Vancouver BC to LA next week

[argyll1st]

Hi all, its been a long time since my last visit but I am sure you guys still have all the answers, on wednesday the 8th Dec, I will be dusting down our 5er and F-350 to make a trip down to Newport Dunes LA for 4 weeks,my question is how bad a trip is it likely to be ? I have driven the road in the springtime but never in the winter, I remember some big climbs and some ice warning signs going over the Cascade range in Washington state ? I ask because I will have my wife and daughter with me and its just dawned on me that the road might be troublesome, are any of you guys in that area ? advice please

Thanks, John

 

[SJH]

If you are taking I5 from Vancouver to California you won't be crossing the Cascades. You will have no issues until you reach the Siskiyou Mountains in Oregon/California.

HERE is a NOAA link for weather.

HERE is a link of DOT cameras in the Medford, OR area including the mountain pass.

HERE is a link to Oregon DOT Trip Check

Siskiyou summit is clear and sunny today...doesn't look like any snow around either if I was looking at the correct camera!

Best Wishes for a safe trip!

 

[Crumgater]

Only trouble in WA will be traffic... between Everett and Tacoma, with a little more in Olympia...

I'd try and time hitting I-5 in southern Oregon (south of Eugene+) between 10am and noon... allow some time for the day to warm up and plows to go through, but still early enough to have a good chance of crossing the mountains in daylight. Lots of trucks use that route, so barring a bad storm, it should be ok for traveling.

You can check the Oregon state website for road conditions:
http://www.tripcheck.com/Pages/RCMap.asp?curRegion=7&mainNav=RoadConditions
or this one has cameras, too:http://www.medfordfuel.com/Interstate_5_Oregon.htm

Roads look clear - but lots of fog, today.

 

[rarnold]

John, besides the Siskiyou Mtns in northern Calif, the only other issue might be the southern end of the central valley in Calif. Before you hit the L.A. area, you have to cross over the grapevine near Castaic Junction. Once in a while a cold storm will drop enough snow on the roads to close the pass down over night until they get it cleared off. Other than that, I-5 is long & boring through the central part of the state but you can make good time.

Be safe and happy trails to you.

Rod

 

[Firerad1]

Up until the past few days when the north winds delveloped, the Sacramento and San Joaquin valleys have had pretty dense and patchy fog, which is always a possibility during the winter months. Lately it has been burning off by 10:00 or 11:00 in the morning in most areas. Travel Safely

 

[argyll1st]

Thanks guys, this has gone a long way to put my mind to rest, I was at peach arch on the UC/Can border last April and met some people who had travelled that road up to Canada and had a terrible time with snow and ice, I dont carry chains but it might be the perfect time to engage 4x4 mode if the going get tough.

 

[argyll1st]

So we made it to Carmel CA , but it's $65 a night in a rather average RV park and we are not impressed, looking for any advice on good parks between here and Santa Maria .

 

[wdk450]

So we made it to Carmel CA , but it's $65 a night in a rather average RV park and we are not impressed, looking for any advice on good parks between here and Santa Maria .

John:
Do you use RVParkReviews.com?
Are you towing down Highway 1? It's scenic, but nail biting scary. I usually backtrack to Monterey and take the road by the fairgrounds over to Salinas and Hwy 101 south to SLO. I like Pismo Coast Village RV park in Pismo, which just won a Woodalls award as one of the 10 best in the USA.
If you ARE going down Hwy 1 there is Phieffer-Burns State Park in Big Sur, and Hearst State Park (just south of Hearst Castle) in San Simeon. Morro Bay has another state park. Hopefully you can make the length restricitions. You shouldn't need reservations this time of year.
Happy RVing!!

 

[argyll1st]

We took your advice and dogged the big sur, headed to morrow beach and stayed in the state park ( $50 for part hookup ) we left there this morning and find our selfs in Ventura beach resort, sorry we passed Pismo before we got Internet or we would have stayed there, we stopped of at Santa Barbara but the RV park was a dump on the freeway ! :-(