Vacation in the redwoods

[eks6426]

I''ve always wanted to see the Redwood forests of northern CA so I thought I''d start doing some research. Has anyone been there? What''s it like? What is there to do besides hike in the forests? Where should we stay? Nearby towns? WHich airport to fly into? Best time of year to visit? I''d have a 10-11 year old with my husband and I. Is it a kid friendly area? We''d be flying so camping is out.

Any advice greatly appreciated. Thanks!

 

[Skippy123]

Sounds beautiful; my parents went and love it! I would love to go someday. Bumping for others to help you out cuz it sounds wonderful!!!

 

[KimberlyH]

The redwoods are pretty vast, ID, are you thinking of doing a driving tour? I've camped in the redwoods, but it's been a while and I'm terrible with locations so all I can tell you is it's absolutely gorgeous and if you're an explorer (don't need a destination, just like to wander around and see things) there's lots of fun towns in the area and GREAT camping (of course you'd have to make reservations for that). Eureka, CA is a great little town, but it is little, just like all of the towns in that area. There is a tiny airport called Arcata-Eureka in McKinnelyville (sp?); you might want to look into flying into Oregon and driving down into CA, or flying to San Jose and driving up to the redwoods (although it will be a long ride!).

ETA: I just re-read, camping is out...look into hotels in Eureka and near Humboldt State if you are going to hotel it. Keep in mind that the whole area is a bit lost in time so the hotels will likely be too!

 

[Love in Bloom]

DF and I are looking to see the redwoods for a tiny honeymoon (he is in grad school and really shouldn''t take much time off...).We found some newer hotels in Marin County that actually overlook some of the redwood forests...We will probably go with Hotel Acqua, but there is also the Mill Valley Inn (both are owned by the same parent company).

JDV Hospitality

Just "choose a region" from the drop down menu in the upper right corner. Each hotel has its own separate page with descriptions. The rates were pretty reasonable too, at least for October 2007.

HTH!
LinB

 

[eks6426]

Thanks for the advice. I"m going to checkout the Eureka CA area. I wish we could camp but I don''t have enough vacation time to drive from Indiana!

 

[KimberlyH]

I''d check out LinB''s hotels as well...when I think of the redwoods I think of way northern CA (Eureka, Cresent City, etc.) but Marin is a beautiful area and would be a wonderful option as well.

 

[eks6426]

I am thinking we might fly into SanFrancisco and do that for a couple days, then check out the Marin hotels that Lynn B suggested then drive up to Eureka. Now, we''ll have to figure out how long we need to do this without seeming like we are totally rushed. I''ve never been to San Francisco so what are some "must-do" things...keep in mind a 10 year old in tow.

 

[KimberlyH]

I haven''t spent a ton of time in San Francisco except to attend concerts and a few plays so I don''t have any great suggestions for you aside from the typical Ghiradelli Square, The Wharf, riding the trolley, museums, etc.

As I said, I love Eureka, it''s a great little town. Here''s the visitors page from their city website: http://www.ci.eureka.ca.gov/about/visitors.asp

 

[hfollett]

We''re from Indiana as well and spent 10 days in Marin last July with our 13, 11, and 7 year old children. We hit CA right in the middle of the heat wave when it was 100 degrees. We’d planned to go to Yosemite for 3 of the days, but the heat would have taken all of the fun out of it, so we ended up staying in Marin.

Marin is like my 2nd home. At last count I had been there 20 times. My sister actually lives in Mill Valley. I''m not familiar with any of the smaller boutique type hotels there though. Here''s a great link to the Marin area: http://www.co.marin.ca.us/depts/IS/main/CountyMap.cfm

Here are a few things that we did and loved:

* There aren''t any nonstop flights from IND to SFO any longer. You can fly into SFO and drive north through the city and over the Golden Gate bridge up into Marin. I usually choose to fly into Oakland. The airport is much smaller and easier to navigate than SFO. Getting a rental car is a breeze - they are right there at the airport vs. dealing with a people mover at SFO.

* San Rafael is a convenient location. There''s an Embassy Suites there which has cook to order breakfast, happy hour with house wines and beer, and an indoor pool. It''s about 2 minutes to the interstate. It''s not quite as quaint as some of the other hotels, but it was really convenient and had everything we needed.

* Muir Woods is famous for its redwoods. It''s just outside of Mill Valley. I''d recommend going first thing in the morning when the park opens. There are much fewer tourists. Muir Woods has quite a few trails than can be anywhere from .5 to 2 miles in length. On the way to Muir Woods is a breakfast place called Dipsea Café which has the very best breakfast (http://www.dipseacafe.com/)

* Santa Rosa is north of Marin up 101. It is a beautiful city. You can drive west out of Santa Rosa and get into redwood country as well. I''m not as familiar with that area as Marin.

* We took the ferry out of Larkspur Landing over to Pier 39 (which is a major tourist trap). The ferry was relatively cheap (maybe $6 per adult), we got a great view of the bay and Alcatraz, and it was headache-free transportation into the city. They have departures about every 30 minutes. Once you''re dropped off at Pier 39, you can take trolley''s just about anywhere in the city. Fisherman''s wharf is close by.

* You can drive up next to the Golden Gate Bridge and park, then walk as far along the bridge and back as you''d like.

* Stinson beach is not to be missed. In October it might be in the 70s, but the beach is huge and the area is so beautiful. Our kids swam and played in the sand. There are great restaurants in Stinson too.

* We drove up to Point Reyes National Seashore and walked / hiked through their trails. There is a lot of beautiful views. I think that was our favorite thing we did. It was so peaceful ... our kids found a stream and spent an hour playing in it.

* There is a Children''s Science Museum in the city; although I''ve never been. The thought of being indoors just never appealed to us.

* Tiburon is a town on the end of a peninsula, with great views of the city. There''s a restaurant there called Sam''s, which has great burgers and onion rings. You can sit outside on the dock right on the water.

* Sausalito is beautiful as well. Lots of quaint shops and restaurants and great views of the city. You can rent bikes and pedal along a really nice bike path next to the bay.

* There''s a Marine Mammal Center a bit west of Sausalito. The website is here: http://www.marinemammalcenter.org/. They rescue and rehabilitate sea animals.

* There''s a Jelly Belly factory about an hour west of Marin. They have great tours. Here''s a link: http://jellybelly.com/Cultures/en-US/NewsEvents/Stores/Jelly+Belly+Visitor+Center+-+Fairfield.htm

* If you like to hike, there’s Mount Tamalpais State Park (http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=471)

* Great horseback riding at Miwok Livery Stables (http://www.miwokstables.com/)

I hope this helps!
http://jellybelly.com/Cultures/en-US/NewsEvents/Stores/Jelly+Belly+Visitor+Center+-+Fairfield.htm

 

[asscherisme]

Ohhh, they are beautiful!!! I went years ago. My frend went to Berkly and I flew out to visit her and we drove there so I can''t really recommend where to stay. But its such a great experience to go there and see.