That Cool Travel Couple

This has to be one of our favorite road trips we have ever done and can easily be done over a three day weekend from LA. If you live around the Bay area, you could definitely do it on a regular weekend! Check out this post for more information on our Redwoods road trip!

How to Get There

In this case, the journey really is the destination. You’ll pass beautiful scenic vistas It really depends how much road trip you want to have on your weekend. We LOVE road trips, but wanted it to still be doable over a three day weekend. That means we had to fly into northern California and rent a car. Your options include San Francisco, Oakland, and Sacramento. We chose Oakland because it had the cheapest flights at the best time for us. That being said, we wouldn’t necessarily chose it again as our flight got in a little late and the car rental company refused to rent to us that evening. This delayed our trip a little and we had to depart the next morning once they re-opened.

If you live around Northern California, then your trip will begin at the west end of the Richmond Bridge. From there, take the 101 South to join onto the Pacific Coast Highway. From here, you will cruise all the way up to eventually meet the 101 North again around Leggett. From there, continue up north to Eureka which will be your home base over the next few days.

Be aware that if you simply plug Redwood National Park into your GPS, it will take you the non-scenic route. Since the trip itself is part of the adventure, there’s no sense in rushing through the most scenic part. We highly advise for you not to skip the PCH part of this journey!

PCH cuts through lots of the towns on the way up, many of which have cute little main street areas. These are perfect to grab a quick bite before heading back on the road!

Where to Stop

Stop anywhere the mood strikes you! There are so many gorgeous vista points overlooking the Pacific, we had a hard time NOT stopping everywhere. We actually made terrible time on this road trip just because there was so much to see!

Coming up from San Francisco, your first stop will be Stinson Beach. This beautiful stretch of beach will take your breath away. Continue on up PCH to Bodega Bay and take in the sweeping views. Check out Sonoma Coast Vineyards for a taste of wine with views (but wrap up because it can be cool!). Definitely stop by Point Arena Lighthouse for dramatic views across the ocean. Fort Bragg is also really scenic – we had a little picnic on the cliffs overlooking the water.

Where to Stay

We recommend staying in Eureka which makes for a really convenient home base. The Inn at 2nd and C is where we chose to day and we absolutely loved it. We would 10/10 stay there again. This Inn is restored from the original Eagle House, which was one of the first buildings in Eureka built in the 1880s. The Inn itself is in a perfectly convenient location near the waterfront and in primetime old town Eureka. This means you can easily stroll over to Los Bagels in the morning for a cup of joe and a delish bagel sandwich.

Where to Eat

Pretty much everywhere we ate in Eureka was walkable from the Inn at 2nd and C. We already mentioned Los Bagels which serves up amazing Scram bagels and bagel sandwiches. The coffee is pretty good too.

Phatsy Kline’s is an old-school parlour type establishment and is located inside the Inn at 2nd and C. It has cool vibes and unique cocktails and is definitely worth stopping by. We hear their food is pretty good too, but we didn’t stay for a bite.

Instead we headed to Cafe Waterfront for some delicious and fresh seafood. It has an old-fashioned vibe to it but the wait staff is super nice and well acquainted with the menu. All of the seafood we tried was mouth-watering and extremely fresh.

We also wanted to give a shout out to Cafe Marina & Woodley’s Bar. This cafe is accessible by the 255 bridge over to Woodley Island. This classic diner serves up delicious brunch fare with friendly smiles. It’s a short drive from the Inn at 2nd and C. Check out Table Bluff Lighthouse while you’re in the area!

Visiting the Redwoods

You’ll have driven past plenty of Redwoods at this point, but a couple of places definitely stand out.

You can make a quick stop at Chandelier Tree, which is actually big enough for a car to drive through. Sure, it’s a little touristy, but it makes for a fun photo opportunity. Plus, how often do you get to drive through a tree?

You’ll want to stop by Richardson Grove State Park on the 101 North before you get to Eureka. It was one of the state’s first redwood parks! There are campgrounds here and a few short loop trails that are great for showcasing the majestic redwoods.

And finally, for the king of all Redwood forests, Redwood National and State Park. There are a couple of places we recommend seeing in the park. Stop by Lady Bird Grove (named after Lady Bird Johnson). This is one of the busier trails as it is wheelchair and stroller accessible. We also really enjoyed Trillium Falls and Prairie Creek Loop.

On our drive down from the National Park, we stopped by Agate Beach for a little picnic. It was absolutely icy and we were glad we had thick jackets! We visited in February so keep this in mind when packing for your trip.

And that’s a wrap! On the way back down to Oakland, we took the short way. Though it was less scenic it still cut through plenty of beautiful forests and farmland. Need more inspiration for California road trips? Check out our page here!