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Jesse93312 · 04-17-2015, 03:55 PM

Taking the new to us mh dp 40' from Bakersfield Ca to end up in Seattle this summer in July. Would like input where to stay and visit in Northern California Oregon and in Seattle, we have 1-1/2 wks. For Northern California we would like to visit north of the Bay Area

biosensai · 04-17-2015, 04:41 PM

Not much time . . .
In the Bay Area, I'd recommend Marin Park RV in Greenbrae. Easy walking distance to ferry that takes you to SF Wharf area. On the walk to the ferry you'll walk right next to a landmark from Clint Eastwood's 'Dirty Harry'. Very cool!

twogypsies · 04-17-2015, 05:56 PM

For the Bay area you might want to consider Napa Valley Expo RV and tour the wine country while you're there. For a small van tour of the city of San Fran we drove to the Larkspur Ferry landing on the north bay and pre-arranged our tour which began at the Ferry Building on the south bay. The ferry trip was nice and relaxing before and after the day-long tour. Even our daughter, who lives in the area, said it was an awesome tour.

https://www.sanfranshuttletours.com/

Then heading north out of the city take 101 as far as you want into Oregon and Washington. Ancient Redwoods is a very nice park for the first night north. It's right in the heart of the big trees, is good for big rigs and there are some very nice easy trails to walk amongst the trees.

Any of Oregon's state parks are worth staying. They run all along the coastline. Plan to visit some of the lighthouses, too. We gave the tours at Heceta Head at Florence.

Have fun but your time is going to go fast. Can you add some more time?

Jesse93312 · 04-17-2015, 07:21 PM

@twogypsies thanks for the input..and yes I think I can get couple more days��

Anymore suggestion for family activity 2boys 10&8year old thanks

Arch Hoagland · 04-17-2015, 07:43 PM

Keep in mind over the 4th of July you will need reservations in advance just about anywhere you go.

MrsChilerick · 04-17-2015, 08:16 PM

San Francisco north Petaluma KOA is well located for doing both the city and the wine country. We'll be in WA/OR the month of July as well. While we have no experience with WA, the Oregon coast has some great stuff for the kids, the aquarium in Newport, Sea Lion Caves,.

frankdamp · 04-18-2015, 10:48 AM

Sounds like some long travel days to cover that distance in 11 or 12 days, unless you do most of your sightseeing while you're moving. We did the Oregon coast the last season we actually used our MH. Since we're up in the top corner of WA, we went I-5 to Longview, then across to Astoria and went all the way down to Crescent City before heading home, I-5 all the way. Route 101 along the Oregon coast is a good road. About your only issue, heading north, is thavt you'll hae to cross the southbound traffic stream to and from most of the sights.

Hope you enjoy the trip.

biosensai · 04-18-2015, 03:24 PM

Ancient Redwoods is a great choice. And yep, reservations always over holidays & weekends in popular areas. If you are in the Bay Area for SF as opposed to the wineries, I wouldn't stay at Napa Expo. It's a great facility, but the ferry it shuttles you to in Larkspur is the very one you can walk to from Marin Park. You'll eat up to much of your time coming down from Napa.

Jesse93312 · 04-21-2015, 12:20 AM

Thanks everyone for the great input, looks like we're heading straight to Seattle for family gathering and then begin our adventure.�� staying at Vasa Rv park for a few days see the family and shoot south to begin our journey!!

@frankdamp any rv campground(centralized)you suggest To see the most of Seattle.. And reasonable drive to Des Monines?

frankdamp · 04-21-2015, 02:43 PM

Unfortunately, there are no "centralised" CGs in Seattle, as the property prices would make it impossible. We're a long way north of the city (almost 100 miles), which is much too far for what you want.

We lived in Bothell/Kirkland for many years. There's Lake Pleasant RV Park just outside Bothell, to the east on the Bothell-Everett highway. It's about a 40-minute drive into Seattle in non-rush hour. Since we lived in the area we never stayed at that CG, but I've seen favorable reviews. It's also big-rig friendly.

For easy access to Des Moines, I'd suggest looking for CG's in Kent, Auburn and Federal Way, and maybe even as far south as Fife, since those cities are all on the south side of Seattle, like Des Moines. Maybe others who are familiar with that area can recommend. We knew Saltwater SP when we lived south of Des Moines, but it didn't used to be good for RV's bigger than about 30' because the access road was narrow and steep. It's over 30 years ago that we were in that area, so it might have been radically modified.

P5W · 04-21-2015, 07:56 PM

There's a really nice KOA that serves the Seattle/Tacoma area (Seattle / Tacoma KOA | Camping in Washington | KOA Campgrounds). We were there last year and really liked it. It's also walking distance to the bus route that will take you right in to downtown Seattle and you don't have to worry about parking.

On your way home you may want to check out Grants Pass,Oregon because I guarantee the kids AND YOU will love the Jet Boats on the Rogue River (Welcome to Hellgate Jetboat Excusions)