Help with mini - vacations in Northern CA?

Question

Hello~
My husband and I would like to take some "Mini" vactions here in northern CA and Southren Or. Would like some ideas. They have to be kid friendly and fun for the whole family. Our boys are 3 1/2 and 4 months old. The farthest south we want to go is San Luis Obispo, CA. And I guess the farthest north would be Portland, Or.

We really don't want to spend much money. And we can only go for about 3 days. We plan to take about 3-7 of these little trips. We will be driving. Any ideas??? Websites would be great!

Thanks!
Jennifer
Cottonwood, Ca

I live in Cottonwood, Ca. Which is about 22 miles south of Redding, Ca. I grew up in the Napa Valley.

There are some good ideas. Will not go to Marine World. It has been ruined by 6 flags and not a place to take really young kids. And camping with an infant which is only 4 months old is out of the question.

Keep the ideas coming though!

Answer 1

You can visit the Aquarium of the Bay in San Francisco and then visit the San Francisco Zoo (& Children's Zoo) and The Exploratorium (a must if you haven’t been there!).
http://www.frommers.com/destinations/sanfrancisco/0029021105.html

Take a trip down the Pacific coast highway. http://www.frommers.com/destinations/california/0215020962.html You can visit Santa Cruz, Monterey, and then head down to San Luis Obispo. The Monterey Bay aquarium is amazing!

Visit Lake Tahoe. http://fodors.com/miniguides/mgresults.cfm?destination=lake_tahoe@198&cur_section=fea&feature=30003

There are so many great parks in California. Yosemite National Park is beautiful! They do have some cabin rentals where you can enjoy the outdoors and it is not so much like camping.

Southern Oregon also has some great fishing and great parks. Crater Lake is beautiful. http://www.traveloregon.com/Explore-Oregon/Southern-Oregon.aspx

I use these two sites whenever I travel. They are both great.
http://fodors.com/index.cfm
http://www.frommers.com/

EDIT:
These are some fun places too!!!
Fairyland in Oakland http://www.fairyland.org/
Pixieland in Concord (San Francisco east bay) http://www.pixieland.com/
Habitot in Berkeley http://www.habitot.org/


Have fun!

Answer 2

Have you tried Lake County? It's not a good place to live but it's great for camping. Don't swim in Clear Lake though, despite it's name it's not safe to swim in. Blue Lakes is just of HWY 20 and it's amazing! They even have a little camping area that you can stay in. There are some decent hotels in Lakeport. It's a very nice area to visit.

I lived there for almost 10 years. Moved to So cal. Stupid move lol. You're in Napa valley right? You only have to go over one county. If you go even further past Ukiah you can get to the Redwoods, very beautiful! That's a nice place to go too.

Answer 3

try going camping at sunset beach (in Santa Cruze) or at a lake thats always fun ! maybe sixflags marine world in Vilaho *not sure if thats the right spelling* but thats fun to do to* theres also a water park in concord i believe hope this helped give you some ideas
have fun!!!!

Answer 4

Monterey and Pacific Grove are fun! Lots to do, for parents and kids.

Rent bikes, kayaks (not with baby, of course), picnic on the beach, visit the candy factory, the wharf, aquarium, etc.

Answer 5

Chico Calif has some of the greatest parks!!

Answer 6

http://www.visitcalifornia.com/?OVRAW=Traveling%20in%20CA&OVKEY=traveling%20in%20calif&OVMTC=advanced&OVADID=8941325011&OVKWID=57451293011

http://www.visitcalifornia.com/todo.php

http://www.travelportland.com/visitors/?OVRAW=Portland%20Oregon&OVKEY=portland%20oregon%20travel&OVMTC=advanced&OVADID=365351512&OVKWID=505096512