weekender.
Weekend trips from Cal Poly Humboldt
Hidden spots near Arcata, day trips and weekend road trips from Cal Poly Humboldt in November, scored 1–10 on price, timing and what's happening, with gas, park fees, a campsite or room and food included.
Plan your own trip from Cal Poly Humboldt →Local finds near campus
Trinidad & Moonstone Beach
A tiny harbor town with sea stacks, tide pools and a lighthouse on a hill.
Ferndale & Centerville Beach
A whole town of painted Victorian 'butterfat palaces', then a wild empty beach.
Sue-meg State Park
Agate Beach, Wedding Rock and a rebuilt Yurok village on the cliffs north of Trinidad.
Day trips
Avenue of the Giants
A 31-mile road through old-growth redwoods, with drive-through and walk-through trees.
Redwood National Park
The tallest trees on Earth, Roosevelt elk and Fern Canyon from Jurassic Park.
Weekend trips
Bodega Bay & Sonoma Coast
Where Hitchcock filmed The Birds: whale-watching headlands and secret coves.
Russian River & Armstrong Redwoods
Float the river on an inner tube under giant redwoods, then Guerneville at night.
Ashland (Oregon)
The Oregon Shakespeare Festival (Feb–Oct, cheap student rush tickets) in a small town with no sales tax.
Calistoga & Napa
Volcanic mud baths, an erupting geyser and the valley's grand wineries.
Sonoma Valley
Bike between family wineries, then picnic on Sonoma's mission plaza.
Avenue of the Giants
A 31-mile road through old-growth redwoods, with drive-through and walk-through trees.
Long weekends
Bodega Bay & Sonoma Coast
Where Hitchcock filmed The Birds: whale-watching headlands and secret coves.
Point Reyes
Tule elk on the bluffs, a lighthouse 300 steps down a cliff, and oysters on Tomales Bay.
Russian River & Armstrong Redwoods
Float the river on an inner tube under giant redwoods, then Guerneville at night.
Half Moon Bay & Pescadero
Tide pools at Fitzgerald Marine Reserve and warm artichoke bread in tiny Pescadero.
Muir Woods & Mount Tam
Old-growth redwoods in a canyon, then the sunset over the fog from Mount Tamalpais.
Big Sur
McWay Falls dropping onto a beach, Bixby Bridge and the purple sand at Pfeiffer Beach.
Personalize it
Set your budget, how many friends are coming, your car (or no car: train and bus), and what you're into (hiking, beaches, camping, stargazing, food and more), and Weekender re-ranks every trip for you, with a day-by-day plan, directions and campsites.
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