Highway 101 Oregon Coast Trip

[moparspares]

Hi Folks

My wife and I are planning an RV trip up Highway 1 to San Francisco from Los Angeles and then continuing up the 101 to Seattle and then back to Los Angeles.

We have about 4 weeks starting from late April to complete this. We want to go slow and take in as much as possible. Is this a reasonable amount of time to do this and if anyone who has done it give us some tips on places to stay incl free camp grounds, must do's, great places to eat and any other info that may be relevant.

I also wouldn't mind fitting in Mopar Spring Fling which I believe is in late April.

 

[zigs]

Should be. 101 is slow anyway. A lot to see along the way. You will want to stop in Tillamook Oregon and go through the cheese factory and also they have an air museum there. Then theres Fort Astoria before you enter Washington. Washington has a lot of little
fishing ports that are fun to stop in and of course the sea food. In Seattle go to the market place . That's were they throw the fish around , maybe go to the Space Needle and have dinner. Make it 6 weeks. As far as free camping find a Walmart. Not to many free camping spots , either privately owned or government regulated camping.

 

[ocdart]

You won't find too much non-freeway driving leaving Los Angeles until you get to San Luis Obispo, then you'll turn onto Hwy 1 and set your clock back 50 years and your blood pressure down 20 points.
Hwy 1 is a beautiful drive, but whatever you do, don't rush!
Scope out a campground near Cambria/San Simeon and plan on at least a full day in the San Simeon area since a "must do" is Hearst Castle: http://hearstcastle.org/
Another "must do" just a little further north is Monterey and the Monterey Bay Aquarium:http://www.montereybayaquarium.org/
Once in San Francisco you may find some difficulties getting around in the city with an RV. But you've got to visit Fisherman's Wharf, eat some clam chowder out of a sourdough bread bowl, ride a cable car, and for sure you've got to take the boat over to Alcatraz and take the tour. You should plan ahead and make reservations for the Alcatraz tour.
North of San Francisco you've got to see the redwoods.
Beautiful country all along the coast to Seattle.
Take your time, relax and enjoy!

 

[70aarcuda]

Oregon coast is beautiful. Did that trip twice...stayed the night twice in Tillamook, did the air museum also. 1st year weather was nice...two years ago...it rained and rained in Oregon.

visit the Hearst Castle along the way in San Simeon....

Take your time and stay on the right side of the road....lol

 

[bighammer]

I would definitely take in the Redwoods in Northern Cali. Also, Crater lake (in southern Oregon) is inland from Hwy 101, but most certainly worth the drive. It's awesome. There are some decent State Parks along the way to stay at. The Air Museum in Tillamook is still open, but they've lost some of their airplanes to another museum. The Museum is located inside a WWII blimp hangar which is pretty cool in itself. Prepare yourself for rain. You will be driving into the rain forest, which gets wetter the further North you drive.

 

[Bigdummy]

Stop by and see the Spruce Goose

 

[Ottmundr]

About an hour north of San Francisco is Point Reyes Station, check out the earthquake trail, north of there is Bodega, then 10 miles or so north is Jenner at the mouth of the Russian River, hang a right go into Gurneville and visit Armstrong woods (campground) you can spend all day there. I take my son there several times a year, he loves the place. From there you can visit tthe wine country if you're interested in that. Keep going up the coast another ten miles to Fort Ross, and spend some time there.

I gotta run to work now, I'll try to find some more good local spots on Google maps or something here in sonoma and napa counties. If you do wine tasting, do NOT do it on the weekend. Way too many tourists and @!&$!! Bicyclists I hate those slow road hog bastards!

 

[j par]

You are in for a real treat ! First - it's called "sand adventures" on the west side of the road a few miles before Florence. Book a one hour fast and fun sand buggy ride. It's a little spendy, but you'll never forget it ! If you're going to have to pay to stay in a few places - try to book a ocean view spot at "sea and sand" between Florence and Newport. The view - you'll want to take up residency ! I guess because I live here the Tillamook Cheese Factory seems more like a tourist attraction with expensive gift stores and over priced. But when my relitives come to visit we always seem to go there. Little itty-bitty town called weeler between Tillamook and cannon beach on the west side of the road has a restaurant (it's the only one) with good eats.
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[Rick@Laysons]

101 in Washington state is a great drive!!!! It goes by Westport and Ocean Shores(miles and MILES of beaches you can drive on), then up around the Olympic Nat'l Park. There's sooooo much to see and do, it'd be hard to put it all in one post. You might check out the Quinalt and Hoh Rain Forests, which is breathtaking in and of itself.....no other place on Earth like it!! You can drive to the top of Hurricane Ridge for a panoramic view that's hard to imagine unless you've seen it. If you stop in Port Angeles, you can hop a ferry over to Victoria on Vancouver Island in Canada for an afternoon.

 

[Inertia]

My wife and I travel the coast every year.

The Best thing we ever discovered was a book called "Casino Camping". It's a catalog of all "RV" friendly casinos.

First let me make it clear, we don't gamble. It's the Security and the amenities.
A lotta casinos have a free courtesy RV area, and some also have an "RV Resort" tennis, pool, everything.

The beauty is, Security.

We found when driving into an unfamiliar town late, and/or dark, it a little scary driving in unfamiliar neighborhoods, so we always target towns with Casinos.

First, there's the Security dude/s driving around with the flashing light all nite,(that's comforting,) and if you drive onto the lot, look lost, they'll come a guide you to the RV lot. then the free rain/shine shuttle to the Casino. Join the free "players" club, for free goodies, and discounts at the FOOD services. Certain days/casinos, full buffet $7.95 reg $12.95.

The next day you can explore, find a place to stay if the Casino doesn't suit you. In a lotta cases the Casino will be our "base" as we explore the area.

Pismo Beach is nice where 1 joins 101(has state park), a few miles N. , Hearst Castle is awesome, and a stop at Casa de Fruta is a unique place for farm produce, history, restaurant, 2 story merry-go-round, and worlds best "malt balls"/candy store, on the Pacheco Pass Highway, just south of Frisco, near Hollister/Gilroy.

Have fun, stay safe..

PS If you get to Hurricane Ridge, wave, and I'll wave back from Victoria, B.C. lol

 

[schwinger]

2x taking hwy 1 going from San Luis Obisbo on up to Monterey. Morro bay and Cambria is pretty cool, lot of stores there to check out and restaurants. Hearst castle near San Simeon is awesome! Also few places to camp there and has some nice beaches. From there on a sunny day the views are unbelievably beautiful and lots of places to pull over take in the sites! Few little small towns in between too from San Simeon to Monterey; Ragged Point, Gorda, Lucia and Big sur but fill up on gas before Cambria if you go that route because gas prices from there to Big Sur is can get really pricy. In between Gorda and Lucia there's a few beaches that are really nice to go to, gotta walk down to them tho and also a few camping spots in that area. There is a spot where you can camp out for free and it's on a windy road called Naciamento/Ferguson rd that cuts through the mountains all the way to hwy 101, just find a spot to pull off and camp, seen a lot people do it even with small rvs especially in the summer time but if you taking a large RV I would not recommend it. Lucia lodge has a nice restaurant that has some really good food there plus awesome views. Julia Pfiffer state park is really nice, nice waterfall there but parking is a pain.
The Big sur area is great, lots of hiking trails, redwoods, stores and restaurants, as well as camping and once you get up to Monterey Definetly check out Monterey Bay Aquarium on Cannery Row. It's pretty awesome! I travel a lot in these areas but going from Monterey all the way up to San Francisco is nice!

 

[moparspares]

WOW thanks folks. All these suggestions sound fantastic. We are keen amateur photographers so we are really looking forward to photographing some of the natural beauty along the way as well as taking in some of the regions tourist attractions. Cant wait!