need suggestions of places to stay on oregon coast road trip (Portland: skateboarding, rent)

[outdoorman]

As my 14 yr old son and I will fly in to SF area this july for a road trip that ive always wanted to make up the coast into oregon. anyone have suggestions of great inexpensive places to stay along the trip as well as must see attractions/sites. We love the outdoors, forests and hope to see quaint, small unique and fun towns along the way.

[nanannie]

We made the trip with our then 13 yr old son. Here is a brief summation of a long trip. Dont know your price range, but this will give you a very abbreviated idea.

Flew into SF, headed up the coast (its a winding,slow, but glorious stretch) and spent the first nite in beautiful Mendocino at the Little River Inn. Wonderful views,great on site restaurant and son declared the best burger he has had "in his whole life'.Lovely town and nice place to begin the trip. Headed out the next day.Got picnic supplies in Fort Ord for one of our many lunches on the coast.( Did that almost every day.)Visited the town of Ferndale,Victorian village,cute,not much to do/see beyond a few walks around the town and stopped at fruit stands in the area that will spoil you from ever eating any other cherries or peaches again,,,then on to Eureka,Arcata.Humboldt country. Glad we visited, no desire to return. Alot of empty storefronts in Eureka,Cant even remember the name of the hotel we stayed in Arcata, (a college town that time has left alone since 1969,)but we got high from the fumes coming from the next room. We were anxious to move on the next day after visiting Trinidad. Pretty town, not much to see there.

Up to Cresent City,meh. Of course,dont miss the Redwoods,(we stopped at several of the well marked stops and hiked ). Got picnic supplies there and had lunch up the coast in Port Orford. Just pulled off on one of the many stops(all well marked.) Hiked along the coast trails. Explored tide pools and visited with fellow travelers for tips on the rest of our trip. Gold Beach is where we stayed then,little hotel, mom and pop 50's kind of place("Gold Beach Motel" I think) and just explored. Took the JET BOATS(Jerrys) excursion from there (fun trip, up the river,beautiful,wildlife,tour guide into doing donuts with the boat) and I highly recommend it and its a DONT MISS with your son. Def,call ahead for reservation.
The coast is so beautiful and majestic its hard to keep your eyes on the road. The towns will leave something to desire. But we spent such little time in the rooms and in the towns. No restaurant or town really stands out. They have rest stops and food and places to sleep,which is fine.The scenery is the show.

Bandon is "cute", but poured buckets(stayed at Best Western-just fine) as it did Coos Bay. I dont know how far you are going this trip. For hotels, I would suggest the web site,TRIP ADVISOR, has detailed reviews from travelers, great tips, and all the prices of hotels,motels and personal trip reviews which helped us alot. Dont know if you are hikers, but endless well marked places along the whole way. Just stop and get out of the car and take in the views and fresh ocean air. Again, towns are hit and miss, some pretty sad, but its about the area and the wonderful gift the coast line is.

As you go further north (dont know how far up you are going) the towns improve and are really REALLY nice, Newport,Florence,Yachats,Manzanitta,Depot Bay,Cannon Beach(dont miss Ecola State Park) up to Astoria have always been our favorites, all very nice and worth a visit for sure. You will have no problam finding a decent place to stay/eat/explore in any or all of the above mentioned towns. However,at that time of year, there are ALOT of people doing just what you are doing,so call ahead when you can.
Coming back to SF, we headed off coast to Grants Pass,Ashland (stayed in GP, really nice,both towns) and headed for two nites in Mount Shasta. Loved the town, loved the hike around the mountains, waded in icey,clear streams. Went back to SF via inland 5, not much scenery, but a much quicker ride to SF. Spent our last 2 days visitng/touring before we headed out. Hope you and your son have a wonderfu time,,,dont forget the camera!

[ConeyIsBabe]

I live in the Grants Pass area, and have made trips to the coast many times. For an adult the trip is breathtaking. For a teenager ~~~ honestly, I think it would be boring. The coastal drive itself is often slow, with roads that curve along with the terrain; beautiful, but tedious driving. For your son... don't miss stopping at the Sea Lion Caves, just north of FLORENCE !! It is a one-of-a-kind attraction, worth the stop!! The JET BOAT ride is a must, probably the most fun thing to do. Although I've never done it, I think there are dune-buggy rides somewhere along the coast, where you can rent the vehicle and do your thing!

If you are going to continue up to the north coast (a very long, scenic drive) ~ your son will like to see SEASIDE BEACH (it has many kid-attractions) along with a spectacular beach ! If you still want to continue north, it would be most interesting to visit ASTORIA for its history (the end of the Lewis & Clark Expedition) and where the movie "The Goonies" was filmed !!

If you drive back south via I-5 it will be a very easy and fast return, but stay on the highway and not the country-side-roads.

[jjpop]

Originally Posted by outdoorman

As my 14 yr old son and I will fly in to SF area this july for a road trip that ive always wanted to make up the coast into oregon. anyone have suggestions of great inexpensive places to stay along the trip as well as must see attractions/sites. We love the outdoors, forests and hope to see quaint, small unique and fun towns along the way.

It would help if you could describe how far north you are going. SF to the CA-OR border is about 350 miles, then another 350 miles to the OR-WA border. Are you going to do the entire 700 miles? How far into Oregon are you going?

[davefr]

Originally Posted by outdoorman

As my 14 yr old son and I will fly in to SF area this july for a road trip that ive always wanted to make up the coast into oregon. anyone have suggestions of great inexpensive places to stay along the trip as well as must see attractions/sites. We love the outdoors, forests and hope to see quaint, small unique and fun towns along the way.

Hwy 101 from SF through the redwoods and up the No. Calif. and Or coast ia very scenic. You will see all of the above and there are plenty of inexpensive places to stay.

The driving will be very slow going.

Unless you focus on a specific area there's too much to list. However this is the the of trip where it's easy to stop along the way and explore whatever interests you.

SF to Astoria and back with time to explore could easily take a week. Don't expect this to be a couple day trip.

[ConeyIsBabe]

Driving from Grants Pass Oregon to San Francisco via I-5 takes about 7-8 hours, more or less depending on how long your rest stops take. From Grants Pass to Astoria took me 7 hours on I-5 with several rest stops. So ~~ I'm estimating a 14 hour return drive on I-5 from Astoria to SF (I-5 in Oregon is an excellent highway, with many opportunities to stop for rest & food).

If you want to stop and see stuff along the return trip, that would take 2 to 3 days

[haggardhouseelf]

Yurts and cabins at Oregon State Parks can save you money AND place you in amazing locations for outdoorsy nature-inspired activities. It's quite a drive from SF to Oregon... especially up the curvy Pacific Coast hwy. You'll probably love every minute of it, though, as it is scenic - especially on the Oregon side.

One of my favorite places in Southern Oregon along the coast is Cape Blanco. I love lighthouses, so that's partly the reason. The cabins there are really sweet, too, with great views. The state parks have hot showers that are so nice! And the capsites have firepits and water and the yurts and cabins have elctrical outlets. Here's the state park website:Oregon State Parks and Recreation: Visiting State Parks - Find A Park

Bandon is also really fun, and Shore Acres beautiful. There's so much to see along the coast. I'd suggest you just drive and just plan to stop at every turn-off point to explore. Wear layers/warm clothes/ dress for all kinds of weather and wear sturdy shoes. Jeans, long-sleeved t-shirt, fleece jacket, anorak or parka... peel off layers if you're too warm and layer them back on again when the winds pick up or the weather changes. This is Oregon. It can be cold and rainy even in summer, so be prepared.

[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)

[mdvaden]

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)

Now I've got to keep track of you on the Oregon forum too - LOL.

I wouldn't suggest going all the way up the Oregon coast. Seaside has some fun stuff for young folks, or like the aquarium in Newport, but its a bit of a drive too. I just returned from the redwoods as far as Florence last week. As an adult - very relaxing.

Consider maybe the first 100 miles of the Oregon coast, or maybe going up to where the dunes are and you can rent equipment for the dunes.

The Oregon Caves near Cave Junction might make a nice tangent about an hour east of the redwoods. Then you could return back to the coast, and maybe camp at Harris Beach State Park at Brookings, Oregon.

[davefr]

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)

Any reason why you're choosing SF as the airport to fly in to?

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 mostly 2 lane and full of motor homes that don't go more then 30 MPH.