Northern California & Oregon Road Trip Itinerary
+ Top Attractions

San Francisco hosts an immense selection of world-class dining options as well as amazing nightlife. This beautiful city sits on a hilly peninsula at the entrance to the massive San Francisco Bay. Spanning the bay's entrance is the city's iconic Golden Gate Bridge, which can be admired from many different viewpoints. Golden Gate Park is home to many gardens and museums, including the famous California Academy of Sciences.

The city is home to many more iconic sights including the hilltop Coit Tower, the windy Lombard Street, and the lovely row of colorful Victorian homes known as the Painted Ladies. Among the city's most impressive structures is the majestic Greco-Roman style Palace of Fine Arts.

Amongst the dense towering skyscrapers of Downtown is the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, one of the largest modern art museums in the world. Nearby you can take the ferry to the famous early 20th century prison island which housed Al Capone, Alcatraz Island.

California's Lower Northern Coast follows along the extremely scenic coastal Highway 1 north of San Francisco and Point Reyes. This route includes the lovely Point Arena and Point Cabrillo Lighthouses, as well as many beautiful views over the coastline such as at Bodega Bay. Along the coast you'll even find a huge reconstructed 19th century Russian fortress known as Fort Ross.

In the seaside town of Mendocino you'll find the Mendocino Headlands State Park, which hosts gorgeous views over the vibrant blue-green waters of Mendocino Bay, as well as a rugged coastline of sea arches and stunning natural features that you can explore. In nearby Fort Bragg you can visit the elegant clifftop Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens and marvel at the tiny dull pieces of glass that make-up the city's Glass Beach.

California's Upper Northern Coast is located along Highway 101, which passes through vast redwood forests including Humboldt, Prairie Creek, and Jedidiah Smith Redwoods State Parks. All of these state parks offer scenic hiking trails through the stunning dense redwood forests. Humboldt Redwoods State Park hosts a 32 mile (51 km) long alternate route, which offers much better views of the towering redwood trees than the main highway.

Within the Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park are two incredible trails, including the Fern Canyon trail which ventures alongside a rocky stream through a vibrant canyon, surrounded by lush green walls on both sides. The other trail is the Lady Bird Johnson Grove Trail, which is exceptionally beautiful and mystical when visited during the early morning fog.

Additionally this route offers picturesque views over the Trinidad Harbor, as well as the chance to visit the lovely Battery Point Lighthouse, which is cut-off from the mainland during high tide.

Oregon's southern coast features several extremely scenic areas located along Highway 101, although the entire drive along the coast is quite scenic. This route follows along a stretch of this highway between Brookings, OR just north of the California border and Yachats, OR, which is located near the center of the Oregon Coast.

Oregon's northern coast hosts a variety of scenic viewpoints and attractions along Highway 101. This route follows a long stretch of this highway between Newport, OR near the center of the Oregon Coast and Astoria, OR near the northwestern tip of Oregon.

Oregon's capital city of Portland is located just south of the Washington border and over 60 miles (100 km) inland from the Pacific Coast. Portland has a renowned nightlife scene, with the most popular areas being Downtown Portland, Morrison Street, and Burnside Street. In these areas you'll find many great breweries, restaurants, and bars.

Downtown Portland hosts the tranquil Lan Su Chinese Garden, the Portland Art Museum, and Powell's City of Books, a massive multi-leveled bookstore that's quite famous.

One of Portland's top sights in the hills above the city is the chateau-stye Pittock Mansion with its fancy historic interiors and excellent views overlooking Downtown Portland. Nearby are two lush and beautiful gardens, the Portland Japanese Garden and International Rose Test Garden. On the northeastern side of Portland is Rocky Butte Park, which offers excellent views overlooking Portland and both Mt. St. Helens and Mt. Hood on a clear day.

The Columbia River Gorge separates the state of Washington on the northern side, and Oregon on the southern side of the river. On the Oregon side of the river gorge you'll find many stunning massive waterfalls surrounded by lush dense forests, connected via the Historic Columbia River Highway.

Heading east from Portland you'll encounter the Crown Point Vista House, which overlooks a picturesque section of the Columbia River Gorge from high above.

Approximately 1 hour south of Portland is Silver Falls State Park, so be sure to get an early start on the day in order to visit this beautiful place. Silver Falls State Park is a miniature rainforest ecosystem featuring several huge waterfalls amongst an incredibly lush green landscape, with all of the waterfalls connected by a single creek.

To see all of the waterfalls you can hike the popular Trail of Ten Falls, which connects all of the park's waterfalls via an extremely scenic 7.2 mile (11.6 km) hike through this rainforest-like environment. Alternatively you can see some of the park's largest and most notable waterfalls with a much shorter amount of hiking.

The city of Bend is set in the high desert of Central Oregon surrounded by a vast volcanic landscape. The city is a great base from which to explore the incredible natural wonders in the area. The city's historic downtown area is known as Old Bend and hosts many great shops and restaurants. Bend is also home to the last remaining Blockbuster Video as well as the Deschutes Brewery. You can enjoy views over the city from atop the Pilot Butte.

Just west of Bend is the majestic Tumalo Falls. To the north of Bend is Smith Rock State Park, an immensely beautiful volcanic landscape of tall sheer cliffs which are great for rock climbing or hiking. The Crooked River flows around the center of the park, creating a giant peninsula.

South of Bend is the Newberry National Volcanic Monument, which hosts several large cinder cones amongst a black volcanic landscape. Popular attractions in the monument include the Big Obsidian Flow Trail, Paulina Creek Falls, the Lava River Cave, and the High Desert Museum.

The gorgeous Crater Lake National Park is centered around a massive deep blue lake which sits inside of a vast crater, surrounded by beautiful mountains and forest.

You can drive around the vast Crater Lake to enjoy multiple perspectives over this gorgeous natural wonder, most notably Meriam Point, the Watchman Overlook which looks out directly over Wizard Island, and the Sinnott Memorial Observation Station in Rim Village. From Rim Village you can take the short hike up to one of the lake's best viewpoints atop Garfield Peak.

On the northern side of Crater Lake you can hike down to the lakeshore via the Cleetwood Cove Trail, which also leads to the lake's boat tour dock, although these tours must be made far in advance.

This area of Northern California near Oregon is home to several gorgeous waterfalls, including one which many claim is among the state's most beautiful waterfalls, Mossbrae Falls. Nearby you can visit the stunning Burney Falls as well as the various waterfalls along the McCloud River. While driving along this route you'll be able to take in excellent views of Mt. Shasta, which towers high above the surrounding landscape.

Lake Tahoe is a magnificent alpine lake set amongst the vast forests of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. This massive lake sits along the border of California and Nevada, and the area around the lake offers many different types of activities year-round. In the summer there's great hiking opportunities, as well as beautiful beaches offering swimming and kayaking. In the winter the area offers countless ski resorts to experience.

South Lake Tahoe is the main city on the lake and hosts many accommodations and dining options. The city sits on the border with Stateline, Nevada, which hosts four mega-casinos within walking distance of the Heavenly Village ski lift. On the southwestern side of the lake is the picturesque Emerald Bay State Park, which offers excellent hiking opportunities, as well as breathtaking scenery.

Mono County is located on the eastern side of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, adjacent to the gorgeous Tuolumne Meadows district of Yosemite National Park. Within this county is the largest and best-preserved Western ghost town in the United States, Bodie State Historic Park. Nearby is the beautiful Mono Lake, an alkali lake with otherworldly tufa tower formations that you can explore.

The Tuolomne Meadows district of Yosemite National Park is a majestic valley full of lush meadows and lakes, which sits at an average elevation of about 8,600 feet (2,625 m), surrounded by many mountain peaks and interesting geological features. This district of Yosemite hosts vast meadows filled with abundant wildlife alongside picturesque scenery.

Tuolumne Meadows hosts many excellent hiking trails to gorgeous places such as the serene Cathedral Lakes, Mount Dana from which you can view Mono Lake from high above, and Clouds Rest from which you can enjoy truly breathtaking views of the backside of Half Dome with Yosemite Valley framed behind it. Further north of Tuolumne Meadows is the Hetch Hetchy district of Yosemite, which is also discussed in this itinerary.

The Yosemite Valley of Yosemite National Park is one of the most beautiful valleys on Earth with its towering canyon walls including El Capitan, which towers 3,000 feet (900 m) over the valley floor.

The Yosemite Valley is filled with lush dense forest and abundant wildlife, surrounded by incredible geological formations such as Half Dome. The valley also hosts several massive waterfalls, including Bridalveil Falls, Vernal Falls, Nevada Falls, and the behemoth Yosemite Falls. Many of these waterfalls and formations are among the Yosemite Valley's vast array of world-class hiking trails.

Other amazing features of the valley include the picturesque Mirror Lake, and the serene meadows in which you can relax and enjoy the park's natural splendor. The valley is highly developed yet still quite wild, with accommodations and many roads. Many easily-accessible yet breathtaking viewpoints such as Tunnel View, Valley View, and the sweeping high altitude views from atop Glacier Point are connected via Yosemite Valley's roads.