Road Trips: Recs for a ~5 hour road trip outside the Bay Area?

I'm considering going on a road trip in late Dec/ early Jan. I prefer being near nature, yet staying in lodging.

I've been to the usual spots (i.e. Yosemite, Big Sur, Tahoe, etc.), and I'm looking for something different. I heard the Oregon Coast is nice, yet does it differ much from the CA coast?

I'll be going with one other person, and the trip would probably be a few days. Our budget is flexible, yet definitely not high end. We're both pretty relaxed traveler who prefer local experiences over paying to see a popular show/ attraction.

Any recommendations? Bear in mind it'll be during the silent season toward the end of the year.

Thanks!

Northern California (California) The Oregon Coast (Oregon) California (CA)

3 Answers

answered by

Peter from Munich

I would recommend a road trip along highway 1. If you dont mind multiple destinations. It's amazing how great the coast line can be and if you do like a 5 day trip you can drive to a couple spots each day, hang out and enjoy as much as you want until you continue on. Lodging shouldnt be a problem because its not peak seasone and there are plente of hotels, motels along the way. I did this trip a couple times when I had to drive to seattle, but I was always in a rush and couldnt really enjoy the places and scenere. There are some great lighthouses along the way which you could check out. You could go all the way up almost to seattle. If you drive back from Seattle it will take you about 12 hours to get back to SFO/Oakland.

Some recommendations:

Trees of Mystery

Drive-Thru Tree Park

Maritime Memorial

There are a lot of beautiful spots along Highway 1, where you can go see the beach, or some hiking possibilities. I also enjoy to travel through this old towns mostly fishermen towns.

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Trees of Mystery (attraction)
Drive-Thru Tree Park (attraction)
Maritime Memorial (attraction)

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Courtney from Los Angeles

This is in the opposite direction, but have you thought about seeing Carmel? I'm not even a nature person but I think it's one of the most stunning spots on the planet with one of the most beautiful beaches I've ever seen. It would be just about a five-hour round trip drive to and from SF. The Coachman's Inn is a lovely hotel that I bet would have some good deals in the off-season. For food I'd recommend Flaherty's Seafood Grill & Oyster Bar which has fabulous fish 'n' chips and serves an amazingly good martini for a fish 'n' chips place.

There's another restaurant called Katy's Place that has the most incredible breakfast I've ever had in my life. Worth a trip all the way there just for the eggs!