Safest/Best route from Portland, OR to Los Angeles, CA?

[Gootz]

Hi everyone,

I have a 2007 Jayco Greyhawk 31S that I'll be driving the family down in a couple weeks and am looking for the safest and best route down. Normally we just take the I5 the entire way, but I'm moderately concerned about Grant's Pass and the potential cold/ice/snow conditions.

Is there an optimal route other than this path? Would it just be best to pick up some chains and make our way on I5?

Thanks in advance,
Gootz

[brained]

I'll be paying attention here - headed from Seattle to Santa Barbara in a couple weeks myself.

[GHen]

I-5 is the best route. Stay out of Seattle, Tacoma and Portland traffic, it will add a couple hours to your trip. Watch reports for snow in southern Oregon and the California grapevine pass. Leaving Seattle south, best to leave at 1AM. I’m not kidding, and not a 30 minutes later.... , you will appreciate that advice. That will get you south of Portland before the traffic turns all routes into a Parking lot for possibly the rest of the day.

[Big1]

Yep, what GHen said.

[Nathan S.]

Don’t know where your going in LA. But cross the grapevine in late evening or midday. Just stay away from computer hours and watch the weather, it closes.

[LuckyDuck]

I-5 is the way to go. In Oregon, pay attention to the Oregon DOT website map for any closures on passes, which are rare. Caltrans has a good highway-conditions map on its website. Siskiyou summit on Oregon-Cali border is most likely closure spot, but again, it’s rare. Check well before proceeding over them so you don’t get stranded in a closure.

[Rustynuts]

The Oregon travel site is www.tripcheck.com

[hammer55]

check out the bypasses for the big cities

[t18skyguy]

If you get your chains from Les Schwab, you can return them in March for a full refund if you don't use them. I-5 is no doubt the fastest, but you need to watch the weather and cross the passes between storms. Use tripcheck and you can see the conditions and temperature at all the summits. I wouldn't try and tackle the mountains if any storm is predicted. They have and do shut the freeway down if it gets too bad. Start your trip early so if you have to hole up a day or two you can then bypass the storms.

[Tunce the traveler]

Originally Posted by brained

I'll be paying attention here - headed from Seattle to Santa Barbara in a couple weeks myself.

How I get to just north of Santa Barbara is :

I leave Bellingham at 9:30 AM & thru Seattle @ 11-11:30 and my first overnight is at Canyonville, Or. at ( 7 Feathers Casino RV Resort ). Fuel station is big and easy in easy out.
2nd night is at Corning, Ca. at ( Rolling Hills Casino) again fuel station is big and easy in easy out.
Rest rooms are 5 star at both locations

Stay on I-5 thru Sacramento and go down to Rt. ( 41west ) then it changes to (46W) to Paso Robles then take HWY 101 down to Santa Barbara.

If you decide to go by San Francisco then the only day that’s not to crazy is Sunday.
Hope this is helpful for you.

[DaveT]

Originally Posted by t18skyguy

If you get your chains from Les Schwab, you can return them in March for a full refund if you don't use them. I-5 is no doubt the fastest, but you need to watch the weather and cross the passes between storms. Use tripcheck and you can see the conditions and temperature at all the summits. I wouldn't try and tackle the mountains if any storm is predicted. They have and do shut the freeway down if it gets too bad. Start your trip early so if you have to hole up a day or two you can then bypass the storms.

Does anyone ever put chains on their trailer?

[Duke4857]

Originally Posted by DaveT

Does anyone ever put chains on their trailer?

I have tire chains just in case I get caught by a winter storm. Never have put them on and hope I never need to. In Oregon, if chains are required (or traction devices) you need to have them on the trailer and tow vehicle.

https://www.tripcheck.com/Pages/Mini...n-Requirements

[alazear]

I-5 for sure. Just watch the storms.

[t18skyguy]

Originally Posted by DaveT

Does anyone ever put chains on their trailer?

Not that I know of Dave, but I wouldn't tackle any mountains with a trailer in snow or ice. If your unfortunate enough to be the guy who has everybody backed up, they throw the book at you, and then to get towed is astronomical in those conditions. Don

[GHen]

I’ll agree, 7 feathers casino is a great stop off point.

Avoid portland rush hours, there is no good bypass unless you want to add a couple hours. You can roll the dice and you might hit it just right.

[Gootz]

Thanks for all of the tips, links and feedback.

I'm picking up some Z-Chains and just hope I never have to use them.

For clarification to a couple posters, we are not starting in/near Seattle, we are starting near Portland. We have planned 2 overnight stops on the way down and 1 overnight stop on our way back home.

My main concern is Grant's Pass in southern Oregon, so if we run into any issues we will just pull over and either wait it out or use the Z-chains and proceed with extreme caution (ie: hazards lights and 20 mph).

Thanks again for the feedback!

[Murff]

The coast highway (101) doesn't save any time, but isn't it mostly flat and away from mountain passes?

Murff

[LuckyDuck]

Originally Posted by Murff

The coast highway (101) doesn't save any time, but isn't it mostly flat and away from mountain passes?

Murff

At some point you’ll likely have to come back over the mountains to get back to I-5. If the I-5 passes are snowy, it’s likely those passes will be too. And that would be one long, winding journey on 101!

[Vicr]

I've driven Freeattle to Rogue River dozens of time during the holidays. Watch out for black ice in the Willamette Valley and snow and ice in the hills approaching Grants Pass. If it were me I would not RV thru this area this time of year. I've seen multiple spin out accidents over the years.

[GAD36H]

I did 101 a couple of years ago in the opposite direction. The scenery is much better too.