Portland to San Francisco 7 day road trip

September puts you in wildfire and smoke season, something to take seriously. Lets hope we get off easy this year, but things have been pretty dry in the northwest this winter and I'm worried about a hot, smokey fire season. Be ready to adapt as needed and stay tuned to local conditions as your trip progresses.

Highway 101 down the coast is breathtakingly scenic and lovely, but slows you down and takes more time (maybe a LOT more time) than one might expect. Plan accordingly.

Yes it could be smoke season, but often the coast is spared from the brunt of it (not always). But September is a very popular time on the Oregon coast as the weather is almost always better in September than it is all summer. Many Oregonians go to the coast then and not in summer. As noted in prior post Highway 101 is slooooow going and definitely not a four lane freeway. You'll definitely want to make hotel reservations in advance if there is somewhere you want to stay. If you were thinking of camping (sounds like maybe not) you will have a significant challenge finding a campsite due to closure of many coastal parks for repair work in 2025 and the fact they book up a full 6 months ahead of time.

Seven days isn't very long to traverse that distance (700+ miles). FWIW, good chunks of the 101 route in Oregon do not actually have scenic views of the coast at all. The northern part of the coast is nice but touristy and even slower gowing. Do you want to see any of Portland or the Columbia Gorge? Or any of San Fran? That would basically eat up half your time, at least.

FWIW, if it were me with that amount of time, I'd skip Portland and SF altogether and focus on the coast and Redwoods. If you book a return flight from Medford, Oregon airport, you could still see the Redwoods but bypass the N. Cali coastline for a future trip. That would cut out 400 miles of driving and make a better paced trip. A very aggressive trip suggestion below, not my ideal trip, just an idea of how it could be routed.

• Day 1: Fly in to PDX, rent car, drive to Pacific City. Watch the dory boats land on the sand from the porch of Pelican Brewery. Sleep Pacific City.
• Day 2: meander the coast and explore sites on the way to Yachats. Sleep Yachats.
• Day 3: meander the coast and explore sites on the way to Bandon. Sleep Bandon.
• Day 4: meander the coast into California, sleep Crescent City.
• Day 5: Visit Jedidiah Smith Redwoods State, then drive to Redwoods National Park, visit park, return to sleep in Crescent City
• Day 6: Drive north through Rogue Valley, visit Oregon Caves or a winery, sleep Medford.
• Day 7: fly home

Here's a prior thread with a similar question but in reverse. https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/beyond-europe/pacific-northwest-e6231490-5a05-4d26-b9fd-e19173a4e0d8

And when you decide on your actual route, be sure to ask for suggestions for food, sites, etc. There are a lot of us locals in the forum who might be willing to share a secret favorite or two...I gave at least one away in my suggested route :)

I think in terms of nights. Unless you want to move each night, this is a simplified itinerary. From Portland, spend 2 nights in Newport or Yachats on the central Oregon coast. There's lots to see in that area: Cape Perpetua, Heceta Head, Yaquina Head Outstanding Natural Area, Depoe Bay, Oregon Dunes, whale watching, etc.

Then 2 nights in Trinidad or Crescent City in California for the redwoods. It's a 7+ hour drive from Newport to Trinidad, or 5+ hours from Yachats to Crescent City. There's lots to see in Oregon on this stretch. You may want to add an overnight in Gold Beach for the Rogue River Jet Boats.

Then 2 nights in Mendocino on CA-1. The Oregon Coast is rugged, whereas the Northern California Coast looks more managed with pastures going right out to the top of the bluffs and wind swept trees.

If you have an extra night, it could be spent in Anderson Valley, Sonoma, or Napa Valley for wine tasting.

Note that online drive times are very optimistic. For the coastal US-101 and CA-1, add 20% to those drive times. Here's a Mile By Mile guide for the Oregon Coast you can download: https://www.oregoncoastmagazine.com/mile-by-mile-guide/

For a bit of frame of reference, when I'm doing a just- get-there drive to the bay area I plan on about 10-11hrs for a straight, boring zip down I-5. That just covers bathroom breaks, fuel and a meal, without meandering. It's much more pleasant to do in a relaxed two days, even on I-5.

The coast trip is definitely much more enjoyable! Do check the conditions on 101, it suffers regularly from winter storm damage in both Oregon and California (landslides). They can sometimes take quite a while to repair or require a detour.