Northern California Coast

In a bit of an unusual twist for us, we had a non-hiking commitment during the latter part of the hiking season ... a friend's son's wedding in the wine country of northern California.  So, instead making a quick trip of it, we took the opportunity to drive down and check out the northern California coast.  In both directions, we spent a day powering through Washington and Oregon on the interstate, then took our time once in California.  On the southbound trip, we spent a few days checking out the giant redwoods ... via drives and hikes, mostly in the Redwood State and National Parks.  Very impressive, and pretty magical walking through forests of these giants.  Even the "pedestrian" trees were damn big, and those in the "notable" groves were simply massive.  We also managed to explore a couple of nice beaches along the route.

After the wedding, we met up with Karen's sister and hiked in Mt Tam State Park, a bit north of San Francisco.  As we were getting ready to hustle all the way home, we had a change of heart and decided to take our time and stick to the winding route up the California coast.  What a great choice.  The weather was gorgeous, the driving was narrow, winding, and pretty spectacular!  We stopped at numerous parks (some planned, some random) to explore beaches and rocky heads, and were seemingly always finding something awe inspiring.

Overall, it was a great, relaxing trip.  We were a bit concerned that we might burn out on beaches or big trees, but that wasn't the case.  It was good to get back out on the road and follow our bliss!

Redwoods and Ferns, Boy Scout Tree Trail, Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park

Hiking through Redwoods, Boy Scout Tree Trail, Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park

Boy Scout Tree, Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park

 

Trinidad Bay

Karen in Fern Canyon, Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park

Beach Art (and death knell for Tom's camera), Gold Bluff's Beach, Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park

Moss on Maple Trees, Tall Trees Trail, Redwood National Park

Evening Light, Trinidad Beach

Evening Light, Trinidad Beach

Pea Soup Fog, Trinidad Beach

Redwoods, Avenue of the Giants

Foggy Forest, Mt Tamalpais State Park

Ice Plants, Bodega Head

Bodega Head

Goat Rock Beach

Ice Plants & Rocky Coastline, Black Point Head

Sunset, Point Arena Stornetta Coastal Trail

Tide Pool, Glass Beach

Pounding Surf & Rocks, Sue-Meg State Park

Wedding Rock, Sue-Meg State Park

Evening Light, Crescent City (our last night)

More Photos

Details

• Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park
• Howland Hill Rd
• Boy Scout Tree Trail  
• Crescent Beach
• Trinidad Head
• Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park
• Fern Canyon
• Gold Bluffs Beach
  
• Redwood National Park
• Tall Tree Grove Trail
  
• Trinidad State Park Beach
  
• Northernmost Beach
  
• Luffenholtz Beach Park 
• Tepona Point Overlook
• Avenue of the Giants
• Santa Rosa
• Spring Lake Park
• Luther Burbank Park
• Mt Tamalpais State Park
• Pantoll CG TH > Matt Davis Trail > Stinson Beach > Steep Ravine Trail > TH
• Bodega Head
• Bodega Dunes Beach
• Goat Rock Beach
• Black Point Beach and Head
  
• Point Arena Stornetta Coastal Trail
• Glass Beach
• Sue-Meg State Park
  

Random Scenes

• After getting to our hotel room in Grant's Pass on the first night of the trip, we immediately popped out onto the riverfront deck.  When we turned around to go back into the room, we discovered the sliding door locked!  Lucky for us we had a cell phone in our pocket to call the front desk, 'cuz it was a 2nd story room with no way down, and nobody around to yell to!
• During a long walk along beautiful and quiet Gold Bluff Beach, we stopped for lunch. Some unknown force prompted Tom to make tiny beach art, and photograph it.  The only problem was some sand got in his camera, freezing the lens zoom mechanism.  Bummer.  Had to use the camera on his phone for the rest of the trip. 
• During a walk in Spring Lake Regional Park in Santa Rosa, we came across a very wild scene ... a small lake with hundreds of dogs romping, barking, playing, swimming, splashing, sprinting!  Reminiscent of the Dog Party in the kids book, Go Dogs Go!  Very chaotic, but just a joy to watch.  Ends up it was the Water Bark Dog Swim, where they use the swimming lagoon as an off-leash dog area for a few weekends in October!
• Visiting Black Point Beach and Head in a random stop, we observed some water spouts a ways out in the ocean.  What were they?  Porpoises?  Whales?  It didn't seem like the right time for whale migrations, but after chatting with some locals, that's what it was!
  

Random Questions

• On the Tall Trees Trail, are there Douglas Firs in the mix?
  

Sleeps

• Grants Pass, OR
• Riverside Inn
• Trinidad, CA
• Trinidad Bay B&B (great bed, excellent breakfast)
  
• Santa Rosa, CA
  
• Hotel E - very nice, but a bit pretentious
  
• Bodega Bay, CA
  
• Cozy Cottage on Salmon Creek (AirBnB) ... good
• Point Arena, CA
• Wildflower Boutique Motel (very nice)
• Crescent City, CA
• Best Western Northwoods Inn (decent, subpar breakfast)
  

Noteable Eats

• Grants Pass, OR
• The Twisted Cork (good flatbread, sad caesar salad)
  
• Trinidad, CA
  
• Trinidad Bay Eatery (decent, very long wait)
  
• Headies Pizza and Pour (good pizza by the slice)
  
• Santa Rosa, CA
  
• El Coqui Puerto Rican Cuisine (excellent)
  
• Red Bird Bakery (excellent baked goods and breakfast sandwiches)
• Point Reyes Station, CA
  
• Side Street Kitchen (great lunches)
• Bodega Bay, CA
  
• Roadhouse Coffee (good coffee and muffins)
• Crescent City, CA
• Cristina's (solid mexican fare)