need suggestions of places to stay on oregon coast road trip

[mdvaden]

Originally Posted by davefr

Any reason why you're choosing SF?

I'd recommend flying into PDX and exploring the OR coast from Lincoln City to Astoria. IMHO that's the best part of the entire 700+ mile coastal journery.

If your son get's board after a few days you can take in some of the attractions around Portland like Mt. Hood, the Colombia Gorge, teen girls in downtown, etc.

IMHO the only thing you'd be sacrificing is the Redwoods in California and about 600 miles of slow going driving. Hwy 101 is 2 lane and full of motor homes that don't go more then 30 MPH.

Brookings to Gold beach is as scenic as anything up north. I do like Seaside and Cannon Beach, but once a young person has done the bumper cars, seen the Aquarium or rented the 4 wheel carriage bikes, we find the the north coast and south coast are both very enjoyable. Especially for folks who like outdoors, camping or hiking.

Starting about 3 hours north of San Francisco, there is world class forest and scenic coastline between Avenue of the Giants and, say, Gold Beach, Oregon.

One could start in Portland. I've suggested either Portland or San Francisco for arrival if folks want to include the redwoods and some coastline, arriving from overseas or another state. The north coast is not the best. It's one of Oregon's best. Far north CA, surprisingly for me, has some very nice coastline, although I don't like its coastal towns as much as Oregon's.

The coastal image below is not far north of Harris Beach State Park and Brookings in southern Oregon.

Sacrifice the redwoods you suggest?

The coast redwoods are a temperate rainforest World Heritage site, with more biomass per acre than any tropical rainforest.

Reason to sacrifice such a forest on a visit to the Pacific coast?

[davefr]

Originally Posted by mdvaden

Sacrifice the redwoods you suggest?

The coast redwoods are a temperate rainforest World Heritage site, with more biomass per acre than any tropical rainforest.

I couldn't agree more that these giants are a "must see". However there are many "must sees" in the PNW and I'm simply trying to caution the OP that he might need to set some priorities with his son.

The 1400 mile round trip journey from SF to Astoria along the coast is extremely slow going in the summer. We're talking at least 35-40 hrs of windshield time and that does not include stops along the way. His highest average speed will be limited by the slowest moving motor home along this mostly 2 lane road. Travel times always take longer then the map would suggest.

If his son get's bored quickly then it's even more reason to rethink the itinerary.

Maybe the OP should scheduled an open jaw trip. Fly into SFO and out of PDX. That will buy him some more quality time. Your idea of limiting the trip to the Southern coast also makes sense.

[mdvaden]

His posting in the California section indicated some possibility of CA nostalgia.

The idea of arriving in SF and exiting at PDX would make for an interesting trip.

[zitsky]

Originally Posted by mdvaden

His posting in the California section indicated some possibility of CA nostalgia.

The idea of arriving in SF and exiting at PDX would make for an interesting trip.

I agree. I did the trip twice, before I lived in Eugene, and while I lived there. The coast of Oregon (and California) is one of the most beautiful places I've seen. If your son is into surfing, the safe places I'd recommend are Crescent City, CA, Coos Bay, OR (Bastendorff Beach), and Cannon Beach, OR (Ecola State Park). Seaside is also an option, but might get crowded. It would probably be the easiest place to rent a surfboard, however.

This isn't very practical, but if you like jam or jelly, sauces, etc, I would highly recommend stopping at a store called Meadow Mist in Bandon, OR. They are right on the highway and I think are open 7 days a week. I think their sign still says "gotjam?". They have a lot of local varieties of jam, jelly, pancake syrup etc. If you have a sweet tooth like me, it is worth a quick stop. If you like wine, the area around McMinnville, OR is known for their good wines.

The drive from SF to Mendocino is very winding and can make some people very car sick. I've done that route once or twice with my partner but now we take 101 instead. Ferndale is an interesting stop, but your son might be bored, unless he likes architecture. Crescent City is really sleepy and is really only good for a quick pit stop. Cave Junction on your way into Oregon has two wineries, Bridgeview Winery makes a nice riesling if you feel like stopping for a taste. Cannon Beach is a cute little town with a lot of little shops and restaurants along the highway. It feels like a typical seaside town where you can slow down and catch your breath, instead of the places where you drive right through. I think the southern part of Oregon is somewhat boring, although the scenery is nice. My advice is to spend more time in central and northern Oregon. I would drive up to Seaside if you can.

[haggardhouseelf]

Originally Posted by outdoorman

sorry for forgeting to tell that I have 7-8 days to do the road trip so I'll go as long as my son can tolerate. I really appreciate all of your information and descriptions of the attracitons and routes. My son has always loved the outdoors but is starting to take greater interest in things like skateboarding and being with his friends so I want to get this trip with him while he still shows traces of desires of doing things in nature (Im letting him take a skateboard along as he wants to visit any skate parks we come across in California)

There are a lot of skateparks in Oregon, I'm willing to bet CA has quite a few, too. I know there's a really nice skatepark in Florence, OR... off of hwy 101... very near the coast and some fun geocaches as well!

Depending on the type of mobile device/cell phone you have... there are apps you can download to your phone which will give you all the skateparks within a certain mile radius of your current location. (If you're into geocaching, there are apps that show you geocaches near you as well!) So you could get your time in with your son and he could get some skate time in as well and everybody's happy!

[haggardhouseelf]

Originally Posted by davefr

The 1400 mile round trip journey from SF to Astoria along the coast is extremely slow going in the summer. We're talking at least 35-40 hrs of windshield time and that does not include stops along the way. His highest average speed will be limited by the slowest moving motor home along this mostly 2 lane road. Travel times always take longer then the map would suggest.

I agree that would be a long and slow trip. However, if you're a Goonies fan - it could be worth it!

Found this from the events listing from the WOW Hall in Eugene (http://www.wowhall.org/events.php - broken link):

"Finally the really big news of the day. The Goonies reunite once more -- and you can join in for a once in a lifetime event! The cast and filmmakers of The Goonies will ascend upon the fishing town once known as the GoonDocks (Astoria, Oregon) and will once again take the football field where it all started. The Oregon film commission is presenting a special four day event open to everybody who can afford a ticket. As part of this Goonie experience which celebrates and marks the 25th anniversary of the film, there will be tours of all of the practical locations from the film, including Mickey and Data’s houses and the Jail from the Fratelli’s jail break scene at the opening of the film, and even a new museum loaded with actual props from the film. But that's not all -- many of the original cast members will be on hand (all of which are yet to be announced) -- but Corey Feldman will definitely be there."

[outdoorman]

Sorry about the delay in responding back as we drove from Savannah to Atlanta and spent most of the weekend car-hunting for my older son as well as visiting family; appreciate all your suggestions and when I get back after the holiday weekend, I'll start studying maps and your suggestions some more. By the way, I really appreciate your comments about things that would help keep this more interesting for my 14 yr old son. All have a great weekend.

[mdvaden]

Originally Posted by outdoorman

Sorry about the delay in responding back as we drove from Savannah to Atlanta and spent most of the weekend car-hunting for my older son as well as visiting family; appreciate all your suggestions and when I get back after the holiday weekend, I'll start studying maps and your suggestions some more. By the way, I really appreciate your comments about things that would help keep this more interesting for my 14 yr old son. All have a great weekend.

We sure got a nice collection of shark teeth during our short 8 months in Savannah, living at Johnny Mercer Blvd..

The whole family enjoyed collecting those. Plus shells.

Sand dollars is one of the staples on this coast.