California - Traveling north of San Francisco

We have to be in San Fran 3rd weekend of August and were thinking of driving from San Fran to Portland, OR. Should we travel so far or just up to Mendocino and Eureka and return to SF? Any suggestions for a Sunday-Thursday trip north of San Fran? SF to Portland via the coast is a much longer drive, is it worth it?

Should we travel so far or just up to Mendocino and Eureka and return to SF? Any suggestions for a Sunday-Thursday trip north of San Fran? SF to Portland via the coast is a much longer drive, is it worth it?

I'd say the answer entirely depends on what you want from your vacation.

Are you the sort who enjoys scenic drives for their own sake? Or are you looking for "attractions?" Do you want to stay in 4-star resorts? B&Bs? or go Camping? Fine Dining, fast food, or country diners? Beaches, mountians, forests, or cities? Do you want to hit the wine country (or some of it's less visited fringes)? Maybe take in some world-class Shakespere at Ashland? Or fishing, either fresh or salt water? How about Crater Lake? Or climbing Mt. Shasta?

Give us some hints as to your interests and we can offer some ideas in return.

Personally, my favorite seafood restaurant bar none is a little dive in the fishing harbor below Fort Bragg. Parducci Winery in Ukiah had a very nice tasting room and winery tour. Fort Ross State Park, on the coast North of Bodega, is a reconstrution of California's Russian colonial settlement and well worth a stop.

SF to Portland is 600+ miles, a hard 10 hours behind the wheel. If you really want to see Portland, I would suggest trying to change your flight home from SF and fly from Portland.
The Sonoma-Mendocina area is beautiful and if you haven't been up here, I would suggest doing this area and enjoying your free time.
Bob

Having visited Mendocino a few years ago, we really enjoyed it, but I would say 3 - 4 days there would be sufficient (Stanford Inn was great). We have also visited Portland and as far south as Newport. Portland really needs almost a week to see the sights and surrounding area.

Driving the coastal road is really slow...much slower than taking the inland interstate route. In a recent travel article, the writer did the SF-Portland trip taking 3 days up and 3 back, with only 1 day in Portland.

My recommendation would be to concentrate on Mendocino and surrounding areas, and leave Portland for another time.