Redwoods Highway, Northern California
The Redwoods Highway runs north from the end of the Pacific Coast Highway in Legget to Crescent City. This was a great drive, the Redwoods were incredible, but I have to admit that by the end, the kids had seen so many large trees that they were happier just to play on the sandy beaches of northern California. This road trip basically follows Highway 101 through multiple groves of Redwoods. The first stop had to be the Chandelier Tree just outside Leggett. I had always wanted to drive through a redwood, I had seen pictures of the drive through trees in the past and thought it would be cool to do the same. I was worried my Subaru would be too wide to make it, but luckily enough I had a couple inches of clearance.
Driving north through past Leggett was by far my favorite part of the drive. After going through Richardson Grove State Park, the Avenue of Giants was the highlight. The Avenue of Giants crisscrosses highway 101 and goes through beautiful scenery. Some of the photos came out a little blurry, I’m not sure why, maybe my focus was a bit off, and it was so sunny there were deep shadows and bright light, but I’m hoping some of the photos give justice to the size of the trees.
After driving north we ended up in Eureka for the night. We stayed at the Best Western which had a crazy pool and a huge hot tub that the kids absolutely loved. From Eureka we continued on, and there were other groves of Redwoods, but to be honest after driving through the Avenue of Giants, the kids had seen enough trees and just wanted to play on the beaches. There were a bunch of really great beaches along the way, I don’t remember them all, but a lot of them were right off the highway. We stayed at a lighthouse themed motel in Crescent City and it was great with a beautiful beach.
Mt. Shasta on the drive down to San Francisco.
The Golden Gate Bridge.
My son flying his new dragon kite.
Dragon kite with the Golden Gate Bridge in teh background.
Dragon kite with the Golden Gate Bridge in teh background.
VW on the sloped streets of San Francisco.
Just a dog ordering some food.
Pier 39 flag.
Sea Lion on the docks.
Alcatraz Island.
Chinatown during the Chinese New Year celebration.
Chinatown during the Chinese New Year celebration.
Golden Gate Bridge with heron at a park.
My son's Red Baron kite.
San Francisco sunset.
San Francisco sunset.
My son at Muir Woods National Monument.
My son and daughter at Muir Woods National Monument.