It's one heck of a drive to get here, but it's so worth it…read more My husband has always wanted to go see the redwoods so I'm glad we were able to cross it off the list finally. It's magical to get to drive through and walkthrough the redwoods as it rained during our time here. I wish there was more I can say, but you're just going to have to plan a trip here and see it for yourself. We would happily plan a second trip back here.

I mean... wow. I went hiking here last weekend, and it honestly took my breath away…read more As a SoCal girl now living in NorCal, I've made it my mission to explore as much as I can around this beautiful state, and Jedediah Smith Redwoods completely stole my heart. These trees are absolutely massive, walking among them feels like stepping into another world. The light, the air, the silence... everything feels calm, ancient, and sacred. The trails are super well maintained, the weather was perfect, and there was plenty of parking even though it was busy. The roads and trails are a bit narrow, but honestly, that just adds to the charm. The river that runs through the park is crystal-clear and peaceful a perfect little spot to stop and take it all in. Standing next to those giant redwoods makes you realize how tiny you are in the best possible way. It's humbling and magical at the same time If you're driving from Eureka toward Crescent City, the entire drive is breathtaking, every curve along the coast looks like a postcard. You'll even pass through Elk Valley, and oh my god, there are actual elks just hanging out by the side of the road! They're so beautiful and so used to seeing people; it felt like nature welcoming you in. If you love hiking, nature, or just want to feel grounded and amazed, this place is a must. California, you really outdid yourself with this one.

When you first park and walk up, there are numerous varieties of milkweed plants for sale, a couple…read morebee balm plants, and a couple others. Not enough that I would call it a nursery. But it's good to offer plants that feed the monarchs. You walk past a pretty little pathway of flowers in bloom, you may see hummingbirds on the bee balm or a bee here and there. You then get to the butterfly pavilion. It's a wire greenhouse and there are many monarch butterflies aflutter. You walk through one door. After it's totally closed, you walk through another. With so many flowers in bloom and butterflies all about, my first reaction was magical, just to see such beauty right there. One can stay in there as they like. But then you look around. There were butterflies seemingly throwing themselves at the top of the wire cage because they wanted out. They want to fly free. Some were just landing on the wire. You may get to see all stages from chrysalis to larvae to caterpillar to butterfly. You may even see them mating! But then you realize you paid $6 for each adult to see the monarch live out its life in captivity as they do not release them. Apparently, legally, since they are born in captivity, they can't be released. While it's somewhat educational, I want to love the experience but struggle with captive breeding to educate on the lifecycle of these glorious creatures. I carefully left the butterfly prison...errr pavilion and went to check out the ladybug house. You have to bend down and unzip a mesh tent door and you may see a few of them on the tent ceiling. Neither of us saw any water or food for them at all. It felt more like someone bought a pack of ladybugs from the Fred Meyer garden center and let them loose in ladybug prison. All in all, $6 is steep for what you get. Most people spend 2-3 minutes in the pavilion and continue on. As you are driving out to exit, on the right side, there's some kind of rv/tent village divided by a little fence but it seems like it might actually be part of the ranch. Additional Things to Know: 1. You can pay with cash or by credit card. 2. It's 90+ degrees out, don't bring your pets as they need to stay in the car and that is dangerous. 3. There is no room for an RV or a big truck with a camper. 4. The monarchs live out their life a bit stressed in captivity and you're paying $6 for adults and $3 for kids for an attention span of 5 mins of observation time. 6. There were no refreshments to purchase nor were there restrooms that I could find. 7. It's volunteer run. 8. It's simply not worth it and if it were contributing to increasing the monarch population rather than imprisoning for human enjoyment or minimal education, I would suggest going here. But as it is, I wouldn't recommend it. Butterfly education has been done beautifully by various nature conservation efforts or National Geographic type documentaries and this would be one time where I'd say a film or series of photos of butterflies in the wild may be better than this "real" experience.

Unfortunately not worth the trip. It looks like it's under new management it's not what the…read morewebsite shows at all. The cost is higher and the person in charge didn't even know they had a website. And there were no butterflies.

We stopped by the Azalea Park on a whim, hoping to see some flowers in Bloom, we were not…read moredisappointed!. They're yearly azalea festival is near the end of May, so we were hoping to see the full display, not sure if we did, seem like they were a lot of bushes in the park that were just getting ready to bud, maybe planned for the festival. Great place for a short walk and some nice pictures of flowers.

It is a really nice park but Trailer Trash kind of ruin it in the evening when we went back. Men…read moresmoking cigarettes right next to Kid Town and dropping the F word left and right. Not so bad early in the day.

What a fun labyrinth of different kinds of hiking trails, ranging in degrees of difficulties…read more There's something for everyone. We came here with our two friends each of them having a little one strapped to their backs. Our dog Momo was also part of the group and she particularly loved this walk. At the time we were her in late spring (end of May), we were able to see still lots of wild flowers, but my friend mentioned that Renee were even more a few weeks earlier. The trails are mostly leading through forest area and so you're in the shade most of the time. We took a trail that led us to the peak and we were able to enjoy lovely views over the valley. Note: there's lots of poison oak here. If you have small kids with you, remind them to be vigilant.

This is such an amazing place! There are so many trails at different experience levels. They're all…read morekept up very well too. It even provides maps at the head/parking lot and there are benches/places to rest intermittently. Such tranquility! It's well worth visiting!

This is one of my favourite "hidden" beaches along the Oregon coast. Closer to California than to…read morePortland, Whaleshead is part of the Samuel Boardman Scenic Corridor and it's not terribly well-marked so you have to keep a lookout for the turn-offs off of Highway 101 to get here. This is not a swimming beach, like the other beaches along Oregon and Northern California, the water is way too cold and turbulent and there are probably sharks in the area (since they like cold water). This is more of a walking and exploring kind of beach. Both times I came, I basically had the entire beach to myself except for some seagulls and the odd turkey-vulture that showed up on my path. You can walk, and walk and walk and not see another soul. Along with the setting sun against the sea haystacks, the photo ops and atmosphere here cannot be beat. With forested pines running along a cliff behind you, few beaches are as wild as this one, without a development in sight anywhere. Let's hope it stays that way because the natural beauty here is truly pristine and overwhelming.

I wanted to sit at a beach awhile and so we stopped here to spend some time. The breeze was a bit…read moremuch but it was a beautiful little beach.

Great place super cool tour unique. If you are traveling in this area these caves are a must!!…read moreBeautiful

Older folks beware. The your route is heavily constricted and the tour groups can be too large. You…read moreend up cheek to jowel on low ceiling staircases unable to move. Our tour guide was passionate but very young, I judged her incapable of responding to an emergency. We bailed early but I don't think they warn you enough about what this tour entails. Hard pass.

Cool park with lots of strangely grown redwood trees. If you're traveling with a furry friend, they…read moredo allow dogs on everything except for the Redwood Canopy Trail, which contains a lot of suspension bridges. Admission is a bit steep, at $30 for adults and $25 for seniors. No extra fees for dogs. The trails contained plenty of dog poop bags, trash cans, and restrooms. It is quite well maintained. The trees are massive and nice to look at the vast variety. The Redwood Canopy Trail was cool to explore and is pretty short. There is also a gondola that takes you to an observation deck, though you may not be able to see anything if it is foggy. There are a couple of audio tapes that explain stories behind some of the figures that were there. Last but not least, the gift shop at the very end had lots of unique goodies to commemorate your time here.

The sixth stop (09:43) during our drive up the 101 through the redwood forests to get to Crescent…read moreCity, the Trees of Mystery is a tourist stop that has a 49 foot high Paul Bunyon and his 35 foot high blue pet ox, Babe. The parking lot is large, with space for plenty of cars and tour buses. There are multiple buildings on the property, with a very large gift shop (ended up buying some souvenirs here, including salt and pepper shakers made from redwood), a shop that sells homemade fudge, and a private shop that sells more high end artistic crafts and artifacts. The restrooms are in a separate building to the side. Today wasn't the right time to take the gondola ride (1,500 foot high over the forest floor) and trail hike ($30 per adult), so will need to try it some other time when we have more time and ability to hike.

Great little trailer park in Cave Junction near Oregon Caves National Monument. Affordable…read morerentals/living in nice country setting, but close to town for all the amenities. The manager, Devin, is flexible and super helpful. Wish they did overnight vacation type hookups for RVs. I have a lot of friends and family that would love to stay there.

lake is horrible, plant growth everywhere to the surface. boating almost impossible, this was the…read moreworst boating experience I have ever had. they should close the boat ramps and clean up that mess of a lake. will never waste my time by going there again.

Heading to Washington for 4th of July when we booked Lake Selmac for a 2 night stay... All we can…read moresay is we LOVED it! Motorhome hookups and service was great. Awesome grass area where kids from all camps played soccer and other sports. Very clean park. Store was great where we rented boats and kayaks that the kids loved with making many memories to remember. Vince and Shannon were amazing camp hosts and we loved getting to know them! If you're looking for a quiet but fun place to stay in RV, rent a cabin or sleep in a tent which we also did for a night... this is the place!!!! Hats off to Lake Selmac and Shannon and Vince for welcoming our crazy RV group and taking such good care of us! We will be sure to return!

We loved this campground! It was worth the 6-hour drive there! The campground was clean, the spaces…read morewere nice and clean, great fire pit, and the hiking trails nearby were great as well . We did manage to get to the tide pools the first morning there with the low tides. We also caught a couple of sunsets and really enjoyed the scenic corridor as well. We'd definitely go back here! It was really quiet at night as well.

This palace has so much to offer. The views amazing. The staff deserve to be highlighted for their…read moreefforts. Clean and friendly. Welcoming. Willing to reimburse. Epic. Come in. Soak in the fresh air. Support local. Tip generously.