Red Wood Forest in CA

[waygard33]

We're planning a trip through the Red Woods area over spring break. Any info on the camping in the area is greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

[JimQPublic]

What area?  We have coast redwoods off and on from Big Sur all the way to the Oregon border.  I haven't been in a redwood forest I didn't like.

[waygard33]

What area?  We have coast redwoods off and on from Big Sur all the way to the Oregon border.  I haven't been in a redwood forest I didn't like.

We want to visit the Redwood National Park on the northern coast between Crescent City and Eureka. Looks like about 30-40 miles south of the Oregon boarder on Hwy 101.

Thanks again

[aw738]

I was in the Redwood National Forest last November but didn't do any camping. Check my webshots page for some pictures.

[waygard33]

I was in the Redwood National Forest last November but didn't do any camping. Check my webshots page for some pictures.

Great photos! Those giant trees just amaze me. I've looked at photos of them since I was a kid and it's time to check them out first hand.

I see you also made it to the aviation museum in McMinnville, OR. That's about 15 miles from my house and I still haven't made it there. We moved to OR from Chicago about 4.5 years ago and still have a lot left to see.

Thanks again

[austinado16]

I grew up in this area of northern California.

Plan your trip so that as you leave Oregon, you hit the Oregon Caves and take the tour!!!!

The big trees start as you cross into California and then you really get into the thick of the coastal redwoods about 5mi south of Crecent City on the 101.

This is extremely hilly 2 lane highway, with a lot of tight turns, very slow speeds, and it's typically wet from rain, fog, and from the slippery dew that the redwoods put down on the highway.  Make sure your tow vehicle is well equiped to handle long steep grades without overheating and/or burning up the transmission.  Make sure the brakes on both your PUP and your tow vehicle are dialed in as this is no place for a failure.  The 101 highway is built into the cliffs and if you joint the "West of Highway 101" club, it's 500' straight down to the rocky coast.

South of Crecent City are numerous parks and pull-outs and camp grounds, including "Trees of Mystery" which is definately a must-stop.  Once you get into Trinidad, that's pretty much the end of the big trees until you get about an hour south of Eureka.  But do.....drive south and continue all the way down at least Willits (135mi south of Eureka) because the trees are even bigger down there, plus they have the Sequioa's....big enough you get to drive your car through a couple!  Plenty of camping and other attractions along the old areas of the highway.

Go through the lumber mill at Scotia, south of Eureka.  Ride the Skunk Train in Willits.

Oh, and prepare to pump your own fuel.  We here in Californa have mastered that task, and are legally allowed to do it.

[waygard33]

Austinado...Thanks for the informative reply. We will definitely add your items to our list.

Per your advice, I will try to avoid the 'West of Hwy 101 club', although, I'm sure it has very few members who were looking to join on purpose.

How's the weather there in mid to late March. This will be a spring break trip.

As for pumping my own fuel, Oregon has turned my brain to mush and I have completely forgotten how to do that and now feel it is beneath me anyway. I will be the guy driving through California with my very own 'Pump Jockey' tied to the roof. Gee I wonder if Yakima has a 'Pump Jockey' roof rack for the popup?  :eyecrazy:

I think New Jersey is the only other state in the union that won't let you pump your own gas. I just heard on the news that they have the highest percentage of millionaires per capita. I can see why all those millionaires wouldn't want to pump their own gas but I'm not sure what Oregon's excuse is. My theory is we don't want to give anyone an excuse to go to college.

[mrsoreo57]

The Redwoods is the most beautiful place in the world IMHO. Take "lots" of film/memory and see everything you can. I can pretty much guarantee that you will spend most of you're time there "in awe". My husband and I are unable to drive thru the Redwoods without spending at least one night, and we have been there over a dozen times I would guess. Enjoy...

[waygard33]

The Redwoods is the most beautiful place in the world IMHO. Take "lots" of film/memory and see everything you can. I can pretty much guarantee that you will spend most of you're time there "in awe". My husband and I are unable to drive thru the Redwoods without spending at least one night, and we have been there over a dozen times I would guess. Enjoy...

Where do you stay/camp? Any recommendations?
Thanks,
Wayne

[austinado16]

Going through there in March?  Expect rain, rain, and more rain.  The hardest you've ever seen.  Along with really bad fog in the forests northeast of Crecent City, and then again when you re-enter the forest south of Crecent City.

You might even get into a little bit of snow up at Oregon Caves, which would be fun.

The trees are huge for a reason! The get rain and they make their own climate.  The road will even be slippery below them because they put out their own special moisture.  A good set of rain tires, like Bridgestone Turanza's, Goodyear Assurance Triple Treads, or Yokoham Avid's would be a good investment unless you've got a truck with nice tires.

As for places to stay and camp.  Patrick's Point State Park is huge and a great place to camp.  There are other's too, but that one stands out because we used to have Cross-Country running meets there in high school.  Beautiful and vast!  I think there are a bunch of others that are privately owned and that time of year they'll be pretty vacant.

One thing to consider....if you're popping up and down in the rain, and the canvas is wet the whole time, will it eventually be mildewing, or soaking through, and/or leaking?  Who knows, maybe you'll get lucky and have decent weather, but I doubt it.  Those trees are that big for a reason....a million years of heavy rain and fog, year round.

I loved living up there, and am still in awe when I go through the big trees.....but what I don't miss is the 60+ inches of rain and never being able to plan anything because weather was always such a huge factor.

You might enjoy the trip a whole lot more doing it more in the summer.

Remember also that there are huge Sequioa's in Yosemite Nat'l Park, and south of there in both Kings Canyon and Sequioa Nat'l Parks.  Bit of a drive for you though from OR.

My favorite gas story from OR.  Driving my show car to the Portland All British Field Meet in 2005.  A young gal standing there telling me how it's illegal to be pumping my own fuel because it's dangerous and I haven't been trained, and on and on (because we all know how a million Californians die each year while fueling)....and then she spills gas down the side of my car as she removes the filler nozzle.  "Oops. Sorry about that sir."

[waygard33]

Austinado...Thank you again. Priceless information.

You've just rescheduled our trip to the Redwoods. I don't want to go there when it's raining. I have plenty of that right now. We'll look for somewhere else to go over spring break. Actually, the plan was to go to Disneyland (haven't been there since I was 7, almost 40 years ago) and swing through the Redwoods for a couple of days on the way. The whole trip is kind of getting out of control so I think we'll slim it down a bit and try somewhere closer/dryer.

Love the gas pumping stories. Keep em' comin'. Everytime I fill up I'm amused at the thought of not being able to pump my own gas. When it's really busy or the attendants are distracted or slow/lazy, and after sitting for several minutes after the pump has turned off, I'll finally jump out and start removing the pump. Never fails...they come running over like I just committed a crime. I wonder how many people are sitting in Oregon jails for pumping their own gas?  :yikes:

[austinado16]

Disneyland and their second park 100yds away, "California Adventure" would be excellent choices.  They have a deal where you by one ticket and it's good for use in one park at a time, over a 2 day period.  So you can go to Disneyland all day one day and then CA Adventure all day the next day.  Don't get the "park hopping" tickets that allow you to go back and forth throughout the day because you'll just waste time walking between the 2 and going in and out of the gates.

We were just down at both parks last weekend.  I really like CA Adventure.  They've simply done an amazing job building it to look like different areas of CA that are so well known.

Maybe keep your options open and see what the weather is doing.  Bring your skis too because there's excellent skiing an hour east of Fresno at Yosemite Nat'l Park's Badger Pass, or at Sierra Summit.  Bring your snow cables as you can't get into Yosemite without them and you may not be allowed past Shaver if you're heading toward Sierra Summit.

Not to mention all the killer skiing in the north and south Tahoe area, just a few hours east of Sacramento.