Brookings, Oregon & Redwoods

After spending three very nice days at Harris Beach State Park, Brookings, Oregon; we are continuing south on Highway 101. Brookings, Oregon and started seeing Redwoods. Brookings is just north of the California border and that’s where the GPS started notifying us of a detour. The detour was for the California agricultural checkpoint, but it was closed.  This is the first time I remember ever seeing one of these checkpoints closed. I have seen these checkpoints cause mile-long backups in the desert between Las Vegas and Barstow.

Redwoods in California

We are only going 50 miles between stops and this is our first drive through the Redwoods in California.  There are Redwoods in Oregon, but we stuck to the coast and the Redwoods are not on the 101. There are plenty of trees on the 101, but mostly fir trees. I can’t tell you that I examined every tree on the 101 in Oregon, but I didn’t see any Redwoods. Since Redwoods are the tallest trees in the world and grow in clusters (called groves), I think I would have noticed.

Redwoods in Oregon

The Redwoods in Oregon are very close to the 101, but not right at the edge of the road — like they are in California. In Oregon, we stayed on the coast, and have lots of really nice pictures of the rocky coastline. The sky and the water was very blue and it was perfect for pictures.  I was previously surprised by the sand dunes on the Oregon coast, the rocky coastline was expected.

Boardman Scenic Corridor

The last fifteen miles of Oregon, north of Brookings, is called the Boardman Scenic Corridor and it is stunning. There are several pullouts, the only disappointing one, was closed for repair.

Overall the entire Oregon Coast from the northernmost point in Fort Stevens all the way to the southern edge was very pleasurable. We did have a rainy start in Fort Stevens and I was worried that the last part of October may have been too late to drive the Oregon coast. Instead, the rains stopped when we were in South Beach State Park on the 20th and we have had blue sky since then. The rains could start at any time in this area and not quit for two months; that will be our signal to drive off the 101, over to Interstate 5 and make a big jump south. 

We are worried about the 2019 California wildfire season, which has one major fire along our route. This fire north of Santa Rosa has already consumed 77,000 acres. California’s response included turning the electricity off over vast areas. Winds have broken power lines in the past, starting fires. The biggest problem for us, without electricity, is that gas stations need electricity to pump gas. We don’t have big enough gas tanks to make the next 800 miles and are going to need gas at least three times as we go southbound.

The last thing we did, leaving Oregon was fill up the gas tank. The first station we saw in California showed that we made a good decision. California gas prices were a dollar or more, higher per gallon. 

Redwood National and State Park

This is the first time we have driven through the Redwoods which seems to be a combination, National Park – State Park I have no clue pertaining to the boundaries. There are numerous locations called Redwood State Park and others named Redwood National and State Park.  Redwood trees are so tall, they cast year-round shadows, and the ground level is almost always shaded. I’m not sure I’m going to be able to get a good photograph.

Our first stop in California is Klamath, between the Klamath River and Highway 101. You can tell that this is a very popular location in the summer, but with the exception of Harris State Park, especially on Saturday, it has been the rule that we have had the campgrounds mostly to our selves.

Our next stop, after two days here, will be near Eureka.  

Here is a link to the google map for the area.

Link to our 2019 Route

Link to our route Oregon and California Coast

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