Our family is about to embark on our first 1000+ mile road trip. We travel often, but always use air travel to get where we are going. This time we'll be traveling to Southern California to visit Disneyland via our trusty Prius (At least we're hoping it's trusty!) We're also including a breeze-thru visit of the Redwoods, a drive across the Golden Gate Bridge, a sunset picnic at Huntington Beach, and a tour of the Jelly Belly Factory. We started the planning of this trip in August when we took a longer camping trip around the Olympic Peninsula which almost turned into a surprise trip to Disneyland. We had another vacation planned in February that gave us a very limited amount of vacation dollars to use on this trip, so my planning has been extreme budget based. Our February vacation had to be postponed, so that has given us more funds, but as we have recently found our way into the miles and points hobby and we are anticipating some frequent trips in the next 18 months we desire to save as much as we can for the next vacation. I'm sharing my research for this trip, which includes some notes about places to stay (on the cheap) and things to do and routing. If you've made this trip or other long road trips and have any tidbits of wisdom, let me know!
Route Plan:
Silverton, OR - Roseburg, OR (145 mi) 2hr. 41min.
- stop for lunch at rice hill drive-in
Roseburg, OR- Klamath, CA ( 174 mi) 3hr. 37min.
- need rest stop break
- picnic dinner at Trees of Mystery
Klamath, CA - Eureka, CA (62 mi) 1hr. 17min.
- stop for the night
Eureka, CA to San Francisco, CA (274 mi) 5hr. 34min.
- get sandy at Samoa Dunes
- drive on Ave. of Giants starting at Pepperwood
- stop for lunch at Shrine Drive Thru tree
- stop for the night
San Francisco, CA to Huntington Beach (421mi) 7hr. 9min.
- need a couple rest stop breaks
- arrive at beach in time to eat picnic at Sunset
Huntingon Beach, CA to Anaheim, CA (25 mi) 34 min.
- stop for the night
- take a couple days for Disneyland
Anaheim, CA to Fairfield, CA (415 mi) 7hr. 1min.
- stop at Harris Ranch for lunch
- need a rest stop break
- stop for the night
Fairfield, CA to Dunsmuir, CA (223 mi) 3hr. 42 min.
- tour jelly belly factory
- stop for the night at caboose lodging
Dunsmuir, CA to home (500 mi) 8 hr. 30 min.
- need some rest stop breaks
Redwoods
Accommodations-
Camping Options:
Jedediah Smith Campground –
10 miles E of Crescent City – $35
Elk Prairie Campground –
6 miles N of Orick – $35
Cabin Options:
KOA
(KOA card gives 10% off – yearly rate of $24)
1 room kamping kabin – $64 for
a Saturday night stay in May at crescent
City
1 room kamping kabin – $63 for a Sunday night stay in May at Eureka
Elk Creek Campground -
$50-75.00 nightly for family of 4.
Motels:
Curly Redwood Lodge- Crescent City –$
60 (well rated, budget, vintage fun!)
Econo
Lodge (miles earned) – Crescent City – $49.99 (44 with Gov’t rate) (not
well reviewed because it’s bare bones, but if just looking for a basic bed and
shower while touring, it’s a good value-includes a cont. breakfast)
Ravenwood Motel -Klamath – $65-125 (would
be a great choice for a family staying awhile, or a couples getaway)
Town House Motel-Eureka – $79
for a family suite (2 rooms)
RodewayInn (miles earned)-Eureka – $65.99 (fairly well reviewed, basic and clean
motel)
Best Western (miles earned) – Arcata – 84.96-and
possible 15% off coupon (well reviewed, has an indoor pool and includes
breakfast)
Howard
Johnson Arcata (miles earned) –Arcata – 72.99 (well reviewed, has an indoor
pool and includes breakfast)
Stonegate Villas – Leggett – worth
checking out.
Ocean Grove Lodge – Trinidad
– 2 doubles for 66.00, two queens for 80.00
Things to do and See-
Klamath
River Overlook, a prime spot for watching the gray whale migration
Trillium Falls Trail
covers 2½ miles through ancestral forest and has one of the few falls in the
parks, and includes Fern
Canyon
Kuchel Visitor Center
is one mile South of Orick and has some good exhibits
Gondola ride at Trees of Mystery (and don’t forget
Babe!) (expensive for what it is, but kids 6 and under are free)
Driving
to Anaheim
Motels:
Quality Inn Oakland (miles
earned) – 72.00 (57.00 advance purchase) (highly rated, full breakfast, outdoor
pool budget motel)
Hotwire – Oakland – 51.00 ( 75%
positive reviews, with breakfast and pool, in the airport area – possible La
Quinta, Quality Inn or Days Hotel)
Things to do and see:
Golden Gate Bridge
Beaches
