Irvine Lodge Rest Area

Camp Review

• This rest area was right off the free way, but it was clean and not too noisy.

• The parking spaces were level enough (though not perfect).

• The bathrooms were clean and fully stocked.

• There weren’t too many cars with plenty of spaces on a Thursday night before a holiday.

• Like all rest stops in California, the time limit for stopping at one is up to 8 hours.

What I Learned

• This was only my second time sleeping at a rest stop, but I had been to dozens before. Having said that, I must say that this was the nicest rest area I’ve ever been to. The noise from the freeway was pretty much nullified by the babbling brook, the bathrooms were clean (with generous amounts of toilet paper and soap), and the trees were tall and beautiful. No wonder it was rated 4.5 stars on Google Maps!

 

What Happened?

I did not want to drive 7+ hours to Crescent City from San Jose on a weeknight, so I decided to cut the travel time by sleeping over at this rest area that was on the way to the Avenue of the Giants. We left after 7 PM from San Jose and arrived right around midnight; when we arrived, we quickly brushed our teeth and went to sleep.

The next morning, we woke to see that the rest area was quiet and clean. We washed our faces, used the bathroom, and headed off to the Avenue of the Giants.