Hey everyone,

Year's ago we planned on doing a trip through central/northern CA and southern OR and it didn't happen. I had a thread on here that had a lot of info but I can't find it, so, here is a new one.

Our plans as of now are to go see Tahoe, Yosemite, the red woods, Crater Lake, Cowboy Dinner tree, and maybe stop at Alvord Desert. I'm looking for any recommendations on where the best places are to camp as well as the best places to stay to see the red woods. Places on my list as possible camping spots are Columbia, CA, Gravelly Valley, and Alvord Desert.

So, what are your recommendations? Any "don't miss" places? Any good beach places would be of interest too. We plan on tenting most of the time but hotels aren't out of the question either.

Thanks!

Cory

Columbia is a good place to camp. There’s bathrooms and showers, fire pits and picnic tables, and a place to plug in and recharge your electronics. There’s also a trail leading into town with lots of stuff to do with the kids and a few restaurants and general store. Mariposa is the best place to access Yosemite, they have rental cars, make sure to call ahead to reserve. Monterey Bay Academy (CA66) is a nice grass strip next to an un-crowded beach, it’s private but they let people land there any day of the week except Saturday, more info here:http://oceanshoreaviation.com . Watsonville just to the east has a nice restaurant on the field. Half moon bay has a nice restaurant on the field, but I would go park down on the south end. You can walk to many nice restaurants. There’s also nice bluffs with hiking trails to the west of the airport with beach access. There’s a fire pit, fire wood, and picnic table at the south end of the field. I called and confirmed they do allow camping but I haven’t yet, camping is $10 a night. Petaluma has the Two Niner Diner. Santa Rosa has a restaurant on the field, the Jet Center has courtesy cars, you could drive over and check out the Geyser in Calistoga. There’s several other things to do near by also. You can stay at Wilma’s Sea Cottage in Mendocino and use their hangar and car from the Little River airport, you need to call and schedule. Gravelly Valley is a nice place to camp, nothing but a fire pit down on the south end close to the lake. There’s always plenty of drift wood scattered along the shore to collect and make a fire. There is a bathroom a couple hundred yards away at the public campground (car camping) and a water spigot, not sure if it’s potable. Alpine is another place you can camp south of Tahoe and Minden. You could do some hiking there, it’s close to a reservoir and the Carson River. To see the Redwoods, KCEC and KACV both have rental car places on the airport. I would call both and find out which is cheaper. Also, if you’re in the area I wouldn’t miss Lucas Lodge in Agness Oregon. They have cabins you can stay in that are nice and CHEAP, less than $100 a night. You can get your meals there also served family style, they are always good and resonably priced. You can walk down to the Rouge River and go swimming on a hot day. There’s also trails for hiking. http://www.lucaslodgeoregon.com . Fly into Gold Beach and you can go on a jet boat ride on the Rouge. Other options for camping in southern Oregon are Powers and Toketee.

Oh, and let me know when you’re out here! I’ll fly over and meet up with you guys somewhere if I can.

robw56 wrote:Columbia is a good place to camp. There’s bathrooms and showers, fire pits and picnic tables, and a place to plug in and recharge your electronics. There’s also a trail leading into town with lots of stuff to do with the kids and a few restaurants and general store. Mariposa is the best place to access Yosemite, they have rental cars, make sure to call ahead to reserve. Monterey Bay Academy (CA66) is a nice grass strip next to an un-crowded beach, it’s private but they let people land there any day of the week except Saturday, more info here:http://oceanshoreaviation.com . Watsonville just to the east has a nice restaurant on the field. Half moon bay has a nice restaurant on the field, but I would go park down on the south end. You can walk to many nice restaurants. There’s also nice bluffs with hiking trails to the west of the airport with beach access. There’s a fire pit, fire wood, and picnic table at the south end of the field. I called and confirmed they do allow camping but I haven’t yet, camping is $10 a night. Petaluma has the Two Niner Diner. Santa Rosa has a restaurant on the field, the Jet Center has courtesy cars, you could drive over and check out the Geyser in Calistoga. There’s several other things to do near by also. You can stay at Wilma’s Sea Cottage in Mendocino and use their hangar and car from the Little River airport, you need to call and schedule. Gravelly Valley is a nice place to camp, nothing but a fire pit down on the south end close to the lake. There’s always plenty of drift wood scattered along the shore to collect and make a fire. There is a bathroom a couple hundred yards away at the public campground (car camping) and a water spigot, not sure if it’s potable. Alpine is another place you can camp south of Tahoe and Minden. You could do some hiking there, it’s close to a reservoir and the Carson River. To see the Redwoods, KCEC and KACV both have rental car places on the airport. I would call both and find out which is cheaper. Also, if you’re in the area I wouldn’t miss Lucas Lodge in Agness Oregon. They have cabins you can stay in that are nice and CHEAP, less than $100 a night. You can get your meals there also served family style, they are always good and resonably priced. You can walk down to the Rouge River and go swimming on a hot day. There’s also trails for hiking. http://www.lucaslodgeoregon.com . Fly into Gold Beach and you can go on a jet boat ride on the Rouge. Other options for camping in southern Oregon are Powers and Toketee.

Oh, and let me know when you’re out here! I’ll fly over and meet up with you guys somewhere if I can.

Second what Rob56 said. Add Powers 6S6 just over the hill from Lucas Lodge. You can schedule a jet boat pick up right from Lucas is you so choose.

Let me know when you are headed to southern Oregon, I'll come meet you guys.

Awesome! Thanks guys! Lots of great info.

I know there are a lot of places to see the redwoods. Any place better than the other? I know my dad went to the Trees of Mystery a while back. Touristy, but might be fun for the kids.

I can’t be of much help for the Redwoods. We went there once but didn’t do much research and ended up driving around aimlessly. We still had a good time but it would have been better to have a plan. I was expecting it to be silimar to other national parks I’ve been to, with park entrance where I could get a map. There is no official enterance though, no fee either.

Rob covered it pretty well. I would definitely add Shelter Cove out on the coast, have landed there several times with whales under me on the approach. There is a campground next to the strip, and easy walking to anywhere in town for pizza or seafood, and your choice of beaches.

Gasquet (0O9) is another neat little airport Redwood option. It is adjacent to Jedidiah Smith Redwood State Park and the Smith River. Not sure what their current courtesy car situation is.

CFOT wrote:Rob covered it pretty well. I would definitely add Shelter Cove out on the coast, have landed there several times with whales under me on the approach. There is a campground next to the strip, and easy walking to anywhere in town for pizza or seafood, and your choice of beaches.

Dang it! I meant to mention Shelter Cove but forgot when I started writing about all the other places. The Inn of the Lost Coast is great to stay at. It sits on a bluff and all the rooms face the ocean. It’s a short walk from the north parking area at the airport. The Pizza place is there and there’s a coffee shop. There’s a fire pit on the back deck and a hot tub.They have a courtesy van free for pilots to use in the town. It’s nice to walk over and check in then take the van to get your stuff from the plane. I believe they have a pilot discount and they will refund your money if you can’t make it in due to weather. The fog can be an issue there. You can google Shelter Cove web cam and see what the weather is doing before you fly there. On the south end of the airport there’s a general store with a restaurant inside. There’s also a cool little light house that’s open sometimes to tour. The black sand beaches to the north are nice to walk on and the beginning of the lost coast trail.

Thanks guys. Shelter Cove was already on my list...has been since I read about it in AOPA years ago. I remember when you went there Rob. I didn’t know about the camp ground so thanks CFOT. Good to know about the webcam and pilot friendly perks. Thanks!

Definitely no services or vehicles at Gasquet. Trees of Mystery has a new gondola that ends up breaking through the clouds on the way up.

I fly the entire north state almost daily. Feel free to give me a call if you want further information.

Jeff
5three0-five7zero-44two5

Great! Thanks. Will do.

Time frame wise for both Robs and anyone else, we will be leaving around the 6th of June and plan on being gone a week and a half or so.

The Trees of Mystery with the gondola is good. Walk down, nice trail. Drive the Avenue of the Giants. Lots of pull overs, parks and trails.

Another neat historical stop in the area is Scotia. It is an old company owned lumber town. It had a massive saw mill. Very well preserved, and has a museum. Worth the stop.
http://www.townofscotia.com/visit-scotia.html

You may also consider Oceano airport (L52) I think you can still camp at the airport. The beach is a 1/4 mile walk away where they have ATV rentals or just enjoy the beach. There is Juan’s Old Cantina Mexican restaurant also 1/4 mike away good food. You can take a ride in a Stearman also based at the airport.

All the places mentioned are excellent. I would add Sun River as a fun stop. I have stayed there (rented a house) and flown to Cowboy Dinner Tree for dinner. Need to get permission to land at Mahogany Mountain. (Strip next to Cowboy Diner Tree) A gent by the name of Mark owns the place.

I am based in Grants Pass (3S8) and be happy to put you guys up if need be. There is camping and showers at the Grants Pass airport.

Toketee is a fun Southern Oregon camping strip as well.

Great. Thanks guys. Thanks for the info on Grants Pass. I’ll look into that. Yeah we went to Cowboy Dinner tree about 7 years ago. The guy that owns the strip was really nice. We’ve talked to him about coming back over but just never made it.

Thanks for all the info and offers of help. I’m starting to get things lined up. I’ll make sure to post our plans once they finalize.

Do you know what day you're planning to go to the Cowbow Dinner Tree? Might be a good excuse for me to take the family out and have a chance to meet up!

CW

Tentatively it will be the 7th of June. I still need to call to make reservations. We are still fine tuning our plans too. That would be awesome to meet up!

Hi everyone,

For those of you that were asking when we will be in the area, here is how our itinerary is shaping up. Most reservations have been made (which makes me cringe) so I don't think this will change much. If you are in the area, we'd love to meet up and see you!

June 5-7: Columbia/Yosemite
June 7-9: Truckee/Tahoe
June 9-10: Stop at Gravelly Valley and/or Shelter Cove on our way to Crescent City. Mystery of Trees & Tour Thru Tree afternoon of the 9th.
June 10-12: Klamath Falls, Crater Lake, Cowboy Dinner Tree (night of the 10th. Reservations yet to be made so I don't know our feeding time.)
June 12: Head for home. Maybe a stop at Alvord or Denio.

It's kind of a quick trip, but should be fun. I'll update with any changes and let everyone know when we are on our way.

Cory

I second 6S6 - Powers. The town is a 10 minute walk from the airport and has a nice general store with all of the amenities you would need for a great camping trip. You can walk down to the Coquille river and there is a great place for swimming (probably my favorite place to swim in OR because the water is warm in the summer).

Looks like you will be fly over my place. http://ourairports.com/airports/US-0058/

Tim

Really close! I’ve got you marked on the chart now.