Northern CA (Redwoods NP, Humboldt SP, Lost Coast, etc)

[JeffKohn]

I'm considering a trip to the Northern CA coast in mid- to late-May (probably the week before Memorial day). Focus would be on the redwoods and the coast, including Redwood NP, Prairie Creek SP, Humboldt Redwoods SP, and the Lost Coast. Photography and hiking are the main activities (day-hikes only, no backpacking).

Lodging suggestions would be appreciated; no camping, but nothing fancy either. Clean, reasonably-priced motels or VRBO rentals are good.  Location is important as I don't want to spend all our time driving back and forth. This seems like too large of an area to cover from a single base of operations, so I was thinking we could spend a few days closer to the northern parks, and then a few days further south by Humboldt SP and King Range NCA. I was thinking about Fendale or Fortuna in the south, and Trinidad or Crescent City to the north, but would be open to suggestions.

About the King Range NCA and Silkyone Wilderness SP, are there some good day-hiking options there? Does trail-head access require serious 4WD?

Any other tips/suggestions would be welcome, such as time-of-day advice for specific locations, etc.

Thanks!

[Lisa Nikodym]

It looks like you've already been doing your homework!  I've spent a number of short vacations in the area, and have some comments...

I've been to the Lost Coast for a long weekend once (staying in Shelter Cove), and frankly couldn't find much of interest there.  IMHO, the Mendocino coast is much better, Big Sur is much better, and the southern Oregon coast is much better.  I'd do the southern Oregon coast (Brookings area to Florence) instead, or Mendocino south of the area you're looking at.  Still, I've only been to the Lost Coast once, so, if you've talked with others who've found more of interest there, then go for it.

For lodging, tripadvisor.com is your friend.  There are Best Westerns scattered around the area; there's an especially nice one in Brookings right on the beach (BW Beachfront Inn), with sea views.  I stayed at the one in Crescent City years ago - it was OK, but nothing special.  (Crescent City is a working-class town, nothing for tourists except being near the redwoods parks.)  In Eureka, there's the historic Carter House, in Victorian buildings, which could be fun - but the one time I stayed there it was noisy (thin walls).  Still, being inside Eureka is nice, wandering around looking at the Victorian buildings is fun for a little while, and the restaurant options are pretty good.  Or if you prefer, there's a very nice Holiday Inn Express (if you like simple but comfortable places) in the middle of nowhere along the highway near Arcata, just a little north of Eureka.  If you want to splurge for a few nights, there's a great historic "grand old hotel" a bit south of Eureka called the Benbow Inn, with a great restaurant (fine dining, extensive wine list, etc.), where I've stayed several times - it's conveniently located for the Avenue of the Giants and Humboldt Redwoods State Park.  I haven't stayed in Ferndale, Fortuna or Trinidad.  Again, tripadvisor.com is you friend!

And staying part of the time at the north end of your range and part at the south end is highly recommended, to reduce time spent in the car.

Lisa

[Dale Allyn]

I'll second Lisa's suggestion of the southern Oregon coast. I, too, have stayed in Brookings a few times (same BW Inn) and enjoy it. The motel is pet friendly too if you intend to take a dog (as we do).   Prices increase there in May, so watch your dates.

It's a nice are. Enjoy!

Oh, and Ferndale is cute for a visit too.

[Lisa Nikodym]

One more thing I forgot to mention - Brookings is in Oregon just north of the California border, so it's a reasonable place to stay to see the northern-end redwoods parks on the California side of the border too, not just the southern Oregon coast.

Lisa

[Tim Gray]

I've done this trip twice, driving from Vancouver BC down to northern California, although only once as a photographer.  In the redwoods, my favourite location was "Stout Grove" in Jedediah Smith State park.

[daleeman]

Hi,
Went about those areas in 2008. what a beautiful area. Before I went I did as you are doing and put a post up looking for input. 23,000+ people looked at it, many gave input. It is at:
http://luminous-landscape.com/forum/index....amp;hl=daleeman

Maybe a gem in there too. Spent some time inland too at Yosemite.

The redwoods are very hard to get visual perspective on. They are just so tall and close in together in many spots. Some of my nicer images came from fallen ones with an entire eco-system growing on the remains of the trunk.

The coast was often more clear in the mornings, hazed up in the afternoon although fog was/is a big issue most mornings.

Lots of my images are at:
http://www.leegephart.smugmug.com/Art  then look in the art folder. Some of it are scans of the 6x6 film. I still love film.

Lee

[JeffKohn]

Thanks for the replies everybody. Sounds like the northern area will be worth dedicating more time to, with may be just a couple of days further south for Humboldt Redwoods SP. I don't know if we'll make it up into Oregon on this trip (too much driving and the wife will get annoyed  ). I'll have a look at tripadvisor.com.

[Lisa Nikodym]

I second Tim's recommendation for Stout Grove in Jed Smith park.  The other area I like as well (maybe even a bit better) is the Rockefeller Forest area of Humboldt park, so don't stint there either.  Those are the two best places for redwood groves.  For something different, Fern Canyon in Prairie Creek park is great too.

As someone noted above, it's tough to get good photos of redwood forests, since they just don't fit in a little rectangle very well.  All I can say is to try different things.  I've found that the time of day doesn't matter much, since it's heavily filtered light all the time; just bring a tripod, since they're quite dark!

If you do make it a bit over the Oregon border, Harris Beach State Park just outside of Brookings is one of my favorite "beaches with big rocks" places.  Samuel H. Boardman State Park just a little north of that is excellent too - not much in the way of trails, but lots of turnouts off the highway with views of the interesting coastline.  Brookings really isn't very far from where you're going - whenever we stayed around Crescent City, we used to drive to a great restaurant in Brookings for dinner (though sadly they've gone out of business or moved elsewhere).

Lisa