Overview
Crescent City is a coastal city in Del Norte County in the northwestern corner of California.
3 sights · 1 places to eat · 2 places to stay
Updated from Wikivoyage on 1 October 2026 · Something wrong or missing? Improve it on Wikivoyage
Best things about Crescent City
Battery Point Light House
Visit the Battery Point Light House, one of the oldest lighthouses on the California coast. Accessible at low-tide. The neighboring Lighthouse Jetty, built to protect the town's harbor from waves, is an intriguing piece …
Tolowa Dunes State Park
Ocean World
Aquarium with multiple exhibits and a sea lion show. Kitsch, but potentially fun.
Plan your trip
Best time to visit & weather
Most comfortable: Apr–Jun, Sep–Oct. Summer highs reach about 92°F; winter lows dip to about 32°F. Very hot (Jul, Aug) — plan outdoor time for mornings. Wettest: Dec and Jan. (climate data from nearby Medford)
Blue bars: average daily high and low (°F). Purple columns: average monthly rain and melted snow (inches).
Getting there
- From you: to see whether to drive or fly, and how long it takes.
- CEC Jack Mc Namara Field Airport, Crescent City — 2 mi away. Directions
- ACV California Redwood Coast-Humboldt County Airport, Arcata/Eureka — 54 mi away. Directions
- SMF Sacramento International Airport, Sacramento — 252 mi away (major hub). Directions
From San Francisco or Portland, US Highway 101 makes a scenic but sometimes slow drive along the coast to Crescent City. Between San Francisco and Crescent City, there are only a few connector roads from the east (Hwy 20, Hwy 299) so if you want to drive along the coast, you can access Hwy 101 near San Francisco and follow it north.
Full “Get in” guide ↓Budget & where to stay
No prices are listed for this place yet. See the Sleep guide ↓ for options.
Sample 1-day itinerary
Day 1
- Morning Battery Point Light House, Ocean World
- Lunch Good Harvest Cafe
- Afternoon Tolowa Dunes State Park
Stops are grouped by area so each day needs little backtracking. Check opening hours before you go.
Food for you
Cuisine (tap to filter)
What to ask about, for your diet
Diet labels come from each listing's description and cuisine; “likely” means the cuisine usually has good choices, not a promise. Check with the restaurant. Open the food finder
Map
Every listing with a location. Tap a pin for its Google Maps link.
Get in
By car
From San Francisco or Portland, US Highway 101 makes a scenic but sometimes slow drive along the coast to Crescent City. Between San Francisco and Crescent City, there are only a few connector roads from the east (Hwy 20, Hwy 299) so if you want to drive along the coast, you can access Hwy 101 near San Francisco and follow it north.
From Grants Pass in Oregon, you can take US Highway 199 southwest to reach Crescent City.
Grants Pass is also a stop along Interstate 5, which is the major north-south highway on the west coast. Interstate 5 is known as fast and easy to drive and has good connections to further east, but it's often a boring road.
If you are traveling on Interstate 5 and want to travel over to the coast, you can take Hwy 299 west where it intersects I-5 at Redding, Ca.
Hwy 299 west is a beautiful, highly scenic, curvy/winding route through the rugged mountains of Northern California. This route takes from Redding, through Weaverville and Willow Creek, along the Trinity and Klamath Rivers enroute to its junction with Hwy 101 at Arcata, CA.
Depending on your speed and stops along the way, Hwy 299 will take you approximately two and a half to three hours driving time to reach the coast.
(If you take I-5 north to the Hwy 199 cutoff at Grants Pass, Oregon, and head over to the coast, you are looking at a Five plus hour trip.)
As a word of caution, Hwy 299 is not advisable during winter months due to Ice, snow and possibly slides that can cause long delays and/or road closures.
If you are not prone to motion sickness and enjoy scenic, country roads (mostly two lanes) you might want to give Hwy 299 a try.
By plane
Go Del Norte County Regional Airport (CEC)
Is a small airport in Crescent City on the northwest side of town serving as a general aviation airport. Daily commercial flights with Advanced Airlines from Oakland and Los Angeles. Next nearest commercial airports are the Arcata-Eureka Airport (ACV) in McKinleyville at 70 mi south on US 101, and the Rogue Valley Airport (MFR) in Medford, Oregon, 109 mi NE of Crescent City via US 199.
By bus
The Cultural Center curbside bus stop on Front Street near K Street acts as the main transfer point for buses serving Crescent City. *
Place Redwood Coast Transit
Provides service in Del Norte County and limited service in Humboldt County. Route 20 comes all the way from Arcata in the south and terminates in Smith River, north via Crescent City. Route 20 is timed to connect with Curry Public Transit's Coastal Express (serves the southern Oregon Coast, all the way up to Coos Bay/North Bend) in Smith River. Connections to Greyhound, Amtrak Thruway Motorcoach, and the Redwood Transit System (Humboldt County public transit) services in Arcata.
*
Place Klamath Shuttle
Inter-city bus service serving southwestern Oregon. The bus runs from Brookings and Smith River in the south to Cave Junction, Grants Pass, Medford, Ashland, and Klamath Falls in the northeast.
See
Point Saint George is a county park northwest of town. You may beach comb, whalewatch or birdwatch among other activities. Drive 15 miles inland to visit Jedidiah Smith Redwoods State Park. This state park is one of the very few redwood parks with trails that go into the deep interior. Must-see: Stout Grove. Must-hike: Boy Scout Tree Trail. This trail is a hidden gem, and arguably one of the most beautiful in the entire state. Drive a few miles south to Enderts Beach Road. This road will take you to the sound end of Crescent Beach, and beyond that a trail will take you to a small, rocky cove--Enderts Beach.
See Battery Point Light House
Visit the Battery Point Light House, one of the oldest lighthouses on the California coast. Accessible at low-tide. The neighboring Lighthouse Jetty, built to protect the town's harbor from waves, is an intriguing piece of infrastructure, but potentially unsafe to explore as numerous warning signs attest.
Eat
Sleep
Stay safe
Crescent City is sometimes remembered as the only place in the 48 contiguous American states to have suffered loss of life from a tsunami in recorded history. Its location is particularly vulnerable to such waves. An extensive warning system has been installed to ensure the safety of residents and visitors alike and it works well. When an offshore quake in 2005 triggered the tsunami alert system as a precaution, the city was evacuated in 20 minutes. However, make sure to keep this concern in perspective; even in Crescent City, many more people die in auto accidents than by tsunamis.
Nearby
Klamath
City / town · 8 listings · 18 mi away
Brookings-Harbor
City / town · 37 listings · 21 mi away
Redwood National Park
Park · 20 listings · 25 mi away
Cave Junction
City / town · 9 listings · 40 mi away
Gold Beach
City / town · 47 listings · 46 mi away
Oregon Caves National Monument
Park · 16 listings · 47 mi away
Trinidad
City / town · 10 listings · 48 mi away
McKinleyville
City / town · 5 listings · 56 mi away
My experience
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