North of San Francisco.

ronnyb

Anybody been north of San Francisco. The past 2 years we've toured between SF and San Diego including Los Angeles. Next year wouldn't mind starting in SF and going north. Would like to see Sacramento but what else is there beyond that? The next main place is Portland and was wondering what it's like in between?  

stickyfiddle

A colleague drove from Vancouver to LA in early July this year. Took 3 weeks and had a great time by the sounds of it.

relic245

My wife is from that area. 

Sonoma and nappa valleys are lovely picturesque places. They are the heart of california wine country. 

Lots of wineries to visit. 

Yosemite national park is stunning. 

Armstong woods is good, a big park full of giant redwoods but stunning. 

Lots of websites to give you ideas too. 

vasselmeyer

Went a few years ago and I would suggest a few days in Yosemite (you could do a week and only scratch the surface) and Armstrong Woods for the amazing redwood forest. Also went whitewater rafting over the other side of the central valley, towards Sacremento, which was a terrific day out. 

RandallFlagg

Watchout for bigfoot

mudslide73

We did Sacramento and Tahoe (beloved of David Coverdale) about 15 years ago and loved it. We then went on the usual Grand Canyon, Death Valley, Havasu then Vegas tourist thing.

grungebob

I lived and worked in South Lake Tahoe back in the early 2000's, really beautiful place, well worth a visit summer or winter. The lake and surrounding mountains are stunning. 

guitargeek62

Tahoe bored me silly, but then I was there with my ex-wife whom I left a couple weeks later.

Anyway, there's some beautiful scenery on that coastal route, as long as you have a head for heights that is. There's a tiny place called Fort Bragg that was very quaint too, great spot for whale watching as well, and you can catch the Skunk Train from there to go and see some redwood.

I would happily move to that part of the world and spend the rest of my days just exploring it in full.

ronnyb

Is Sacramento worth a visit?

guitargeek62

Nope! Dullsville, almost as bad as Canberra

ToneControl

my friend who lives there took his daughter to an abandoned town
Bodie State Historic Park
It looked excellent

mrkb

Yes, bodie is cool, and the salt columns in the lake nearby, and it's  on the east way out of Yosemite over the mountains which is a beautiful drive.

redrighthand

Crater lake in Oregon is spectacular, and Portland well worth visiting if you can get that far North.

57Deluxe

you mean that bit on top of the hill??

http://www.destination360.com/north-america/us/california/san-francisco/images/s/history.jpg

joneve

ronnyb said:

Anybody been north of San Francisco. The past 2 years we've toured between SF and San Diego including Los Angeles. Next year wouldn't mind starting in SF and going north. Would like to see Sacramento but what else is there beyond that? The next main place is Portland and was wondering what it's like in between?  

The Pacific Coast Highway is the absolute best drive. I would recommend driving all the way up through Oregon and up to Seattle (or even Vancouver), if you have the time. Some great scenery and some great places to stop.