Driving from Napa to Eugene. Which road? Where to stop?

Hello,

the first week of may I will be driving with some friends from Napa, or somewhere around SF, to Eugene, Oregon.

We will be leaving on Wed, mid afternoon from Napa and we have to be in Eugene on Fri, 9.30 am.

We plan to drive on the 101 instead of the 5 and o far the only place we know we want to see is the Redwood National Park.

Is there any other place that we should plan to see?

Also, on Thu night we are planning to sleep in Eugene which would make it easier to be there on Fri morning. However, in case there is a ';not to be missed'; place close to Eugene, we could also stay there. Any suggestion?

I apologize this thread is also on the California Forum but I am not sure where it is most appropriate to post it...

Thanks,

Edoardo

Driving from Napa to Eugene. Which road? Where to stop?

Figure at least 4-5 hours from Bay Area to Eureka or so...and if you%26#39;re leaving mid afternoon, you may not get to Redwood National Park or the Avenue of Giants until after dark. That would mean spending a good portion of your Thursday morning in that area.

I would then suggest you continue up the 101 along the coast, enjoying the scenery...perhaps detouring just a bit at Reedsport to see the elk herd before continuing up 101 to Florence, where you%26#39;ll cut across to Eugene via 126. If you have to be in Eugene at 9:30 a.m., I%26#39;d recommend staying Thursday night in Eugene. You have to figure on a 1 1/2 hour to 2 hour drive into Eugene from the coast (and there%26#39;s no predicting what the weather/road conditions might be...or the ';rush hour'; traffic coming in from the west side of Eugene).

After Florence, there are no ';must see'; or ';must stay'; places until you get to Eugene. If you have time, you might like to do the short hike to Sweet Creek Falls near Mapleton. Very pretty and full of rushing water this time of year. Don%26#39;t think you%26#39;ll have time for other hiking opportunities...although you might find exploring the dunes at Honeyman State Park enjoyable.

Driving from Napa to Eugene. Which road? Where to stop?

Thank you,

one last thing: any suggestion on where to sleep around Eureka? Or anywhere before Redwood national park?

Thanks,

Edoardo

Just north of Eureka, the town of McKinleyville has a nice Holiday Inn Express. We stayed there a couple years ago on a road trip. I thought it must be brand new the way everything was in perfect condition, but they said it was 6 years old. They really kept it up well! The location was nice as it was close to the highway, yet not noisy. It is near the small airport there, which actually had a pretty good restaurant. We ate there that night for dinner and the planes take off and land right next to the windows of the room. Staying at the HIE also gave us a discount at the restaurant. Granted, this is not a destination type hotel, but for a road trip is was quite nice.

Edoardo, what is your budget for lodging?

Napa area to Eureka is about 5+ hours drive. On the Thursday, you%26#39;ll have about a 7 hour drive up the coast and then inland to Eugene.

Don%26#39;t miss the elk herds between Trinidad and Orick :-)

Arcata, just north of Eureka, has quite a few economy lodgings (it%26#39;s the home of Humboldt State University), lots of restaurants and a very definite 60s hippy environment (just in case you can%26#39;t quite place that aroma wafting over the street corners). Actually, it%26#39;s a fine stopping place.

Thanks,

so we will stop somewhere north of Eureka. That way we should manage to be in the park first thing in the morning.

If the drive up north will be taking too long, we might also change at Crescent city and go take the 5. But I think staying on the coast will be nicer.

Regards,

Edoardo