[Valleyboy]

Hi all, I was wondering if anyone had any campground suggestions for a roadtrip to Yosemite. I was thinking of also spending some time in Siuslaw National Forest and Klamath National Forest along the way. If anyone has suggestions of good campgrounds, hikes and sights not to be missed, off the beaten track gems, and/or places to avoid, please let me know! Thank you!

[mjl]

How much time do you have? we did it 2 years ago. Can't go wrong meandering down the Oregon Coast; there are many great state parks for camping. We took I5 to Grants Pass & then headed west to the coast & down the coast road. For times sake we stayed in (ugh) hotels. Loved the California Coast Redwoods. Trees of Mystery & the talking Paul Bunyan was, surprisingly, a hoot, worth a 30' stop (OK, was with the kids...) avoid the drive through tree. (how sad) Just driving the coast road was lovely. Eureka was a nice town with good restaurants, and the ocean right next door with good access. Coming back we went thru hot boring central California; it was 105 in Redding. not much to see that way, but it was quicker Get your Yosemite camping reservations soon; they fill up quick. say hi to Half Dome for me-THAT was an amazing hike...

[NacMacFeegle]

How long do you plan on driving per day to get down there and back? Silver Falls State Park is about 6 hours from Seattle, and it's perhaps one of the best State Parks in Oregon. If you allow for a few hours of hiking there you can easily check out half a dozen waterfalls, and if you have a day the Trail of Ten Falls is an amazing hike-the trail passes through caverns behind 4 of the 10 falls! The park has a nice campground that includes several small, rustic cabins that are cheap, but also spacious and clean. I'd also definitely recommend the Redwoods, but it is a pretty significant detour if you're on your way to Yosemite.

[Valleyboy]

About 8 - 9 days. Tentative schedule: Day 1: Seattle to Siuslaw National Forest cabin rental or Oregon Dunes cabin rental Day 2: Florence Oregon to Klamath National Forest campground or to Six Rivers National Forest campground Day 3: drive to Oakland, stay in Oakland Day 4: visit friends in Oakland Day 5: Oakland to Yosemite, stay at cabin or campground, Sierra or Stanislaus National forest Day 6: Yosemite Day 7: Yosemite Day 8: Yosemite to Medford OR Date 10: Medford to Seattle

[Hutch]

What time of year are you going? I did this same thing in September a couple years ago and did the "back" entrance into the park through Klamath->Reno->Lee Vining-> Tuolumne Meadows and it was incredible.

[Cyclopath]

Have you been to Yosemite before? Don't spend all your time in the valley, check out Hetch Hetchy and go over Tioga Pass and to Mono Lake.

[hikerman]

Suggestion for Yosemite: Bring your bikes

[olderthanIusedtobe]

Ditto, Yos. Valley is one of a kind but I prefer Tuolumne Meadows as well. I've never been to Hetch Hetchy but the road up towards Glacier Point is another worthwhile side trip. Don't know if you'll have time, but a bit south of Yos. on the east side of the Sierras, there are all kinds of fantastic hikes/backpacking trips down by Mammoth Lakes.

[olderthanIusedtobe]

Just remembered a fun loop day hike in the Tuolumne area. Follow the trail to Upper Cathedral Lake. From there go off trail, follow your nose uphill to a basin containing Budd Lake (Cathedral Peak on one side, Unicorn Peak and the Cockscomb on the other). From the outlet of Budd Lake find a user trail that follows a nice creek and drops you back on the main trail just before the trail head.

[mbravenboer]

It's probably too much of a detour, but I thought I'll mention it anyway: I lived in Eugene for a while, and very much enjoyed the McKenzie Pass. It's a beautiful road, and the lava-covered top of the pass is quite stunning with the Sisters in the background. From there, the Aufderheide is a really nice road through the mountains there, and has a ton of camp sites that look great. I have never staid there, but used them for water when biking the area. Pics here of McKenzie Pass: https://www.flickr.com/photos/bravenboer/sets/72157606659472902/ Pics of Aufderheide: https://www.flickr.com/photos/bravenboer/sets/72157606018708840/ The area also has an abundance of fire roads that are really nice, but you won't make a lot of progress if you go there . This was one trip with great views: https://www.flickr.com/photos/bravenboer/sets/72157606403044507/ Depending on your interests, south of Eugene there is a great winery King Estate that sits on a hill top with great views of the Cascades and a very good restaurant. If you end up taking the I-5 and are there around lunch time, I can highly recommend it.

[Valleyboy]

Thanks for all the great advice! Will be going probably the last week of August. I know it will probably be more crowded then, which is why I'm asking for nice but less popular areas and destinations. I'll definitely look into going in the back way or at least spending some time in the area. Any recommendations for camping around the Mammoth Lakes area? I'll be with my partner who is disabled, so my options for hiking will be limited to her dropping me off and picking me up when she can. So can only do a few dayhikes.

[Don]

So only two days in Yosemite? One could easily spend two weeks there and still feel short changed. Good luck.

[olderthanIusedtobe]

[Daryl]

I'd agree Silver falls is a great place to stop! Make time to do the whole loop hike hitting all the falls. Bullard's Beach SP near Bandon is probably my favorite place on the Oregon coast. Bandon Beach at sunset is not to be missed. If you are into airplanes the Air museum in McMinnville OR is among the best around. Spruce goose is there and they have a water park coming out of a 747. Hwy 38 from reedsport OR back to 5 is a very pretty drive and a good option to get between 5 and 101. Never made it to Yosemite but it's on my list.

[joker]

Good luck packing 4 weeks of car camping and related exploration into a week! If it were me aiming for Yosemite with that amount of time, I think I'd more or less bomb down and view inbetween sites as simply a place to sleep that hopefully isn't too noisy... Your stated itinerary isn't far off that mark.