My 10 year old son has always wanted to see the ocean but he wants to go where the ocean is "rough and rocking"...pounding the coast with big waves...not your stereotypical tropical destination, if you follow me. So where? Northern California, Maine?? And, what time of year do you guys suggest? (Spring break would be good, but we're open) Also would like to go where there's not crowds of tourists if possible. Thanks for any suggestions.
Maine certainly fits your description -- most the peninsulas have the granite, pine and crashing waves, and some even have lighthouses. However, Spring Break is not the best time to visit. It stays cold late there, and afterwards, you get the black flies in June. If you can swing July or August, that would be better. To avoid mobs of tourists, avoid places like Bar Harbor and Boothbay Harbor. Stop at some of the less visited spots, such as Pemaquid Point.
If it's not storming, the Maine coast is no more "rough and rocking" than anywhere else. But during a nice nor'easter in the winter, Portland Head lighthouse can be pretty interesting.
Marconi Beach on "the Cod" has some nice beaches with some good wave action.
Just don't make the trip all the way to Provincetown unless you want to expose your 10 year-old to an alternative lifestyle. :^)
I know you said no crowds or tourists, but I still think Glunt's suggestion of Big Sur, Pacific Grove and Monterrey Bay are great suggestions. The Sequoia are also really cool. Anywhere on the coast of CA, you'll probably have a lot of people.
Best 'rough and rocking' surf I've ever seen is Maui's north shore. Huge waves , jagged rocks , and the kite surfers were awesome. (Disclaimer: I did not take my kids. Just my wife)
I would say Maine. They have great places to visit the ocean in the boondocks or loaded with people. You could take you son to L. L. Bean and spend an entire day and not see all the store. You can see all kinds of fish and even teach your son to fly fish right in the store. The people in the store could point you to the kind of ocean experience your son wants to see and they are great people in the store. If you see stuff you want to buy but don't want to carry it along on your trip you just tell them the day you want it delivered to your home.
A guy and his 3 year old were just swept out to sea in Southern Oregon last weekend...22 hours aerial and boat searching covering 400 miles...never found.
Bay of fundy also has highest tides in the world New Brunswick.Giant whirlpools also another attraction and lots of wales.Pn north shore of NB it's the warmest water north of Virginia amazing beaches,google Parlee Beach!Then the worlds longest span bridge between New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island truest these sites are wonders of the world and millions travel to see them.Biggest Bluefin Tuna travel into the waters off NS and PEI that are hunted by worlds biggest great white sharks google biggest great whites ever most are here.Guaratee he will never forget it!
Central Oregon Coast ..... it's kincken it up today But like elkmtngear said ... keep an eye out for those sneaker waves. That is the second tragedy this winter along the rocky Oregon coast.
At Fundy you can watch the tide run out and then walk out on the flats. But when it starts coming back in you had better haul buggy back in because it really come in fast. A friend of mine was watching this old woman walking out on the flats and watched her put line and hooks on rocks. The hooks were baited. He said when the tide came in and then went back out she went out and collected some flounders that she had caught. This was a long time ago and I have no idea if it was even legal but he said she sure knew how to catch fish.
There are literally dozens of spectacular natural phenomena here,reversing falls in Saint John New Brunswick the ocean actually over flows the Saint John river they take jet boats right into the falls the force of the water will humble anyone.
Cape Breton Island highlands is also an unbelievably beautiful place.In Cheticamp the get les suet winds that come off the Atlantic and pour over the mountains out over the gulf of st Lawrence that often hit cat 3-5 hurricane strength and people live there.
Anyone that hasn't toured the east coast of Canada is missing out,There's something here for everyone bountiful wildlife exceptional hunting,Fishing,the world famous mirimichi River in NB for Atlantic Salmon,Moose are very plentiful in New Brunswick,Cape Breton Island And Newfoundland as well as the worlds only huntable woodland caribou herd.Just to the North in Gaspe there's the last herd of woodland Caribou that once numbered in the hundreds of thousands in New Brunswick.Fish for sharks,Walewatch the rare North Atlantic right wale.Hike the Fundy Trail and Trans Canada Trails.Four National parks and literally thousands of other sites too many to list.
I would have to back up TSI on his comments on NB and Cape Breton. The Canso Causeway used to be exciting to cross in storms before they widened and shored it up. We see some great surf up on the Northern Pen of Nfld during gales and the coastline is gorgeous. One ferry crossing was really rough. We listed at 31 degrees and one of the workers told me how impressed they were because 30 degrees was the boats limit. That ferry was the Caribou. My pickup camper slid into a TT on that crossing.
Like Nva said Hwy 1/101 on the west coast and you can get a twofer seeing the Redwoods in N CA. Heck you might as well go all the way up thru WA and visit the Olympic rain forest/mountains and get a threefer, if you start start along the central ca coast and go thru San Francisco and see all of the wack a doodles and get a fourfer.
If you get to No Cal, deviate from the ocean a little and drive "The Avenue of the Giants," a great experience through giant redwoods that are hundreds of years old.
It's hard to beat Newfoundland, I've seen the Pacific coast, southern coast, and Eastern coast, They all are beautiful in their own right. But there is something special about the diverse coastlines of Newfoundland, the culture and the history. Attached is a photo of Cape Spear, The Eastern most point of land in North America. The point in the distance is Signal Hill and the entrance to Saint Johns harbor. Get there in June and you can see Icebergs in close to the towns on the northern shore.
I like the Maui idea - or any of the Hawaiian islands. For a 10 year old, the waves are neat, but playing in the water is also a blast. On a trip 10 years ago, I swam on the beaches from northern WA to Bodega Bay, CA and still don't believe that my 'boys' have emerged from hiding. It is COLD. It is great for hiking and birding and sunsets, but tough for swimming. My wife wants to do the trip again this year. I might get a wet-suit.
I second Kyle's suggestion for the redwoods. We spend a couple nights in Prairie Creek Redwoods SP and ran the trails each morning. Your neck gets sore from always looking up...
It's hard to beat the Oregon coast. My wife and I drove the entire 348 miles of Hwy 101, stopping at all 11 lighthouses. We took 4 days for the trip, stayed wherever we ended up each evening. We went in October, so tourist pressure seemed to be lighter, we never had reservations anywhere, just started looking late afternoon for a place to stay.
"We spend a couple nights in Prairie Creek Redwoods SP and ran the trails each morning".
We used to stay there almost every Summer when I was a kid. Knew almost every little trail and connection, my brother and I would take off and explore, fish the creek, etc. Besides all the Redwoods, there are several big herds of Roosevelt elk right there as well...here's a pic on one of the trails out of Prairie Creek, of my wife stalking in on a feeding bull...she got excited...told me "I could shoot one of these" LOL !
Wow, never expected so many replies or suggestions, but THANK YOU! It's going to be hard to pick one they all look perfect...except the French lighthouse. HOLY CRAP!!!
The Redwoods are something I've always wanted to see, and I'm pretty sure my kid would think that's awesome too, so I'm thinking we'll go there and then head north into Oregon, following the coastline. Maine looks beautiful though, but that'll have to be a trip for another time. Alaska is out because I don't think I want to go there unless I can moose hunt again...it would kill me to be in Alaska without a bow in hand...and Hawaii is above my pay grade as much as I'd love to go there someday. We like places we can drive to so California/Oregon fit the bill. I showed this thread to my son and he got pretty pumped by the pics so it's gonna be a fun trip, just gotta decide when to go now.
Northern Cal Redwoods and then Oregon. It is amazing. We make at least four or five trips a year to the coast and love every minute of it. You might even take in Crater Lake on that trip. Many people do. God bless and have a great time, Steve
If we fly into SF, rent a car and head north, would we have to push it to fly home out of Seattle in 10 days...or would we be better off to pick Portland to fly home from??
10 days is plenty to see the coast...There is not much to see on the WA coast compared to OR & CA, flatter sandy beaches until you get up towards the Olympic rain forest except miles and miles of tree's. I fish out of Wesport,WA, we have to go out 20 miles to get to the 300'depth mark chasing salmon.
Jim Moore, I fish out of Illwaco , crossing the Columbia bar (Cape Disappointment) is not to be taken lightly, I have seen the bar restricted to vessels under 40' and 4 hours later zero restrictions, you could cross it in a canoe and visa a versa.
Dave, We flew from Chicago to Portland, rented a car, pulled out the atlas and GPS and headed for the coast via Astoria. We went back roads for the scenic/local flavor. We found it in Vernonia, where at the local cafe we had a great homemade chicken noodle soup, cheeseburger, and met George, the proprietor. He had been there 20 years (married a local girl, if I remember right), he said he was still considered an outsider, and was the only man in town to wear shorts.
We started the coastal trip at Astoria and drove down to Redwoods National Park, then headed northwest through Grants Pass, Crater Lake National Park (a must see), Bend, Sisters ( an incredible lava field near here), north to Mount Hood, and on to the Columbia River. You have to see Horsetail Falls, Multnomah Falls, and Bonneville Dam.
From there we drove up the Olympic Peninsula to look up a man who was on the same Gould's turkey hunt with me the previous year. On the way back we visited Mount Ranier, Mount Saint Helens, and then back to Portland for the flight back to Chicago.
If I remember correctly, the trip was 10 days, seemed to be enough time.
I was just in Ilwaco WA, this is a picture form the hills above Ilwaco looking across the river to Oregon, the Jetty in the picture is the beginning of the bar.
Solo, we need to meet and do a little Springer fishing in a couple months. We fish the same areas but prefer to cross the bar and fish along Longbeach or out past the CR buoy, the crowds above the bridge have gotten out of hand.
Yes, we should, slade. But let's play that by ear. I just got home after spending a week in Sugar Land....(yes, that's an actual city in Texas)....on work-related business. Then, in two weeks I'm heading to Florida for a couple weeks to visit family and chase after spawning largemouth bass on the Harris Chain. So I'm pretty booked up this spring. Might be able to squeeze in a weekend day trip, but let's see how it goes.
I used to think that being single would free up more time for me to do the things I like to do, like fishin', etc. But I'm finding just the opposite to be the case. Now I spend my weekends getting all the things done around the house and prep for the coming week. Maybe I need to hire a French maid.... ;^)
Jeff - I will definitely keep this thread in mind and shoot you a PM to pick your brain before we plan a trip out near you. Sorry I didn't catch this for two weeks. Things are hectic in my neck of the woods too. But I am jealous that your busy involves things like spawning largemouth bass. If you score the French maid, I'll be ugly jealous!! Hope you have a blast. Please post some pics.