How would you break up this road trip (if at all)?

In My Humble Opinion
21

Aspenglow, thank you for all the detail! I think I’m going to suggest some of that for our trip back, when we have even more leisure time. I often worry about detouring too much and winding up being too tired to get to a destination, but on the trip back, this will be a non-issue.

I did want to specifically comment on this part of your post, though:

December 1998. Been there, done that, exactly as described. I remember it well, unfortunately.

jayrey, I’m intrigued. We don’t tend to be the most social travelers in the world, but perhaps… :slight_smile:

22

I am always open to suggestions; please feel free! Again, though, I suspect we’ll be more likely to take them on the way down rather than up.

23

LOL, if it makes you feel better, I’ve done it at least a dozen times, because all the folks that loved to visit me when I lived in SLO always came in the summertime!! We locals always knew the best time of year to drive that route is between January and mid-March. Truly worth all the hassle when you catch it on a good day… it’s magical.

Glad you found the suggestions helpful! Happy to provide more thoughts if they are useful to you. :slight_smile:

24

Nice route, but make your stop in Tahoe. Stay on 395 to Susanville, then start heading west. Squeeze in a slight detour to Crater Lake (simply awesome). Second stop in Ashland or Grants Pass, maybe farther north if you want. Third day blast up the 5.

25

Ok. My main interests are history and geology, so keep that in mind.

I would strongly recommend a stop at the Applegate Trail Interpretive Center. It’s a museum off I-5 at exit 71. When I was there years ago, a crazy Vietnam vet ran the place, and just engaging in a conversation with him was worth the stop. However, by the looks of the website he no longer runs it. Anyway, it’s a fascinating look at the local history, and how southern Oregon and northern California were settled.

I would also recommend a day trip un the North Umpqua river. If you’re looking for a good place to stay for the night, the Steamboat Inn cannot be beat. Make sure to have dinner there, as it is one of the best retaraunts in the county. They have a cookbook published called “Thyme and the river”, which is my go-to cookbook when I’m entertaining during the holidays. seriously good eats.

The Steamboat Inn is also where novelist Zane Grey would hang out to detox from life.

If you go further up the river, check out Watson Falls. The entire area around Crater Lake is essentially a big plateau created from the Mt. Mazama eruption, and Watson Falls is literally at the edge of this plateau. No picture will do it justice, it needs to be seen in person. However, in late summer the falls may be just a trickle, so keep that in mind. In the same area is Grotto Falls, which is absolutely spectacular. A large waterfall with a natural cave behind it. The trail to the falls simply curves through the cave, taking you behind the waterfall. It is well worth the drive.

The entire western Cascades is full of fascinating waterfalls and short hikes. This area is where the volcanic activity that created the Cascades meet the coastal valleys, and the geography is absolutely stunning.

Crater Lake is spectacular, and worth the drive. I don’t know when your trip is, but try to visit before they shut down the rim drive for the winter. Give yourself several hours to tour the lake.

Much of this stuff is ignored by tourists, so they have few visitors. Crater Lake is popular, but mostly on the weekends. There is a lodge perched on the rim, which is another good place to stay the night. The mosquitoes are quite bad, I wouldn’t recommend camping unless you set up early in the afternoon.

Farther north, take a detour east to McMinnville and spend some time at the Evergreen Aviation Museum. The Spruce Goose is on display there, as well as a Titan II missile, a Blackbird, and a B-17 that you can enter and walk (well, crouch) through. It’s so far the only museum in Oregon that I have made a deliberate effort to visit more than once.

26

I think my only tip would be to factor in some extra gas consumption because going from LA to Seattle is uphill. Going back you should be able to coast most of the way.

27

I’m going to amend my above post. Don’t make it a day trip. Make it two or three days, with a night at the Steamboat Inn and another at Crater Lake Lodge. If you’re looking for just a couple hours as break from the monotony of the freeway, do Grotto Falls. Of the stuff I mentioned, it’s the closest to the freeway (but still probably 30 - 40 minutes from the freeway). Also recommend a stop at Munchie’s in Glide for a burger.

28

If nothing else is a factor, I would take two days but make the first a longer drive.

29

I once did a 15-hour day of driving, because I was stupid and decided to brave I-95 on the Sunday after Thanksgiving. It was usually about 10-11 hours.

For a 17 hour trip, I’d do 2 days, no more than 10 hours on the first day.

30

I would split it into 2 days, maybe 3 if I spent a lot of time visiting friends in OR. For me, I drive from Sacramento to LA and back at least once a year. There really isn’t much to see along I-5 until you get much further north in CA. I would try to drive from LA to Yreka, CA or Ashland, OR the first day. Then enjoy time in OR and WA the next day or two.

31

So I just read through the thread and kept announcing to Asimovian things like “Ooh, Grotto Falls sounds nice!” “Ooh, history and geology!” “Ooh!”

In other words, I think this thread is going to be a great resource for the planning. “Ooh!”

32

You have “pseudolegal” under your user name. I’ll tell you that the building is the oldest courthouse in Oregon, if that will tempt you. :slight_smile:

33

17 hrs by car? Air travel!

34

As already noted, I-5 isn’t the greatest tourist travel corridor. However, there are lots of places worth a stop depending on your interests. When I’m planning that kind of trip, I always check Roadside America to see what kinds of things might be checking out along the way. Between LA and Sacto/Woodland, I could recommend the Kern County Museum, The Castle Air Force Museum, Forestiere Gardens, the California State Railroad Museum, the California Auto Museum, Reiff’s Gas Station and the Hayes Truck and Ag Museum.

35

I’ve made this drive several times.
I usually take of way early and take I5 to just north of the Rogue River and stop there for the night ( there is a Holiday Inn Express right off the freeway)
I would arrive at the hotel at about 4 which allowed for decompression and a nice dinner before bed.
The next day is shorter (trivia question for the trip: how many times does I5 cross the Willamette River?)
I have also done 395 up, prettier but longer.
Since I was traveling on business I needed to haul ass.
When are you planning on this trip? In winter you have be aware the southern San Joaquin valley can get socked in with tule fog. If those conditions exist take 395 and cut over to Sacto.

36

I would avoid Highway 101 out of San Francisco. I attempted a one day drive from SF to Newport, Oregon in one day back in 2001. Nothing but 2 lane highway clogged with slow moving motor homes. It took almost 13 hours just to reach Florence, that’s as far as I made it that day.

37

Really? I’ve made this drive numerous times, at different times of the year, and while summer is certainly more crowded than winter, I’ve never experienced what you describe. I can imagine the trip would be unpleasant, though, under such circumstances.

38

Are you really going to force me to publicly admit that that actually DOES tempt me?

39

It’s not really 17 hours. Google maps says that it’s considering traffic, but it isn’t really considering traffic. The drive is longer because during the drive, you go through minor metropolitan areas with horrible traffic will end up in stop-and-go in several places along the way. It’s not undoable in a straight shot - it’s just slightly harder than the map makes it look. Even harder if you’ve never done more than a 10-hour drive in a day.

Also, how late in the year? Are you talking late December or early October? Later in the year, I’d probably recommend two days, with as few stops as possible and rethink the trip entirely if there’s a snow warning. Early fall, a three day wander up the coast.

40

I’m thinking it would take more than 17 hours. You’d have to stop for gas and/or food probably at least three times, so that adds to it. My wife and I did that route a few years ago, and the first day we only made it from Los Angeles to Red Bluff. (We stopped for several hours in Sacramento though to see the capitol and eat dinner.)