I'm in the early stages of planning a coastal road trip up from the CA San Francisco Bay area to Bandon Oregon. I've lived in the Bay area for a couple years now but still haven't managed to make it much farther north than SF.
My basic itinerary outline:
Day 1: Mendocino, CA
Day 2: Redwood National Park, CA
Day 3: Bandon, OR
Day 4: Shoot in the morning then marathon drive back home.
I'm wondering if this is going to be way too fast. Am I just going to be overwhelmed with too much to shoot? If I add an extra day where should it be? An extra day in Bandon? Or another area entirely?
Any suggestion would be great. Thanks for your help!
Posted by Phillip Noll on March 31, 2009 at 7:57 PM
That sounds like way too much for just 4 days! You will be spending a lot of time driving instead of shooting. I would pick one (maybe two) areas and concentrate on that. Mendocino would be a great place with a variety of things to shoot. The town is picturesque, the headlands are nice, the lighthouse, and Russian Gulch State Park has a nice waterfall. I think there is also a beach there with some cool rounded rocks--might make for some interesting compositions.
Its a good 4 hours from there to Prairie Creek Redwoods. Lots to shoot there too. Too early for the rhodies but you might get some good foggy shots. Fern Canyon used to be really cool until the NPS put boardwalks in there and ruined it. Lots of elk, Lady Bird Johnson Grove, Trillium Falls, the Brown Creek trail is nice too. Cal-barrel road is fun. Gold Bluffs beach. The Coastal Drive is cool too. You might go a little further to Damnation Creek trail, Enderts beach and Nickel Creek.
If you are dead-set on getting to Oregon, might I suggest Harris Beach Sate Park--nice sea stacks and good sunsets. Man, all this talk makes me want to hit the road myself! Good luck!
Phillip, thanks for the suggestions. Actually where I really want to go is the Oregon coast, but I don't think I could stand driving up there without stopping at all the places along the way
I don't see a huge number of images from Redwood SP or Mendocino like I do from the Oregon coast, so most of the places you mention there are new to me. The 4-day schedule isn't set in stone. I think there's an argument to be made for splitting it up into two extended weekends instead of one. N Cali then S Oregon so I'm not so tempted on the drive up to OR.
Posted by Erik Lundh on March 31, 2009 at 11:36 PM
I was just on the south Oregon coast last week. Bandon to Brookings is pretty amazing. There's a motel I always stay at in Bandon and right now I think they have a two for one special. It's called the Table Rock Motel. It has easy beach access and lots of nice sea stacks if you look and walk south from the motel. The drive south to Brookings has a lot of beautiful ocean scenery and it even goes around Humbug mountain which puts you into the forest for about 10 miles.
Posted by Austin Booth on April 1, 2009 at 1:10 AM
It is a bit much for four days. I think a good Idea would be to head strait up to Oregon and do that or maybe spend a day in Redwood NP also. Unfortunately I'm a relatively new Oregon transplant so I'm not real familiar with the Bandon area but I've seen some great photos from there!
Mendocino will be much more like the coastal areas in the North Bay in Marin and Sonoma counties which is why I would recommend just heading for Oregon so you get a change of scenery. Mendocino is just a few hours away from SF and you could make a weekend trip there another time. I am originally from Mendocino county so I will vouch for some beautiful scenery there. I would recommend the Pt Arena Area in Mendo county, It has a really cool light house and some great coastal farm land. The Mendocino Headlands right outside the town of Mendocino is a great spot as well. There are also some great dunes about 15 miles north of the the town of Fort Bragg, there is a turn out right before you cross the bridge over Ten Mile River and there is a much bigger turnout about a half a mile before the bridge also but its harder for me to give directions for that one without a major landmark like the bridge.
I'd suggest doing the marathon drive first - if Bandon is your real goal. That way you'll be able to scout out areas on your way up that you might want to come back to on your return trip. The drive from the OR/CA border is awesome, and unless you have some serious will power you'll find yourself pulling over every chance you get to take a look over the edge. I'd also recommend having backup plans. If you are around the border, and the weather is nice - hit the beach. If it's raining or foggy, I'd head for the 'woods. Basically use the weather to your advantage. There is always something to shoot - no matter what the weather is doing.
Like the others have said - focus on one or two spots (w/ backups) and forget about Mendocino until another time. It's not too far from SanFran anyways.
Good luck to ya. There is a lot to see here on the coast. Four days is pretty short, but you should be able to come home with some good stuff.
As others have suggested, save Mendocino and Hwy 1 for another trip. Here's a possible itinerary:
Day 1 - SF to Arcata or Trinidad, with stops in the Avenue of the Giants area at Humboldt Redwoods.
Day 2 - morning in and around Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park, then drive to Bandon, arriving early enough in the afternoon to scope out your sunset and sea stacks shot. From Prairie Creek, take the old scenic route north from the campground, which re-joins the main Hwy 101 route in a few miles.
Day 3 - work your way south on the Oregon coast to Brookings and sunset at Harris Beach State Park.
Day 4 - Early morning easy hike at Simpson Grove on Hwy 199 near Jed Smith SP, or Damnation Creek Trail at Del Norte Redwoods just off Hwy 101 before heading for home.
Discussion
6 repliesMy basic itinerary outline:
Day 1: Mendocino, CA
Day 2: Redwood National Park, CA
Day 3: Bandon, OR
Day 4: Shoot in the morning then marathon drive back home.
I'm wondering if this is going to be way too fast. Am I just going to be overwhelmed with too much to shoot? If I add an extra day where should it be? An extra day in Bandon? Or another area entirely?
Any suggestion would be great. Thanks for your help!
Its a good 4 hours from there to Prairie Creek Redwoods. Lots to shoot there too. Too early for the rhodies but you might get some good foggy shots. Fern Canyon used to be really cool until the NPS put boardwalks in there and ruined it.
If you are dead-set on getting to Oregon, might I suggest Harris Beach Sate Park--nice sea stacks and good sunsets. Man, all this talk makes me want to hit the road myself! Good luck!
I don't see a huge number of images from Redwood SP or Mendocino like I do from the Oregon coast, so most of the places you mention there are new to me. The 4-day schedule isn't set in stone. I think there's an argument to be made for splitting it up into two extended weekends instead of one. N Cali then S Oregon so I'm not so tempted on the drive up to OR.
Mendocino will be much more like the coastal areas in the North Bay in Marin and Sonoma counties which is why I would recommend just heading for Oregon so you get a change of scenery. Mendocino is just a few hours away from SF and you could make a weekend trip there another time. I am originally from Mendocino county so I will vouch for some beautiful scenery there. I would recommend the Pt Arena Area in Mendo county, It has a really cool light house and some great coastal farm land. The Mendocino Headlands right outside the town of Mendocino is a great spot as well. There are also some great dunes about 15 miles north of the the town of Fort Bragg, there is a turn out right before you cross the bridge over Ten Mile River and there is a much bigger turnout about a half a mile before the bridge also but its harder for me to give directions for that one without a major landmark like the bridge.
Like the others have said - focus on one or two spots (w/ backups) and forget about Mendocino until another time. It's not too far from SanFran anyways.
Good luck to ya. There is a lot to see here on the coast. Four days is pretty short, but you should be able to come home with some good stuff.
Day 1 - SF to Arcata or Trinidad, with stops in the Avenue of the Giants area at Humboldt Redwoods.
Day 2 - morning in and around Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park, then drive to Bandon, arriving early enough in the afternoon to scope out your sunset and sea stacks shot. From Prairie Creek, take the old scenic route north from the campground, which re-joins the main Hwy 101 route in a few miles.
Day 3 - work your way south on the Oregon coast to Brookings and sunset at Harris Beach State Park.
Day 4 - Early morning easy hike at Simpson Grove on Hwy 199 near Jed Smith SP, or Damnation Creek Trail at Del Norte Redwoods just off Hwy 101 before heading for home.
Have a great trip!
- Greg