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I have never been there...yet. Its on my list.
Rita (aka NJGIRL)
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My In-Laws lived in Crescent City, CA for 35 years - up until they came to live with us 2 years ago. I've spent a fair bit of time in the area. While the natural wonder is incredible to see, imho, there is absolutely nothing else of any redeeming value to the area. Economically, the area is the poorest area in California - your tourist dollars will be welcomed.
The thing about Redwood Nat'l Park is that it isn't just one contiguous place. It's actually a series of several State Parks and Federal Lands that generally hug the far north coast of California. As you drive north on US101 from Eureka, you'll go in and out of the "Park" many times. Most of the Park is quite a bit north of Eureka. You'd probably be happier up in the Klamath area. Klamath is a small town as is every town on the North Coast. Eureka, in Humboldt county is the exception, but even Crescent City - the Del Norte county seat - has fewer than 10,000 people.
Outside of Eureka, you're not going to find much in the way of hotel chains - other than franchised motels like Super 8. You will find a few Best Westerns around, but there's a lot of inconsistency between them. There are a number of B&Bs in the area. Depending on you price range, you might look into the Requa Inn in Klamath. It's an historic hotel with lots of charm and a great dining room.
If you do get up to the far northern end of the Park - US 199 north of Crescent City - you'll be going through the area where the filmed the Moon of Endor scenes for Return of the Jedi.
Be aware that in October, on the northern California coast, the chance of rain is pretty much 100% for some part of your trip
It is beautiful place to visit. Just make sure you have your hooded rain parka and good hiking boots. You'll want both.
Steve
First visit: Disneyland, July 17, 1955 (well, somebody had to be there on opening day!)
Most Recent Visit:
Disneyland - June 21-25, 2017
WDW - Sep 22 - Oct 5, 2019
Next up: WDW - May 9 - 16, 2020 at Riviera!
Dec 5 - 16, 2020 at Poly
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Originally Posted by Fangorn
My In-Laws lived in Crescent City, CA for 35 years - up until they came to live with us 2 years ago. I've spent a fair bit of time in the area. While the natural wonder is incredible to see, imho, there is absolutely nothing else of any redeeming value to the area. Economically, the area is the poorest area in California - your tourist dollars will be welcomed.
The thing about Redwood Nat'l Park is that it isn't just one contiguous place. It's actually a series of several State Parks and Federal Lands that generally hug the far north coast of California. As you drive north on US101 from Eureka, you'll go in and out of the "Park" many times. Most of the Park is quite a bit north of Eureka. You'd probably be happier up in the Klamath area. Klamath is a small town as is every town on the North Coast. Eureka, in Humboldt county is the exception, but even Crescent City - the Del Norte county seat - has fewer than 10,000 people.
Outside of Eureka, you're not going to find much in the way of hotel chains - other than franchised motels like Super 8. You will find a few Best Westerns around, but there's a lot of inconsistency between them. There are a number of B&Bs in the area. Depending on you price range, you might look into the Requa Inn in Klamath. It's an historic hotel with lots of charm and a great dining room.
If you do get up to the far northern end of the Park - US 199 north of Crescent City - you'll be going through the area where the filmed the Moon of Endor scenes for Return of the Jedi.
Be aware that in October, on the northern California coast, the chance of rain is pretty much 100% for some part of your trip
It is beautiful place to visit. Just make sure you have your hooded rain parka and good hiking boots. You'll want both.
Steve
Thanks Steve!! I appreciate all the info!! We've also been looking in the Arcata/McKinleyville area too. We are expecting to deal with some rain while there, so rain jackets and hiking boots are already on the list! We might look into some B&Bs around the park. I definitely got more research to do!
Thanks again!!
"When I think of vacation, I think of Disney. I really do. They allow you just to open up your imagination and just be a kid again. There's nothing like it in the world."
"There's no rest on planetary duty." -Paul Watson
You'll Never Walk Alone - Justice For The 96!!!
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Have you considered visiting Muir Woods National Monument in the Bay Area? While smaller in scale in terms of acreage, it's a beautiful hike among the giant, old-growth redwoods. If memory serves, some trails take you past waterfalls and up Mt. Tamalpais overlooking the Pacific coast. The plus side being the close proximity to San Francisco and the Bay Area with an abundance of lodging as well as the opportunity for many side trips.
DL 1976, 1984, 1989
WDW 08.2006, 10.2008, 12.2010, 10.2015
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Originally Posted by elorac
Have you considered visiting Muir Woods National Monument in the Bay Area? While smaller in scale in terms of acreage, it's a beautiful hike among the giant, old-growth redwoods. If memory serves, some trails take you past waterfalls and up Mt. Tamalpais overlooking the Pacific coast. The plus side being the close proximity to San Francisco and the Bay Area with an abundance of lodging as well as the opportunity for many side trips.
This is such good advice. My concern is that you will be very disappointed in Eureka and surrounding area. Muir Woods and the surrounding area could be a trip of a lifetime.I lived in the Bay Area for 30 years and miss it so much!
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Originally Posted by elorac
Have you considered visiting Muir Woods National Monument in the Bay Area? While smaller in scale in terms of acreage, it's a beautiful hike among the giant, old-growth redwoods. If memory serves, some trails take you past waterfalls and up Mt. Tamalpais overlooking the Pacific coast. The plus side being the close proximity to San Francisco and the Bay Area with an abundance of lodging as well as the opportunity for many side trips.
Muir Woods is one of my all time ever favorite places ( the whole Bay area is, really). And I would definitely recommend a visit at some point. That said, DH and I are also planning a trip out to Redwood National Park at some point. Just not for a few years since we had a new addition to the family in June and we want to wait til he's ready for some hiking.
NEXT TRIP -
WDW 08/18 ~ First family trip w/our 2 yo, 5 yo, my parents & our best friends &their 2 &5 yr olds.
PAST TRIPS -
DISNEY WORLD
04/16 (pre second babymoon), 08/15 (first trip with our own child), 08/10, 08/08, 04/05, 01/04, 04/02, summers 88, 90, 92 and 97.
DISNEYLAND
03/06
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DH and I also went to Muir Woods and Point Reyes on our honeymoon last year. We'd gone to the Bay area on a work related trip for me in 2011 thinking it was the only time we'd go and loved it so much we went back 16 months later for our honeymoon.
I checked with someone who visited the area a few years ago and they said they stayed in Garberville but couldn't remember where.
Good luck!
NEXT TRIP -
WDW 08/18 ~ First family trip w/our 2 yo, 5 yo, my parents & our best friends &their 2 &5 yr olds.
PAST TRIPS -
DISNEY WORLD
04/16 (pre second babymoon), 08/15 (first trip with our own child), 08/10, 08/08, 04/05, 01/04, 04/02, summers 88, 90, 92 and 97.
DISNEYLAND
03/06
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You might look into staying in Trinidad. There are a handful of bed and breakfast inns that overlook the ocean with gorgeous room views.
DL 1976, 1984, 1989
WDW 08.2006, 10.2008, 12.2010, 10.2015
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I'm jumping in late here, but we did a Redwoods National Park trip last summer! In my opinion, you will probably love it if you love Muir Woods because the trees are even more spectacular. They are truly the tallest collection in the world.
We stayed in Eureka, and I agree with the previous posters. There's isn't much to this town. However, we found it to be a great home base if you would like to explore the area. It was also helpful because the drive is long from San Francisco and it allowed us to make good use of our drive time without exhausting ourselves.
We drove up from San Francisco and hit up the Avenue of the Giants on the way to Eureka. It is a breathtaking drive and there is a good amount to explore if you want to stop here and there (you can pick up a simple pamphlet that lists the numbered "stop" points). There's also a hokey "Confusion Hill" attraction that's been there forever, and is a good spot to grab a soda and get a 1950s tourist vibe.
We stayed at the Best Western PLUS Bayshore Inn. This is not a luxury resort by any means (especially after we had just left the Ritz Carlton in San Fran!), but it is clean, the service was good, the free breakfast adequate and the staff very nice. We found it to be safe, pleasant and a good home base for our travels.
There are a few restaurants worth noting in this area - hidden gems in a town that is, yes, poor, but does have a lot of personality. I'd say the restaurants are the more worthwhile area of the town.
Brick and Fire Restaurant has fantastic, upscale food from local sources. I think it stands up strong against many US major city restaurants. Make a reservation - it is POPULAR and small.
Lost Coast Brewery is also a great restaurant. Pub food, fantastic selection of their own beer (and more), fun and funky decor.
The Banana Hut was also a fun place with a lot of local character. It's Hawaiian themed, you can actually get a plate of Loco Moco and the owners clearly love what they do.
North Coast Co-op is a GREAT locally sourced supermarket with fantastic to-go food options such as sandwiches and salads. Super fresh and delicious; plus it supports local farms. Great place to pick up lunch to hike with in the Redwoods.
We spent a day at Patrick's Point just a little bit north in Trinidad. Great hiking here. We saw TONS of sea lions. You can hike right down to the rocks near the shore and get a close, but not too close of a view. Great examples of coastal redwoods here too, but much shorter because of the exposure to salt air (see, we learned a lot on this trip!).
One of the highlights of our 11 day trip to CA was our 3rd day in the redwoods area - a guided tour with Redwood Adventures. They are INCREDIBLE. You tour with a real ecologist and see the best of the best. These people know the parks like the back of their hands and the science behind it. I learned so much in such a fun way. It's a great way to see the main national park as well as the breathtaking Fern Canyon (NOT to be missed!). It included lunch and we even saw where parts of ET, Star Wars and Jurassic Park were filmed (this was certainly not the focus of the trip, but interesting to learn - we ate lunch with a view of the trees that ET and Elliot "flew" over). It is especially helpful if you have limited time. PM me if you'd like their email/phone number.
Redwood Adventures also has a "lodge" in Orick where you can rent a house from them (it's a cluster of nicely appointed houses). I believe this includes a campfire barbeque, which looked like a lot of fun. We kind of regretted not doing that because of their location and great atmosphere (and lots of elk!). It is probably a good choice if you interested in a lot of space or are a large party. For 3 people who were not interested in being too far from a restaurant, it didn't work out for us.
We hit up Avenue of the Giants a second time on the ride down to Napa at the end of this leg of our trip. It was worth a second look. We also had to be cheesy and do the drive-thru tree south of Eureka (there are, I believe, 2 out there). It was fun to do once! Beware if you're driving a big SUV, though
From south to north it's Avenue of the Giants, Eureka, Patrick's Point and then a lot of the park areas.
The Redwoods National park is incredible and I really can't recommend it enough! It's like being on another planet.
'85-Disney Village Hilton; '87-Poly; '88-Day Trip-Disneyland; '89-GF; '94-GF; '97-ASMu; '98-Dixielandings; '02-CBR; '03-Offsite; '03-ASMo; '04-WL; '04-Offsite; '05-POFQ; '06-POFQ; '08-POP; '09-POP; '11-POP; '13-Day Trip-HS; Up next: Oct. '14-Day Trip-MK
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P.S. During all of our travels to small towns in our travels in Northern California, we encountered for what I would call transients as their exact situation is unclear. Similar to the homeless issue in San Francisco, the northern regions are not exempt. Northern California unfortunately has some of the highest rates of drug addiction, particularly crystal meth. You WILL notice this, frequently outside of the legal marijuana stores. Locals told us that the area attracts many people with such issues because the public benefits and free programs are the best/most generous in these counties. I don't know if this is true, but that's the overall, consistent message locals offered us without us even asking!
Of course, we ran into many nice, well-adjusted locals and families in restaurants and the general area.
However, I CANNOT be CLEAR enough - NOT one person bothered us anywhere we went. They keep to themselves and its just an unfortunate situation for them. No one asked us for a dime during the entire trip. That being said, I would not suggest going anywhere alone at night because it's just good common sense.
I should also be clear that we did not experience any of this while at the Best Western Plus Bayshore Inn property itself. It was more when we explored Eureka and the other small towns in the entire area (looking for a bite to eat, a little shopping, etc.). We did not experience ANY of this in the Redwood Forest itself, obviously.
'85-Disney Village Hilton; '87-Poly; '88-Day Trip-Disneyland; '89-GF; '94-GF; '97-ASMu; '98-Dixielandings; '02-CBR; '03-Offsite; '03-ASMo; '04-WL; '04-Offsite; '05-POFQ; '06-POFQ; '08-POP; '09-POP; '11-POP; '13-Day Trip-HS; Up next: Oct. '14-Day Trip-MK
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That sounds perfect! Arcata is a fantastic location, and I think you'll find the drive to the parks to be interesting - it makes the time go fast. Plus, you'll still be in a nice spot to check out Avenue of the Giants and Patrick's Point if you so desire.
If I remember correctly, the other North Coast Co-op supermarket/deli is in Arcata. Great to pick up a picnic or snacks for your exploring!
Have a wonderful time!
'85-Disney Village Hilton; '87-Poly; '88-Day Trip-Disneyland; '89-GF; '94-GF; '97-ASMu; '98-Dixielandings; '02-CBR; '03-Offsite; '03-ASMo; '04-WL; '04-Offsite; '05-POFQ; '06-POFQ; '08-POP; '09-POP; '11-POP; '13-Day Trip-HS; Up next: Oct. '14-Day Trip-MK
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Have a great trip. I wish to do this next year so I am looking for info like this also.
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Thanks everyone!! Again, I knew I could count on you guys for info!! LVT, I hope you get to go next year and you have tons of fun!!!!
"When I think of vacation, I think of Disney. I really do. They allow you just to open up your imagination and just be a kid again. There's nothing like it in the world."
"There's no rest on planetary duty." -Paul Watson
You'll Never Walk Alone - Justice For The 96!!!
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