California Trip

My wife and I are going to be in California for most of the month of September. One of the things we will be doing is driving hwy 1 from Point Reyes north to the Redwoods. I would appreciate any advice of places to photograph and explore along the coast. We will not be on any schedule. I have wanted to do this for a long time, so we are going to pack our tent and go from Yosemite, Sequoia, Point Reyes, Hwy 1, Redwoods, and Crater Lake before we head home. I would appreciate any advice I can get of places to see and photograph along the way. Thanks

If you are going to hit Crater Lake, don't miss Lassen NP on the way.

If you've never been to these places, you are in for a treat. Sept. along the no. coast is the best weather. Less chance of fog which is around most of the summer. If you have Yosemite reservations, you're good. Otherwise you'll have to stay outside the park each night unless you luck out. Won't be much water going over the falls this year but there is a ton of other stuff you can photograph. Sequoia/Kings Canyon should be less crowded. Stop in San Francisco even if it's just a half a day as it really is a great city. Then you can head over the GG Bridge to Marin Co. and on to Pt. Reyes. One of my favorite places. No campground in the seashore and only one private one in Olema. You should be able to get in there. If you travel a few more miles you can camp in Samuel P. Taylor State Park in the redwoods. Pt. Reyes is worth several days. From there head north on Highway 1. Some great scenery along the way. Lots of photo ops. When you get to the redwoods (it's a joint NP and State Park) a good place to camp is at Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park. Good base camp for working the area. If you're willing to gamble, there is a no reservation campground at Gold Bluffs Beach. We lucked out once and arrived literally as someone had just pulled out. It's right on the dunes and there are only about 10-12 sites. But what a spot! Elk apparently come down to the beach as well. Saw tracks but no animals. These are Rossevelt Elk - smaller and darker than the Rocky Mtn variety. Some where along the coast if you can swing it either buy or go to a restaurant and get some fresh salmon. Season is open then and it should be available. Sure beats what they call salmon in the stores. When you get to Oregon, the first big town you come to is Ashland. I highly recommend going to Howard Prairie Lake Resort for a night or two. It's due east about 20 miles at about 4,200 ft. We've been there twice for a week in late June and just love it. Eagles, osprey, beaver, otter, deer, great fishing (both for people and the birds). Very nice setting. They even have a small rest. at the main building which is nice if you don't want to cook one meal. From there it's on to Crater Lake.

Hope this helps some in your planning. If you have questions, feel free to contact me directly.

Peter

Yosemite Valley is very difficult to camp in without advanced reservations. There will still be some FCFS campgrounds open in Sept, so be prepared to try those if you have no reservations for the valley.