Starting to look at a road trip starting from home in LA up to the Redwoods, the Oregon Coast, Mt. St Helens, Mt Hood, Crater Lake, Lassen, a night in Yosemite and out Tiago Road (been to Yosemite a number of times but never out/in Tiago Road and never stayed at the Awanee/Majestic/ so that's the focus here), and see some stuff in the North-Eastern Sierra I haven't seen yet. Time frame is a little open, let's say 2 and a half weeks give or take.
San Francisco, PCH through central California and major sight seeing in Yosemite are not the focus here, done them before, will do them again but not necessary this time. Scenic Drives, National/State Parks on the other hand is the focus here. Would like to stay at some classic lodges, somewhere on the Oregon Coast for a few days and then save some cash at some cheaper places when possible.
Here's some semblance of a plan, please critique:
1. Leave La, make some ground, likely up the 5 and on over to Santa Cruz or so
2. Drive along the coast, spend the night somewhere north, maybe Mendocino if that’s feasible. Should I go to Muir Woods, or just see the Redwoods farther north? Is this too much, somewhere else to stay?
3. Make the way up north, Trinidad seems like a reasonable place to stay. Any nice drives through the Mendocino forest, the coast, or any other place to stay, etc
4. Explore the Redwood Parks, haven’t fully fleshed this out yet, thought staying in Klameth or Crescent City might make sense, open to suggestions here
5. More Redwoods, do I need another full day, staying somewhere close by or start heading to Oregon, etc?
6-10. Oregon Coast or add a day to the redwoods. I was thinking about finding a place right on the coast and spending a few days there and then a couple days traversing the coast. These days – obviously – need some work, maybe cut a day here for budget/time
11. I’d like to see Mt. St Helen’s if it’s worth a drive and half a day or so, start heading south/central through Oregon
12. Mt Hood, make the way south,
13. Bend, or anything else on the way or adding a day before or after
14. Crater Lake – would like to stay at the Lodge – this is Xanterra, so reservations open May 1st, correct?
15. Towards Lassen, some lassen
16. Make the way South, set up Yosemite the next day, thinking Merced or so – am I severely short changing Lassen here?
17. Yosemite – would like to stay at the Awanee/Majestic – when do reservations open up here? 366 days before?, their page is down and was on hold for 20 minutes before hanging up
18. Eastern Sierra, figuring out where to stay here
19. Sight-see in the morning and then drive home
Thank You.