Hidden Gems Of Northern California. (photo, fishing, info, getaways)
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Also I haven't included Oregon in any plans as yet but there's only so much one can properly do in two weeks.
I love Eureka. It's more Oregon then most places in California. It's a town with a historic downtown core, that has been able to spread out a ways. You have a historic ship on the waterfront, and the remains of the old Fort.
Arcata on the other side of the bay is a liberal college town. For practical purposes this translates into cheap decent food, and several decent vegan/vegetarian dining options.
I would highly encourage you to budget a day or two to keep going up the coast, up through Oregon and then loop back down to I-5 via Medford.
You'll take Highway 199/Redwoods Highway east out of Crescent City to Grants Pass Oregon. In Cave Junction is the Oregon Caves, then the Ghost Town of Kerby Oregon where several massacres during the Rogue River Indian Wars happened. You can visit the city of Jacksonville, where the entire town is on the National Historic Register, and two more ghost town, Buncom and Golden (probably my favorite,) not to mention a historic Covered Bridge (and site of still more Indian massacres during the Rogue River Indian Wars.
Don't forget to stop in Ashland for food, it's another fairly liberal city which means more good eating and the Shakespeare Festival . Once over the border I like to explore back roads through that area, especially Route 96 to 263 and Yreka. (accessible via the same exit as the rest stop.) Weed is also a fun town for a few hours.
Granted, this loop could take a week by itself just to see everything properly. But I think it'd be worth your time to at least continue up to Crescent City as that part of the coast is probably one my favorite stretches of road.
jezer, just north of San Francisco across the Golden Gate Bridge is Mt Tamalpais state park. It is NOT to be missed. It's one of my favorite places in the whole country. Here are some photos I took when I was there but it really doesn't capture the natural unique beauty of the place. Also check out Point Reyes National Seashore.
I really want to drive that road in a decent automobile!
Thanks!
Funny you should mention that. That road is called Ridgecrest Boulevard and many car commercials are filmed there because it is so picturesque with the cars zooming along that road.
I thought I might mention a few places we went on our honeymoon when we drove from San Francisco to Seattle and stopped all over on the way. One of my favorite lesser known stops was Stinson Beach. We spent an afternoon and evening there on the beach in the rain and it was absolutely gorgeous. We also enjoyed a small cafe in Healdsburg, and the small Northern California town feel there. We had some amazing pizza in either Brookings or Harbor (can't remember which, but it's practically the same place). We enjoyed some great tide pool exploring just north of Brookings. In Oregon, we could have spent two weeks about every beach along the way. Some places we enjoyed were Tillamook (stop at the cheese factory and get some cheese and ice cream), the sea lion caves, and cannon beach in the north. Obviously there are a ton of other places to stop, but these are just a few of my favorites.
Some say the coast redwoods have never really been seen until visiting Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park. Said to be the Gemstone of all the coast redwood parks. Between Eureka and Crescent City. The photo below is from Jedediah Smith RSP by Crescent City. And that park too is worth doing together with Prairie Creek.
Some say the coast redwoods have never really been seen until visiting Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park. Said to be the Gemstone of all the coast redwood parks. Between Eureka and Crescent City. The photo below is from Jedediah Smith RSP by Crescent City. And that park too is worth doing together with Prairie Creek.
Eureka at the moment is clouded over, temp is low '60's which is common in the summer. Small city (120,000 in the whole county) and gets better the further away from the freeway you get. Nearby scenery is redwoods and seashores, and if you fish it's supposed to be a terrific salmon season this year. Nowhere near as exciting as Sac but we have something like 20 museums up here, most of them tiny. Economically depressed. six hours from SF if you bomb through, 3 hours from Redding. PM me if you decide to come this way. Have a great trip!
Maybe not as exciting as "Sac", but between the two, I'd take the natural area near Eureka any day. Both locations below should look very familiar. You've probably been by the log area several times.
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