Flagstaff AZ -> Eugene, OR - Winter Camping!

I'm trying to figure out the best route from Flagstaff, AZ to Eugene, OR. I'm leaving 1/20, and need to arrive by 1/26 at the latest.
I have a tent and 20 degree sleeping bag / pad, so hopefully planning on camping on BLM / FS land for free. I know, I'm gonna be cold; I can always bail and find a cheap motel if need be.
The route that GMaps suggests (link) takes me thru Nevada, NE California, and then SE Oregon.
however...
I'm worried about snowy/icy road conditions for the northern part of my trip, as that area is currently being dumped on (I drive a '09 civic coupe without snow tires, lol). I've no way of knowing the conditions a week or so from now, but road cams look snowy right now.
The way I see it, I've 3 options:
* Preferred route, straight thru NV, if the roads in SE oregon are clear by then
* Cut over to I-5 in Northern NV to avoid snow
* Take the Eastern route (on gmaps) through CA - although I-5 for the last day or so will be very lame...

That all being said, does anyone have any route advice? I'd like to enjoy my trip and see cool things along the way, as I've got roughly six days to do it. Thanks for any input!

Welcome aboard the RoadTrip America Forums!

As you correctly point out, there's no way, at the present moment, to know what the road conditions will be like when you start on your trip a week from now. More importantly, there will be no way, even as you're departing, to know what the weather and road conditions will be like near the end of your trip. So you'll have to decide now, or at most a day or two before you leave, which way you'll go.

For most winter travel, we generally recommend using the most direct all-Interstate route because those roads are the straightest, have the lowest gradients, and get the first and best attention from road crews in the event of winter weather. That would, in your case, argue for heading directly over to I-5 and following that (more or less) on up to Eugene.

On the other hand, you have plenty of time to deal with any untoward weather, mostly by waiting it out in a nice warm motel room, if the need arises. So you could opt for one of the other two main routes if the weather looks promising for the first few days. You'll still need to keep an eye on the weather forecasts and how they evolve as you head north and be ready to change your plans as the weather, not your preference, dictates. The main problem, though, is that if you head start out heading north through Nevada, the nearest Interstate will be on the other side of the Sierra Nevada from you, and if the weather turns the last thing you'll want to be doing is crossing a major mountain range.

All of which is to say that there is no 'best' route, and suggestions for "cool things along the way" will, of course, depend on the route that you finally choose. So, you'll need to sit down and carefully consider your options and what the choice of each route will mean in terms not only of best possible outcome but worst outcome as well. Only then can you pick the route that makes the most sense for you, your timeline, desires, etc. At that point we'll be able to give you some specific pointers germane to that route.

AZBuck

Welcome to RTA!

I'm going to address the camping aspect of this plan. While possible, you may really want to think about this. Some of the lands where you can "disperse camp" by parking your car and/or pitching a tent, may not be so close to the highway and accessible for you. A 20-degree sleeping bag may not be warm enough.

You might collect some ideas of where you can "bail" and stay in a cheap motel, ahead of time. Look on this site for the Motel Finder. Pick up coupon books for lodging -- though frankly, this will work only for those places along the major freeways.

AZBuck is correct -- until the day you leave, or thereabouts, you may not know exactly the route you are going to take. So collect a lot of information in some form, perhaps a file folder, and take it with you -- lodging ideas, BLM/FS lands, etc.


Donna

I would recommend I-40 to CA-58 to CA-99 to CA-46 to I-5. This will give you the least exposure to mountain driving and potentially poor roads. The only area that could be problematic would be I-5 over the Siskiyous, you may be required to have either snow tires or chains.

As with Donna, I have some concerns about your winter camping plans. How much experience do you have winter camping, and how well have you researched your "free" camping options?

A 20 degree sleeping bag probably isn't warm enough for the conditions you're likely to encounter. There's no regulation defining what "20 degrees" actually means for a sleeping bag, and such claims tend to be a bit inflated. I'd want at least a 0 degree bag in the conditions you're likely to encounter.

Second, BLM and Forest Service lands where dispersed camping is allowed are not along major highways. You have to generally get to them via remote roads that are likely not maintained and/or plowed in winter. If you haven't done a lot of research about where you can camp that you can actually get to, you're likely going to have a problem - or even worse, get yourself stuck, which can turn into a life-threatening situation (kind of like the family that used Forest Service roads around the Grand Canyon last month.)