Road Trip! Cool places to visit on NoCal's coast?

[Gold Metal Flake]

I'm planning an epic road trip up the coast all the way into Canada. I plan to stay as close to the coast as possible. Small windey roads? Perfect! Which ones? I love driving the canyons and twisties. The 1 and the 101 will be used but again I want to stay as close to the coast as possible and am looking for ways to make my way north coast rods when the 1 and 101 move inland. Natural beauty? Gimme! I want to be stunned. What antique shops are cool? What small towns are cool? What road is epic? Swap meets? Cool junk yards? (I need some parts) I am looking for the unusual, the unique, the inspiring, the joyful. Historic buildings? I want to see them!

I'll be traveling alone so I don't have to keep anyone else amused. I, however, am easily amused, easily enthralled so if you think a thing is cool but not sure if someone else might, don't hold back. Post about it. One of my best memories about Morro Bay was a lunch at a local-owned restaurant on the bay. There was a light rain. As I ate an otter was outside just below me having a meal of clams. It was magic.

I will stay in motels and maybe campgrounds like KOA or similar (I'll bring a tent). Suggestions?

So show me the magic. Let this thread be helpful to all who may make a similar trek. I should have done this years ago but now it's finally gonna happen!

[bemildred]

1. Lost coast: Ettersburg, Honeydew, Petrolia, Ferndale.

Done right, you can leave Hwy 1 N. of Fort Bragg and do little windy roads for most of the day, or you can cut West from Garberville/Redway. Good camping at the mouth of the Mattole, several other places. Watch out for the Elk and paranoid pot farmers though.

[Gold Metal Flake]

3. OMG! A quck Google of your post subject...

http://www.takemytrip.com/07orcal/07_13a.htm

Thank you! Look at that road! Look at those towns! Look at those views! :bounce:

[bemildred]

4. Just don't tell anybody else, we don't want it to get crowded.

:-)

[Gold Metal Flake]

5. OK, I'm looking at Mapquest. Question:

I'm thinking I might like to take Redwood Drive from the 101 to Redway getting on Briceland rd taking that to Wilder Ridge rd which eventually leads to Mattole rd. Doable? if it's all paved it looks like I could really get my twisty yayas out!

[bemildred]

7. Yeah, that's a good route, some dirt, steep in places, but 2WD is fine.

(As long as it's not muddy.) If you go down to Whitethorn and up Whale Gulch to near Shelter Cove there are some places to camp and one frequently sees Roosevelt Elk. One can then get back on Briceland Rd and head up to the Mattole. If you stop at mouth of the Mattole (to camp) be sure to hike down to the old lighthouse 3 miles south. Camping there costs $6 a nite last time I was there. It gets windy. Petrolia has a small store.

[XemaSab]

12. You will totally get your twisty yayas out on highway 1

n/t

[pinto]

2. Nitt Witt Ridge / Cambria

Nitt Witt Ridge was home to a colorful character named Art Beal (aka "Captain Nitt Witt" or "Der Tinkerpaw") before he passed away in 1992. Nitt Witt Ridge always had the appearance of a post-earthquake death trap from afar, but up close it was an imaginative assemblage of sculpted junk -- stone walls inlayed with bottles, rusty metal, busted TV sets.

Nitt Witt Ridge was designated a California Historic Landmark in 1981. Today the property is owned by Michael and Stacey O'Malley, who conduct informative and fun tours by appointment. They offer Nitt Witt Ridge merchandise for sale.

Nitt Witt Ridge
Address:881 Hillcrest Drive, Cambria, CA

Directions:Highway 1 to Cambria Drive. Left onto Main Street. A sign on Main Street directs you the rest of the way.

Hours:By appt. (Call to verify)
Phone:[phone]

[Gold Metal Flake]

6. Cambria is the perpetual pitstop, but I didn't know about this. Thanks! n/m

[Retrograde]

8. Richardson Redwoods State Park

That's where the really big trees are, in Humbolt county near the town of Eureka. Eureka's a nice town, although it closes early on Sundays. A bit further south, I recommend a stop at Fort Ross, an old largely rebuilt Russian fort from the pre-Gold Rush days. If you're stopped near the town of Fort Bragg for the evening, the local brewpub has one of the top 5 stouts in the country, IMHO. You can also see Glass Beach, which used to be the town dump: all the organic materials have either decomposed or washed out to sea and the beach is covered with the polished remnants of broken bottles, now all nicely rounded.

[truedelphi]

9. Allow plenty of time for just kicking back and looking at the

Ocean from every conceivable angle.

And should you have a chance to go from Yahatz Oregon to Eugene Oregon, take a native. They know every waterfall en route and will help you make a trip that should just take several hours take fourteen.

Gorgeous waterfalls up there.

[roody]

10. Point Reyes has a nice little hostel close to the beach.

It's a HI one.

[petronius]

11. Check out Samoa House in Eureka for serious road food. Fort Ross to see

the farthest-south Russian settlement (I think). The lighthouse at Point Arena is nice. Also, eveything else between Santa Barbara and the Oregon border is worth a visit... :)