California Redwoods

[Dagley]

I promised my wife I would take her the Redwood Forest in Ca. this year.
Will be departing from Phoenix and thinking of just having her fly into Oakland or Reno and catch up with me there so she doesn;t get jaded on riding through the desert to get there.

Anybody got a favorite Redwood route they are willing to share or favorite lodge or hotel in those parts?

Been there a long time ago but don't remember much about the trip so any first hand info is greatly appreciated.

Oh yea, will be using August vacation so if anybody has a cool (literally) route from PHX to RNO or OAK I'm all ears.:usa

D. Dag

[kbasa]

I promised my wife I would take her the Redwood Forest in Ca. this year.
Will be departing from Phoenix and thinking of just having her fly into Oakland or Reno and catch up with me there so she doesn;t get jaded on riding through the desert to get there.

Anybody got a favorite Redwood route they are willing to share or favorite lodge or hotel in those parts?

Been there a long time ago but don't remember much about the trip so any first hand info is greatly appreciated.

Oh yea, will be using August vacation so if anybody has a cool (literally) route from PHX to RNO or OAK I'm all ears.:usa

D. Dag

Fly to Oakland and enjoy cool weather the whole ride. In fact, I'd recommend bringing the electric jacket for a ride up the coast.

I'd recommend the old standard, take Hwy 1. from north of SFO all the way up to Eureka. You'll pass through several stands of redwoods, but the big, old growth trees are up by Eureka on a road called Avenue of the Giants. There's camping in among the groves (as clusters of these magnificent trees are referred to).

If you'd like to camp among them somewhat closer, there's a state park in Philo, CA on Hwy. 128, called, if memory serves, the Henderson Redwoods. It's about ten miles in from the coast, so temps tend to be warmer than if you camped up on Avenue of the Giants.

Be aware that we have two forms of giant trees here. We have the redwoods, which are coastal and the sequoias, which live in the Sierras. If you're looking to see Sequioas, we have the Sequoia National Forest down in SoCal. There's also Big Trees State Park, a bit further north.

You might want to try and find the Fungal Ride trip report in here for some tips on where to ride and stay.

Let me know if I can help. It's really magnificent riding up on the north coast.

[widebmw]

The Benbow Inn in Garberville is nice, I mean real nice $$$$.
http://www.benbowinn.com/

[username]

i've been to sequoia national forest and it was really neat. getting into the forest you go up a long winding road and climb somehting like 2000 feet. then it pops you into this forest full of mind-bendingly large trees.

[jwhite518]

+1 What Kbasa said.

If you want a preview, stop at Muir Woods National Monument, the redwood forest that's less than an hour from OAK airport.

Cool route from PHX to OAK - how about aiming for 395 and crossing the Sierras on one of the passes. Go Flagstaff-Vegas-Beatty-Lone Pine-120 or 108 or 4.

Sounds like a great trip!