Day 13: Requa, California

We spent a month this summer on a 7,957-mile road trip across the country, from the Washington, D.C., area to California and back. Day 13 was July 15; we had arrived in Requa, at the mouth of the Klamath River, where we would visit Redwood National and State Parks, but first, we explored the area around the inn where we stayed.

The Historic Requa Inn, in Requa, California, has been offering spectacular views and excellent breakfasts since 1914,

The Historic Requa Inn provides rooms with a river view to travelers wanting to explore the Redwood forests and other Northern California attractions. The inn sits alongside the Klamath River, just before the point where it reaches the Pacific Ocean.

When I tried to make a reservation, no regular rooms were left at the inn. But the ground-floor apartment — which used to be the town post office — was available, so that’s where we booked. That meant we had a separate bedroom, a kitchen, a living room with a fold-out couch, and a bathroom.

We had been told that guests can look out their windows and see bears swimming across the river. We saw no bears, but we did see lovely views of the river from our windows, from the grounds of the inn, and from the area near the inn. Bob was particularly interested to see people fishing, and would someday like to return and rent a boat so he can do the same.

The inn serves wonderful breakfasts in a grand old dining room, and a bottle of port in the lobby greets guests in the evening. There’s even a pleasant porch that’s conducive to getting to know fellow travelers. We spent much of our time there exploring the state and national park, but we also walked along the river and drove to some beautiful spots in the vicinity of the inn.