(6/5 – 6/8/2026)
Day 1: Redwood National Park
It was a long drive. We left home around 8am this morning. When we arrived at Kuchel Visitor Center, it was already almost 2pm!
Redwood is both a national and a state park. The visitor center was situated near the coast and looked pretty. There weren’t many cars parking at the big parking lot outside of the visitor center. I saw many barn swallows flying around.
After we collected national park stamps, we checked with the ranger at the front desk. The helpful ranger informed us that we should take Newton B. Drury Scenic Parkway and stop by the Prairie Creek Visitor Center. There were several trails traversing the redwood forest.
The parking lots near Prairie Creek Visitor Center were completely full when we arrived around 3pm, and we had to park on the roadside. Rei pointed out several large elks grazing on the meadow across the parkway, and we both took many photos.
We saw signs with name “Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park.” So, this is also both a national and a state park.
Rei talked to a ranger, and the ranger suggested that we hike Karl Knapp Memorial Trail to the Big Tree. This was a 2.5-mile loop that would take about an hour.
The trail to the Big Tree was almost completely shaded. This was a flat forest floor trail lined with tall redwood trees and various ferns on both sides. We met some hikers, but the trail wasn’t crowded. There was also a small creek flowing by. It was a very pleasant hike.
We had to cross a road to reach the Big Tree, a 1,500-year-old giant redwood. We took several more photos. (When we showed the photo to Sister, she was amused that the big tree was just named “Big Tree”!) From there, it was about one mile to return to the visitor center. This part of the trail was more exposed. The redwood forest was very quiet. We didn’t hear any birds chirping until we were close to the end of the trail.
We stayed in Grants Pass, Oregon tonight. It was almost 7pm when we finally checked into the hotel. There’s a Mexican restaurant next to the hotel. When Rei asked, the person at the front desk only gave a lukewarm comment, so we went to a Japanese restaurant instead.
Day 2: Oregon Caves, Oregon Dunes
Our cave tour at Oregon Caves National Monument was from 10am to 11:30am. We were told that we would need to arrive at the visitor center 30 minutes prior the tour. National Park Service also warned us that it would take at least 60 minutes to drive from Cave Junction to the visitor center, because the road was narrow and winding. Therefore, we got up very early this morning, had breakfast, and checked out at 7:40am to drive from Grants Pass to Oregon Caves National Monument.
It was an easy drive to reach Cave Junction. From there, we were driving on Hwy 46, which was indeed narrow and twisty. We saw several young deer along the road or even on the road. I was pretty sure that there was also some grouse on the roadside. The last several miles were even more challenging. It involved numerous turns, including a couple of sharp hairpin turns. It was still early, and we didn’t see many cars, but there were several cars driving from the opposite direction.
We arrived shortly after 9am, but the visitor center wouldn’t open until 9:30am. We went inside the visitor center to check in when it opened. We were the first ones to check in. Other people arrived shortly. There were 3 families with children in our group. We then collected national park stamps and browsed the store merchandise while waiting for the tour to begin.
Ranger Melissa was guiding our group. Before entering the cave, she first gave us a short introduction. Oregon Cave was discovered by hunter Elijah Davidson when his dog Bruno ran into the cave and fought with a bear. Elijah wasn’t prepared for a cave exploration. He soon found himself inside a pitch-black dark cave after he used up all 6 matches that he had. Luckily, he realized that there’s water flowing inside the cave, so he followed the small creek (called River Styx, an apt name). It took him 3 hours to exit the cave to meet with his fellow hunters, and Bruno was already out too.
Ranger Melissa led us to explore many rooms inside the cave and described to us various rock formations. We were not allowed to touch any rocks inside the cave. The cave was lower in many places, so we had to bend our knees and lower our heads to advance. Fortunately, there were handrails to help us ascend and descend. Melissa told us that early cave visitors didn’t get help from this modern improvement. They even needed to crawl on the water to explore the cave!
We visited many different rooms. There’s a bat hibernation room used by many bats during the winter. Imagination Room was filled with many interesting formations, including Heart of the Oregon Cave. A room called Miller’s Chapel was hosting a themed wedding with everyone dressed as a caveman. Ranger Melissa also pointed out the “Niagara Falls,” which we didn’t find the similarities.
My two favorite places were the Ghost Room and “Paradise Lost.” Ghost Room was a vast room with beautiful cave rock formations. We got to walk inside the room to take a closer look on our way out.
“Paradise Lost” required a detour and a very steep stair climb. Ranger Melissa warned us that climbing down could be scary, but nobody chickened out. The room was high up and had a tall ceiling. It was filled with amazing rock formations that looked like drapes or flower buds. It’s the most spectacular room inside the cave. The amazing view took our breath away!
I highly recommend taking the cave tour if you happen to be near the area. Remember that you would need to book online in advance to get your preferred timeslot.
After we finally exited the cave, we had two choices: a short and direct route to return to the visitor center, or a longer walk on the Cliff Trail with splendid view. Most people chose the latter.
Though Cliff Trail involved some climbing, it wasn’t difficult. In addition to the beautiful cliff view, we also saw a Dark-Eyed Junco perching on a tall branch and calling. I have seen many juncos, but this was the first time I saw one calling!
There were some picnic tables at the lower parking lot, where Rei and I had our lunch of turkey sandwiches and apples. Three Steller’s Jays frolicking around the picnic area. They were not afraid of humans.
We left shortly before 1pm to drive to Oregon Dune. It was a long drive. The first part was in urban areas. Scenery quickly improved when the road winding around wide Umpqua River. Constructions along the route caused some delay, and we didn’t reach Dune City until after 5pm.
We knew the dune was on the left side. However, we couldn’t figure out how to reach it until we found Honeyman State Park. There was a large parking area (free parking today!) with public restrooms.
A short path led us to the beach and the sand dunes. This was a very popular recreational area with many people relaxing at the beach, fishing, climbing sand dunes, and even sand boarding!
The dunes weren’t very high, and it’s not difficult to climb. We spent time here sightseeing and taking photos until 5:50pm. Then we drove to tonight’s hotel in Eugene, Oregon.
The road was now along a different river. Siuslaw River was as scenic as Umpqua River. This drive somehow reminded me of New Zealand’s South Island.
When we finally arrived at the hotel, it’s already past 7pm. The hotel was in a shopping area with many restaurants. Rei wanted Mexican food, so we went to a nearby Mexican restaurants to have fajitas.
Day 3: Crater Lake, Lava Beds
My original plan was to visit Crater Lake National Park today and Lava Beds National Monument tomorrow to walk the 6+ mile Whitney Butte trail. Rei vetoed my plan yesterday. He wanted to go to both places in one day and “be done with it”!
Rei argued that we have been to both places a few times, so we only needed a quick visit to take photos and to collect stamps. He wanted to return home early on Monday to avoid the rush hour traffic. Rei proposed a very aggressive schedule: arriving at Crater Lake NP at 11am, leaving at noon to drive to Lava Beds NM at 2pm, finishing Whitney Butte trail around 5pm to drive to tonight’s hotel in Klamath Falls, Oregon.
Even though I considered his plan crazy, I didn’t want to argue with him or listen to him complaining, so we followed his proposal. (If you haven’t been to those two places, you should plan to spend at least a day in each.)
Like all “perfect” plans, it could be easily derailed by any unexpected events. Though we arrived at Crater Lake NP at 11am, there was a long line at the entrance that caused quite some delays.
At Rim Visitor Center, a staff member suggested that we should go down to the nearby Lookout, which offered a superb panoramic view of Crater Lake.
During out last visit in 2017, Crater Laker was filled with smoke, result of wildfire in a nearby area. In contrary, we had unbelievably clear view today. Crater Lake was like a mirror that reflected the surrounding mountains beautifully. The sapphire hue of the lake was mesmerizing. Wizard Island was clearly visible and looked splendid. After careful checking, we also identified the Phantom Ship Rock, though it’s not conspicuous.
I made sandwiches again this morning. Rei wanted to have picnic lunch at a spot with panoramic view. It was still cold, and there was snow on the ground. We saw several Clark’s Nutcrackers flying around. We took additional photos. As a result, we didn’t leave Crater Laker until sometime after 12pm.
When we arrived at Lava Beds National Monument entrance kiosk, the ranger informed us that we needed to stop by the visitor center to clean our shoes and get a permit, because we have been to another cave recently (Oregon Cave). It didn’t matter that we only planned to hike, and we wouldn’t enter any caves here.
We did plan to stop by the visitor center to collect stamps, but shoes cleaning and inspection took extra time. As a result, we didn’t arrive at the trailhead until 3:15pm. Moreover, we also took a short detour to check out Merrill Ice Cave (no longer having ice) entrance, but we didn’t enter. We saw two visitors wearing hard hats and carrying flashlight, ready to explore the caves.
We have only done short walks on this trip. Whitney Butte trail would be the first and the only “true” hike. The trail was pretty flat, but the ground wasn’t even. Some parts of the trail were faint and difficult to find. There were also two fallen trees on the trail. Therefore, the trail was not for novice hikers on their own. Whitney Butte trail was completely exposed. Fortunately, it was cloudy and cool today. There were wildflowers along the trail.
After 3+ miles of hiking, we were at the base of Whitney Butte, but we couldn’t find a trail leading to the top. After exploring a while, we decided to give up and simply walked back to the parking lot. It was close to 6pm when we reached our car.
On the way exiting the park, we saw several large lava fields. This region was a superb birding place. I saw several different kinds of birds such as Barn Swallows and Red-Winged Blackbirds. The lake was full of waterfowls, but they were too far for me to identify. When we drove past a grassland, there were many ibises and gulls feeding on the ground. (Check my Bird List.)
It was already past 7pm when we checked into the hotel, so it’s another long day. We went to a fried chicken restaurant around 7:30pm. Rei wanted to have sit-down dinner, but they informed us that the restaurant would close soon. We took the hint and ordered to-go instead. It seemed that restaurants in Oregon were all closed early.
On our way back to the hotel, we walked through a memorial park dedicated to veterans of all wars that included Independence War, WWI, WWII, Vietnam War, Korean War among others.
Day 4: Bird Watching
Klamath Falls is famous for bird watching. Our hotel was by Lake Ewauna, a prime bird watching location. After breakfast, Rei and I went out to walk the Lake Ewauna Nature Trail. The sky was overcast, and therefore the condition wasn’t ideal. However, we still saw many Mallards, Brewer’s Blackbirds, grebes, swallows and sparrows. I also spotted three Brown-Headed Cowbirds — they were not “brown-headed,” and I had to check Merlin Bird ID app to identify them.
Afterwards, we checked out from the hotel and drove to Klamath Wildlife Area — Miller Island Unit. The place was full of birds. We could see many blackbirds (both Red-Winged Blackbirds and Brewer’s Blackbirds), swallows and robins flying around. I also saw a Stilt, a Killdeer, 3 American White Pelicans and many Mallards. In addition, there were two cute brown hares.
There was light rain soon after we arrived in Miller Island, but we were still able to walk around to watch birds. Then it rained harder, and we had to give up birding. It was about time to drive home anyway. This ended our 4-day short vacation.
The rain continued for several hours. Rei’s crazy proposal to hike in Lava Beds National Monument yesterday turned out to be a great idea! We didn’t bring our hiking rain ponchos (didn’t expect any rain) and wouldn’t be able to hike today.
Amy 'n Rei 