California and Oregon Adventures: Redwood National Park and Crater Lake National Park

Redwood National Park

On Fourth of July, I picked up two of my friends in San Francisco and drove to Redwood National Park (taking a detour through Sonoma on the way).  We enjoyed some olive oil tasting in Sonoma (unfortunately most of the wineries were closed when we got there), as well as a great farm to table dinner (with some wine tasting).  We spent the night on the south end of Redwood National Park and drove to the north end of the national park the next day.  We enjoyed several hikes and scenic drives while in the park.  We spent the next night on the north end of the park and enjoyed some more hiking through the great trees the next morning.  Some highlights of the park included hiking through the Lady Bird Johnson Grove, spotting a bear on another hike (somewhat scary), and enjoying one of the most beautiful sunsets over the ocean.  The park is interesting - and very different from Kings Canyon and Sequoia National Parks because it is right on the ocean so it almost has a tropical feel despite all the conifers.  The park is interesting too because as you drive through the park, you drive through non-park areas to get back to the national park.  Some of those areas are state parks, some are national park, and some are part of a Native American reservation.  The weather when we were there was cold and damp.

After enjoying Redwood National Park, we drove to Crater Lake National Park which is one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen.  (The drive, while long, was also beautiful.)  We did some hiking, but unfortunately had not booked the boat trip on the lake far enough in advance for all of us to have been able to do it.  We enjoyed dinner in the park and spent the night outside of the park.  The next day, after some more hikes, we drove to Portland, Oregon from where I returned to New York.  

Crater Lake National Park

One warning about Crater Lake National Park - there was still a significant amount of snow on the ground in mid-July.  Definitely one of my favorite national parks though.

Second warning - this trip, while great, required a lot of driving.