Our year-long road trip has taken us from coast to coast and national park to national park. After our adventures along the Pacific Northwest coast and in the rain forests of Washington state, we headed south through Oregon with the goal of getting to the Redwoods in California. We overnighted in Eugene, Oregon and did a self-guided mini-tour of a few breweries in downtown Eugene. (In case you’re wondering, Ninkasi Brewery was our favorite with amazing IPA’s for Matt and smooth, delicious stouts for Kristin. Honorable mention also goes to Oakshire Brewing and Hop Valley Brewing.)
Crater Lake National Park, Oregon
As we determined our route from Eugene, we were originally going to continue straight south. But decided to alter our route to visit Crater Lake National Park.
Weather has been the primary driver of our travel and we’re very aware of overnight temperatures to prevent any issues with our RV pipes freezing. We did a lot of checking, researched our route to get there and decided it was worth the detour to make it happen and the temperatures would be ok. We’re VERY glad we did not bypass this stunning park, as it is an absolutely breathtaking place to witness in person. Nearly 2,000 feet deep, and made up of only rain and snow melt, it is the deepest lake in the U.S.
The beauty of the brilliant blue water is beyond description. With towering pines, picturesque cliffs, and a calmness that feels transcendental, it’s entirely possible to sit or stand along the crater edge for hours.
We did minimal hiking here, just a short jaunt along the crater edge for more picture taking, partly because of the chilly air, and secondly because there weren’t a lot of dog friendly trails (and we had the pups in the truck!).
We did do a beautiful loop trail with the dogs, and saw more of the surrounding landscape, including deep ledges in the area.
This national park wasn’t actually on our radar or “bucket list” of destinations, but we are so very grateful we made a detour to this majestic place. An added bonus…while the temps were chilly, it was the “off” season visiting in October. This place definitely gets packed with visitors in the summer, but we felt like we had it all to ourselves in the Fall.
Redwood National and State Parks, California
We continued south to Crescent City which was our base for exploring our first Redwood Park. Something we learned as we researched the Redwoods was that there is not only Redwood National Park, but several Redwood State Parks as well. All are equal in their beauty and preservation of giant coastal Redwoods. We got our first taste of the Redwoods as we drove across Route 199 through Jebediah Smith Redwood State Park. Our jaws were on the floor as the road curved around Redwood giant after Redwood giant.
From Crescent City we took day trips into the park to drive Howland Road through the heart of the Redwoods, and several hikes, including our favorite the Boy Scout Tree Trail, a 5.6 mile hike round trip, through ENORMOUS Redwoods.
When you witness the tallest trees on earth, you can’t help but feel like a tiny, but grateful, human to witness their magnificent glory.
The highlight of the trail was Boy Scout Tree, which was actually three Redwoods that have grown together and tower over 300 feet high.
Several times on this hike we stopped just to BE. Just to LISTEN. And just to WATCH. Softly fluttering ferns. Huge towering Redwoods. And sunlight streaming through the upper branches, like a heavenly fog from above. Occasionally, we heard a little chipmunk or bird chirping, but overall it was a peaceful, quiet sanctuary.
A couple other Crescent City highlights were the beautiful driftwood mermaid at the marina (yes, yes, we have a weakness for driftwood artwork!), the barking sea lions in the marina, and some absolutely stunning sunsets.
Our Redwood adventures continued as we journeyed south to take day trips to the Prairie Creek Redwood State Park and the Redwood National Park. Our favorite hike at the national park was the Tall Trees Grove. First, we had to go to the visitors center, to get a special day pass, and gate code. Then we drove several miles through a windy mountainous stretch, unlocked the gate to a narrow path which took us deeper into the Redwoods and to our trail head. We felt pretty special getting access to this limited trail. Were the trees tall? Yes.
Throw us in the woods with huge trees and we’re like Buddy the Elf in New York City…look at THIS one, look at THIS one, THIS one is even BIGGER! We took so many pictures, and you can get an idea of how huge they are from some of the pictures, but you must see the in person. Look up. Give them a hug. Heck, you might even walk through one if it falls over your trail.
We left Crescent City to head further south and stationed ourselves in Redcrest, CA. For three weeks, the Avenue of the Giants was our driveway and the Humboldt Redwoods State Park our back yard. We loved the trails in this area, which (no surprise), continued to have HUGE Redwoods, green ferns and purple clover covered forests.
The Lost Coast
One of the best day trips we had from our Redcrest, CA base was a trip through the heart of Humboldt Redwood State Park and up and around the “Lost Coast”. Imagine driving down narrow roads, around towering Redwoods, up and into curvy mountain roads, and then descending down again to a coast completely undeveloped. The only thing in sight were a few farms and hundreds of acres of grazing cows…grazing right next to the beach!
We looped our way to this beautifully desolate beach along the Lost Coast as well as the small Victorian village of Ferndale.
We took another day trip out to Redding, CA which included some old California ghost towns which Matt featured in his “paranormal” blog post, and we got some practice driving on some crazy mountain roads! But the majority of our adventures were hiking, exploring and gawking at the Redwoods. Don’t be deceived, we fit in a fair amount of work as well. Custom orders for Destination Tree rolled in regularly, so we balanced our hiking with artwork creation, customer service and driftwood acquisition. There’s an art to finding the right driftwood for our work, and we combed the Lost Coast and California beaches to find new pieces.
A “Home Base” for the Holidays
As November neared, we knew we needed to settle in one place that provided mild weather, access to driftwood and a home “base” to really focus on the business and fill the expected increase in holiday orders. And so, we continued our journey by moving a few hours north to Gold Beach, Oregon to prepare for what we hoped would be a very busy holiday season for our growing business…
Click Here for highlights from our time in Oregon and how we managed to survive torrential rain and a holiday season that more than exceeded our expectations for our Destination Tree shop.
Stubs says
It is hard to believe that there is so much beauty there, as you hardly hear about these places. We are so happy for you guys! Talk about making memories!
Adam says
Amazing pics and commentary! Hope you guys are enjoying every minute. Catch up soon. Happy new year!
Kristin says
Thank you, Adam! Glad you enjoyed it! Happy New Year to you as well! Hope it’s a year full of health, happiness and adventure 🙂