. And while there are districts that are walkable, they are like islands.

And the drive from the north coast to Yosemite is about 8 hours. Either go north or go south. Doing both makes for much more road time.


As for getting stuck behind and RV in Big Sur, there is a very simple solution. Pull over, get out of car, and enjoy the view. Or go for a hike. I've driven the BS coast a ton of times, often on surf trips, and never really had any issues.

But for each there own.

Still, heading north will see fewer people and less traffic. Avoid 5 if you can. It is great for makin good time but perhaps one of the countries most miserable roads.

[Buster Highmen]

Just North of San Francisco, West of Sonoma:
Point Reyes. A beautiful peninsula.
McClure's Beach*
Manka's Inverness Lodge
Tomales Bay Oyster Co.*
Osteria Stellina*


Going North: Sonoma, so many wines, so little time.
Littorai Wines*
Kistler Vineyards

Russian River Valley. Beautiful older homesteads and wineries.
Timber Cove Inn *
Hirsch Winery*

Gualala Point
Whale Watch Inn*

Mendocino
Mendocino Hotel

Then head back highway 20 to US 101 to make time going North to:
Humboldt Redwoods
Benbow Inn

Prairie Creek Redwoods*
Redwoods National Park - Take the Newton B. Drury road for sightseeing.

Just North of Del Norte, take a little side trip up the Jedediah Smith River.

Just past the Jedediah Smith Campground, there's a road that goes to the Stout Grove*. Go for a walk.
Good redwoods resource: http://www.redwoods.info/showrecord....urce=Favorites


Continue North on 101 to Oregon, get to Gold Beach.

Irelands Rustic Lodge is much nicer than the name lets on.
Anna's By The Sea **** for dinner (Wednesday-Sunday and by appointment)
Jet Boat rides up the Rogue are wild. They can be taken to lodges accessible only by boat up the Rogue.

Rogue River Lodges . Paradise Lodge is accessible by jetboat from GB.

Rogue River Lodges
Information about rafting, kayaking, and fishing the Wild and Scenic Rogue River in Southern Oregon.
View on www.oregonsrogueriver.com...

Tu Tu Tun lodge is supposed to be nice too.
Further North, Reedsport is by the Oregon Dunes and is very different from GB and the Redwoods.
Newport has a ton of good seafood restaurants.

Lincoln City has an old nice inn called the Salishan that has a wonderful cellar of Oregon Pinot Noirs

Take OR 18 towards the Willamette valley to taste Oregon Pinot Noir.

McMinnville is a good hub with nice hotels and restaurants.

I'd recommend hitting Domaine Drouhin, Bergstrom, Domain Serene, St. Innocent.

From there either head back to see Cannon Beach on the coast or head inland to see Portland

(Heathman Hotel***, Powell's Books***)

One could continue up the coast through Astoria, but to see the variety, one should take in Mt. Hood and a
little bit of the East side of the Cascades. In summer, it's usually quite hot and dry East of the Cascades.

Head E up US 26 to Government Camp and go see Timberline Lodge. Lift served skiing is available through August.
The rooms in the old lodge are great; nice pool, good restaurant. Great air and views.

Take 35 from 26 just E. of Gov't Camp down along Hood River to Hood River Ore.
A beautiful, rich valley from where the pear brandy comes. Hood River is a great town.

Head further E. and then N. on 97 to Toppenish on to the Yakima valley and sample the local cabernet/merlot/syrah blends.

Yakima is a dump, so stay either out in the wine country or drive up US 12, then SR410 to stay along the Naches River.

Whistlin Jack is rustic but nice. Just stock up on good drinks down in OR and the Yakima Valley.

If by this time you're tired, you could blaze along I-82 to get to I-90 then head for civilization in Seattle.

Otherwise, continue up SR410 over Chinook Pass for an amazing view of Mount Rainier and Mount Rainier National Park.

Take SR410 and swing up to Sunrise** (National Park fee there) or cruise up to Crystal Mountain (our ski area)
and stay at the Alpine Inn. Rustic but decent rooms and restaurant. One of the best ski bars in the world.


Around Seattle, there's The Salish Lodge at Snoqualmie Falls, The Inn At The Market and the Fairmont. Some good restaurants include the Georgian Room, Altura, Lark, Harvest Vine.

From Seattle, drive North to Bellingham and just N. of Bellingham cut off for the Lummi Island Ferry to get you to

the Willows Inn*****. (AH-MAzing food and views, run by ex-Noma sous chef)

The San Juan Islands are lovely and you can take a ferry ride as a foot passenger for very little from Anacortes just South of Bellingham.

The road along the coast from Bellingham to Anacortes is rich with organic farms and oyster farms.

Friday Harbor on San Juan Island has a lot of inns walking distance from the ferry.

On Orcas there's the Rosario Resort and the Orcas Hotel.

If you're not completely exhausted, head to Victoria on Vancouver Island, have tea in the Empress and schedule another meal and night at the Sooke Harbor House.
Vancouver is a vibrant, big city worth a visit.

The Olympic Peninsula is also amazing with the Hoh Rain Forest worth a visit. Amenities are a bit sparse out there with some lodging available in Port Angeles, Lake Crescent and then down by Lake Quinault.

[4matic]

Just past the Jedediah Smith Campground, there's a road that goes to the Stout Grove*. Go for a walk.
Good redwoods resource: http://www.redwoods.info/showrecord....urce=Favorites
.

That's Howland Hills road. It's dusty in the summer but worth it. Also, as you exit to the east is an awesome rope swing and swimming spot in the beautiful Smith River. Swung and swam there last summer..the water is so pure. Not me...you don't want to see me:

[The AD]

As for getting stuck behind and RV in Big Sur, there is a very simple solution. Pull over, get out of car, and enjoy the view. Or go for a hike. I've driven the BS coast a ton of times, often on surf trips, and never really had any issues.

I did this drive last year. It was during the week, so traffic wasn't an issue, but I do agree with this. One of the great things about this drive is there are places to pull over everywhere. Getting from point A to point B quickly should not be on the agenda.

[Coño Frío]

....
If you're not completely exhausted, head to Victoria on Vancouver Island, have tea in the Empress and schedule another meal and night at the Sooke Harbor House.
Vancouver is a vibrant, big city worth a visit......

Sounds like an awesome tour of a beautiful part of the World. I love me some Willamette valley Pinot and, though it's usually a good idea to avoid the yellow snow, I dig the Rogue Yellow Snow IPA. Unfortunately your itinere circa the PNW ignores the OPs request for advice on Kalifornia specifically and the "very appealing" National Parks within her borders.

[stuckathuntermtn]

SF is walkable like NYC? No, it is not. SF is fine enough, but it is nothing like NY. SF is such a car city. There are driveways everywhere, which should give a clue that it is a car city. And the public transportation blows and pretty much shits down at 11. And while there are districts that are walkable, they are like islands.

And the drive from the north coast to Yosemite is about 8 hours. Either go north or go south. Doing both makes for much more road time.


As for getting stuck behind and RV in Big Sur, there is a very simple solution. Pull over, get out of car, and enjoy the view. Or go for a hike. I've driven the BS coast a ton of times, often on surf trips, and never really had any issues.

But for each there own.

Still, heading north will see fewer people and less traffic. Avoid 5 if you can. It is great for makin good time but perhaps one of the countries most miserable roads.

Good observation. I have cousins in Noe Valley, and it's great to walk around, but otherwise, you're right, you have to drive everywhere. Pretty much all of Cali. Actually, just driving up and down SF is fun for a couple hours. Wild gardens and bright pastel houses. I have family there (and now my parents) so the Bay Area to me is just hangout/eat/whatever.
Gotta do wine, go see redwoods, and I've always been curious to go south. Been to Palo Alto, but not Montery, Big Sur, etc.
The beaches are cold, rocky, windy, not European or East Coast beaches. Don't plan on swimming in the ocean if you are not a seal or otter. Always wanted to try kite boarding though.
If you are driving, remember, it's not yurp. You have to stop for peds. Especially in Cali. If there is not a light at the intersection, you have to stop for people. California's a bit short on money, so expect moving violation tickets for dumb shit like driving ever so slightly too fast or failure to yield to peds (the second one's a big deal).
If you don't like the weather on the coast, go inland. Even in the East Bay around Oakland and Berkeley the weather sucks significantly less.
And yeah, plan your trip around what's not on fire, lol.

[Coño Frío]

Chico is still a good party town

I've been told that Chico sucks....but Davis swallows

[Buster Highmen]

Unfortunately your itinere circa the PNW ignores the OPs request for advice on Kalifornia specifically and the "very appealing" National Parks within her borders.

If it doesn't stop AlpineZone Greg or a good deal of the TGR forum content, I'm confused as to why all of a sudden these flimsy restriction should apply to me.

But please, feel free to continue to impose your rigorous adherence to rigidity and compliance all over the innert00bs.

[Ottime]

+1 on the beaches being cold. Ocean is cold. Fog is cold. Wind is cold. Although, if you luck into a period when the high sit on top of us (as opposed to being centered north and offshore) it can get pretty damn nice.

I have a SC weather blog. Not trying to self promote, but worth checking out if you plan to be in the area, and especially in the coast. Link is in my sig. During summer months I do my best to forecast the marine layer. And for the past two years the water has been warm, which means upper 50s in June, which is still pretty cold.

I like the PNW itinerary if linked with a SEaTac to SFO hop.

[SB]

go to colo and get sum edibles

[Viva]

San Francisco is a very "walkable" city; I've done it many times. You guys is just puzzies.

Chico and Davis are both shitholes.

[old goat]

San Francisco is a very "walkable" city;

Not in high heels, or so my wife says.