Driving trip vacation help?

October 17, 2005 4:42 PM

Los Angeles to Humboldt Redwoods State Park round trip driving vacation ideas?

My wife has never seen the Redwood Trees. We are planning a driving trip that will last eight days door to door. Ideas from friends include stopping in Monterey to visit the aquarium, staying a night at Saint Orres Inn in Gualala, staying at Benbow Inn in Garberville for a couple of days and visiting the park, and stopping on the way back in Sonoma. Camping is out of the question and I would love suggestions of other possible interesting places to stay, things to do, places to eat, sights to see etc. etc. Are eight days enough time? Too much time? Any help and suggestions are appreciated!

posted by snowjoe to travel & transportation around Los Angeles, CA (7 answers total)

Have either of you been to Hearst castle?
posted by clarahamster at 4:49 PM on October 17, 2005

Lost Coast!

Ferndale, the northern gateway to the lost coast, is a cute, gingerbready victorian town with a few places to stay. You access the coast itself by travelling over the steepest, windingest, most frightening-but-amazing road I've ever seen. It is SO worth the day trip. And on the way back to Garberville you can enter the Humboldt Redwoods the back way, completely away from civilization and people selling giant redwood burls that look like bigfoot's head. I wrote more about it here. (Self-link.)
posted by dersins at 5:02 PM on October 17, 2005 [1 favorite]

Another vote for the Lost Coast. It's amazing. There are tons of hot springs in NorCal too and hot springs are always good.
posted by fshgrl at 11:21 PM on October 17, 2005

We have been to Hearst Castle but that is somewhere we could visit again and again. The Lost Coast is a great tip. Thanks dersins and fshgrl. That is a very good article you wrote dersins. More suggestions are still welcome. Northern California is so big and beautiful. Any other suggestions?
posted by snowjoe at 6:20 AM on October 18, 2005

Winchester Mystery House in San Jose.
posted by Taken Outtacontext at 10:00 AM on October 18, 2005

Fort Ross is a pretty neat destination, especially if you're staying in St. Orres. It is (for the most part) a re-creation of the orignal trappers fort established by the Russians and subsequently bought by John Sutter, founder (more or less) of Sacramento.

Also kind of a nice ten-minute leg stretch just south of Gualala is the Sea Ranch Chapel, a kind of neat one-room chapel to poke about as you see fit.

Up the road aways, not far from Gualala is the Point Arena Lighthouse, as they say the only Pacific coast lighthouse "of significant height" you can climb to the top. Not for the faint of heart or those who find peril in climing ancient lighthouses in earthquake country but well worth a stop.

And while nowhere near where you'll be heading, if you do get up that way (about two and a half hours north of Garberville) is the Trees of Mystery, one of the last of the old-school "sedan destinations" of the 50s. Truly kitch at its finest and a hokey good time.
posted by Ogre Lawless at 10:45 PM on October 18, 2005

I can't believe I've never even heard of the Trees of Mystery!! I'm so there.
posted by fshgrl at 10:55 PM on October 18, 2005