BC to Disneyland along Oregon coast

Hello! Trip is being planned for mid-late september. I'd rather hop on a plane but hubby has never flown and would rather drive. We are a little bit flexible on length of holiday but don't want to go much over 10 days, with the majority of that time spent of course at Disneyland/Universal Studios. Two drivers, so we can handle quite a few hours on the road per day - can it be done in two days or less each way? I have to plan it all and book hotels or the trip will never happen ;) so any assistance or tips you can give me would be most appreciated. Completely clueless and first real roadtrip so I need some help here.

I was thinking of driving along the Oregon coast part way on the way down, and Hubby wants to see the Redwood forest. Is there a section where we could hop off the I-5 - see one or two points of interest and get back on the I-5 to speed up the travel time? If you could pick only one or two places to stop for an hour or so (photo op?!) where would it be? What would be the furthest place we could get to just before nightfall on that first day if we make stops along the way? Are there any campgrounds really close where we could pull in and throw up a tent to crash that first night?

First of all, it is possible to do the BC to Disneyland trip in 2 long days on the road. I've driven pretty much the reverse route (Orange County California to Bellingham WA and return) many times. However, with 10 days, you're going to subtract out at least 4 for just the trip up and back.

The fastest route is of course, I-5. A good place to break the trip is in the Yreka to Redding region of Northen California -- it's about half way. There are a number of places to stay in these towns, with Redding having the largest concentration. You do need to be a bit careful about timing your trip -- avoid the Seattle and Portland rush hours, since I-5 goes through the center of the cities. LA is a case in itself -- I-5 goes through the core of the city, so I usually take the 210 to 57 freeway to avoid going through downtown (or the 405, if you're staying south of Disneyland).

The Oregon coast will add a least a day heading south, and probably 2 depending upon what you'd like to see or do. Probably your best option would be an early start out of BC, and then down I-5 to near portland, then west to Astoria, and then south to spend the first night somewhere around Tillamook. From there it'd be about a full day south to near Crescent City or Eureka CA, which is in the middle of the Redwoods National Park, as well as the several California Redwoods State Parks. From Eureka its barely possible to make it to the Disneyland area in a longgg day's drive -- you won't make as quick of time on 101 than you would on I-5, but you will move along.

If I had to pick one or two places near the road to stop and get pictures... it would be Lady Bird Grove in Redwoods National Park, and the Richard Drury Memorial Parkway in Prarire Creek Redwoods State Park. Both are within a few minutes of 101 (Richard Druary parallels 101), and have a good selection of highly accessible impressive trees.

I'm not sure of what campgrounds are available in the Oregon coastal area -- just haven't camped along there. There are some I've noted, just have no experience with them.

There are many campgrounds in the Redwoods area -- I've stayed in Del Norte Redwoods State Park and a couple of other campgrounds farther south. You can check on site availabilty and get campground reservations on line. On the way south, the Yreka to Redding area has several campground options available near I-5.

We have no problem blasting through washington and down to the bottom of Oregon as fast as possible. The oregon coast will have to wait for another holiday since all the kids care about this trip is Mickey :D I've read on here that it's better to go through the redwood section from north-south so you can pull off easily here and there for photos, so I'd still like to do that on the way down unless it's going to add a ridiculous amount of time to the drive.

How much extra time would it reasonably take to go on 199 at Grant's pass to Crescent city. We could stay somewhere between Crescent city and Eureka the first night late and see the forest bright and early the next morning, then follow 101 down to where it junctions with 299 and head back to the I-5? Or would it be better just to follow the 101 down from there rather than switching back? Maybe there is a better section to get back to I-5 further down?

From Vancouver to Crescent City is going to be about 645 miles acording to the computer. That's a LONG day's drive -- even on I-5 for most of the time, you're looking at something like 11 hours on the road. The 199 section is windy through the mountains between Grants Pass and Crescent City, so its something you need to be aware of since it will be at the end of a long driving day. (One option would be to stay the night in Grants Pass or nearby, and then tackle the 199 section the next morning first thing...)

Going over to the coast is going to add some time -- 101 just isnt as fast as I-5 -- plus you're going to want some time to look around in the Redwoods. Depending upon how you do the drive and stops its going to add between 3-4hours I'm guessing to about a day of time, to be realistic.

For a first night, I'd stay either near Grants Pass (see above) or in the Crescent City or Brookings OR area (about 30 miles north of Crescent City). The reason I'm suggesting Crescent City area is the biggest section of Redwoods is between Eureka and Crescent City -- and it would be a shame to backtrack to see them.

I'd try to hit a couple of areas -- there are lots and lots to see. The Lady Bird grove near Redwoods National Park headquarters is very nice -- a few miles from HQ, but you really need to take the 1 mile loop nature trail to appreciate it. IF I had to pick one spot to stop that's about the best. But I could probably spend at least 3-4 hours in the area looking at the trees.

From there, the fastest route south would be actually to take the 101 all the way down to the bay area and then catch the I-5. For a fast, short route, it'd be 101 south and then across the northern part of the SF bay at San Rafael on the 580, then south through Oakland to take the 580 east through Dublin and Livermore to catch up with the I-5 at Tracy. (watch out for SF's commuter traffic at rush hour near Oakland, though).

If you're adding time, you might consider either stopping short of the LA area for a night, and taking a shorter time leg into Anaheim. One option would be to stop for the night somewhere like Bakersfield which has a goodly selection of hotels or in Santa Clarita (home to 6 Flags Magic Mountain, with a fair number of hotels). From Bakersfield it's about 3 hours to Anaheim, and from Santa Clarita, maybe 90 minutes.

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Originally Posted by QuirkySue

I've read on here that it's better to go through the redwood section from north-south so you can pull off easily here and there for photos

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The reference for a preference for north to south is for the Big Sur coastal drive (there are no redwoods in that section). In redwood country there is no advantage of either north or south-bound.

Mark

Hmm. Now I'm thinking about a figure 8 trip. So much to think about - it's a good thing I've still got a few months to iron out the details.

How would this work:
*I-5 all the way to Redding (or further if we can drive anymore that day)

*Make our way to the Big Sur section to drive the #1 between Monterey and San Luis Obispo. That section of the map is a mess of red lines! Suggestions? I'll be using the search function too of course!

*Back to the 101 to Anaheim.

On the way back we could reverse the route suggested by Larrison - Tracy/Oakland/San Rafael to the 101 heading north to go through Eureka and Crescent city, to the 199 to Grant's pass back to the I-5 and home.

Probably 2.5 -3 days each way which means we'd have 4 days in the Disneyland area unless we add on a day or two more. Decisions! Decisions!

Another question: Which would be the best areas for a lady driver to take the wheel?

I've driven from Abbotsford BC to just beyond Portland and back in a loooong day and did fine, but sweat bullets through the seattle and portland areas. Long windy roads are fine - 6 lanes of traffic and a sea of overpasses is a little nervewracking for me :D

I just think your Figure 8 idea is going to add too many miles to your trip. Unless you can add extra days, that is. Especially when you factor in that you have kids with you and you need to allow for time for them to get out of the car to explore, burn off the wiggles, etc. So you never make quite as fast of time with kids. Add to that, there is so much to see and do along the coast areas you're thinking about driving that you are really short-changing yourself zipping through there that quickly, in my opinion.

And having done the drive from Washington state to see The Mouse many times when my kids were younger, I can tell you that you will just really want to focus on getting there. The kids will be too excited to get to Disneyland to enjoy the detour...based on my experiences anyway.

I think once you do a roadtrip and discover how much fun it is, and once you get exposed to the wonderful land of Disney, you will end up making more trips there. I would save the detours to the coast for future trips and spend more time in Disneyland and doing the other fun things near it. We enjoy Universal Studios and Knott's Berry Farm just as much as we enjoy Disneyland. So, if it was me, I'd spend my extra time there and really do it up good for the kiddies on their first adventure to these magical places and save the sightseeing for future trips. In fact, that's just how we did it.

If you really want to add a coastal portion, I think anyplace along the coast in California and Oregon are stupendously beautiful. You can't go wrong. But I would leave it for the trip home.

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Originally Posted by QuirkySue

Another question: Which would be the best areas for a lady driver to take the wheel?

I've driven from Abbotsford BC to just beyond Portland and back in a loooong day and did fine, but sweat bullets through the seattle and portland areas. Long windy roads are fine - 6 lanes of traffic and a sea of overpasses is a little nervewracking for me :D

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Seriously, LA is a driver's nightmare. Even worse than Seattle during rush hour, in my opinion. Of course, this could just be because I'm more familiar with the Seattle area. I would say if you hate driving in big city messes, that you would be fine most anywhere along your route except for LA and, if you go near there, the San Francisco area. The rest of the drive should be a breeze with only Seattle and Portland being a real metro area to contend with.

If you time it right, try to avoid LA rush hour as much as possible. I'm not sure exactly when that would be, but probably after about 7pm at night and between about 10am-2pm during the day, if I had to guess. It's been awhile since we've been there and I'm guessing that rush hour is longer these days, much more like Seattle is. (So, yeah, you will want to leave BC to get through Seattle no later than 2pm as well.)

It's very rare for me to recommend people bypass the coast as I really love that drive. I just don't think it's going to be the best idea for this particular trip. Of course, if your kids are excited to do the coastal driving portions, then totally ignore my advice.

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Originally Posted by Judy

Seriously, LA is a driver's nightmare. Even worse than Seattle during rush hour, in my opinion. Of course, this could just be because I'm more familiar with the Seattle area. I would say if you hate driving in big city messes, that you would be fine most anywhere along your route except for LA and, if you go near there, the San Francisco area. The rest of the drive should be a breeze with only Seattle and Portland being a real metro area to contend with.

If you time it right, try to avoid LA rush hour as much as possible. I'm not sure exactly when that would be, but probably after about 7pm at night and between about 10am-2pm during the day, if I had to guess. It's been awhile since we've been there and I'm guessing that rush hour is longer these days, much more like Seattle is. (So, yeah, you will want to leave BC to get through Seattle no later than 2pm as [ ... ]

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Traffic is traffic. Having spent several years living in Seattle and living in the LA area, I'll vote for Seattle having worst traffic per route, but LA having more bad traffic overall -- primarily from just having more freeways and more drivers.

I've never been in worse traffic on a regular basis than in Seattle. It's not the weather, or the drivers, or the roads in my opinion -- it's that from north to south in the city there are two basic freeway routes, complicated by a lake in the middle with very limited (2) routes east-west across the lake. If something screws up, you have very few options for alternative routes. That's what gives Seattle my "worst" traffic vote.

LA is a larger area, with mulutiple freeways north-south, or east-west and every diagonally NW to SE. There are usually alternative routes, and even some very good high capacity surface streets. The problem with LA is there are a LOT more drivers, and when that happens you get more people doing stupid things and its more likely there will be an accident which just snarls everyting up on that route. So there will be for sure, more snarls in the LA traffic grid, than Seattle -- but if you're saavy, you can navigate around them a lot more easily.

I also really highly recommend going through Seattle on the off hours -- after 9:30 am and before 2:30 (There's a major shift at Boeing that gets out at 2:30 so you can find some major slowdowns starting then, particularly around downtown Seattle and Renton.) They've added carpool lanes in Seattle on I-5 and I recommend them to get you through Seattle in the fastest, easiest way.

In LA, if you're heading for Disneyland, my recommendation is to avoid the I-5 freeway through downtown. The reason is its one of the oldest, narrowest and busiest freeways in LA, and if you're going to have traffic problems its a good bet you'll have them on the I-5. If you're coming in from Santa Barbara area, about your best route is to take the 101 through the San Fernando valley (not much choice, and this can be a very busy freeway), then the 405 (San Diego Freeway) south to loop around the city, and then the 22 freeway east over to Anaheim (or duck north and catch the 91 freeway east to Anaheim). There are several other alternative routes, but the idea is to avoid going through downtown LA where the 101, 5, 10, 60 and 110 freeways all junction together. There are carpool lanes most of the length of the 405 which makes it a much easier and quicker drive than the I-5 (which doesn't have any -- too old & narrow). If you can, I'd try to hit the LA area before 630 am, after 9 am, before 3:30 pm or after 7 pm -- just like every other city with rush hour traffic.

Thanks for the tips! I'll definately let my husband take the wheel through those areas. At least when we're finally in Anaheim we can park and walk across to Disneyland and get a break from LA driving for a few days. Universal is definately on the to-do list as is the walk of stars, still not sure about knotts.

Our girls are 12 and 15 now so not little kids that will whine and squirm the whole way there which makes longer days more possible. 12 yr old wants to do the scenic route and make the holiday seem like it's lasting forever, 15 yr old just wants Mickey. Of course they can't agree!

I think we will drive as long and hard as we can the first day. Take two hotel night stays on the way down, with one being somewhere along the coast there, and try to make it into LA after 7pm the third day. Too fast to take in any attractions but there will be a nice view on the way down and time to stop for photos and meals that don't come from a drivethru window.

Maybe I can talk hubby into taking another road trip next year to see parts of the Oregon coast and the Redwoods :D

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Originally Posted by Larrison

Traffic is traffic. Having spent several years living in Seattle and living in the LA area, I'll vote for Seattle having worst traffic per route,

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I agree -- Seattle is tougher the LA. Other spots to avoid -- anywhere on the east bay of San Francisco during commuting hours, Denver and Boston are heavy contenders, as well, for the slow-going awards.

Mark

I did say in my post that one needs to be through Seattle by 2pm in order to avoid getting stuck in traffic. Before 10am and after 2pm, it's a nightmare.

However, since LA has so many more freeways, I think it's easier to get confused, turned around, and lost. I'm an excellent map-reader and the only time I've ever gotten us seriously lost was trying to get around LA.

QuirkySue, I suggest printing out maps from your hotel to the various places you want to see in LA. I haven't been there since about '97, pre my internet days, so I didn't have a handy tool like that available. I'm sure that will help a lot.

The last two or three times I've been through Seattle I've managed to miss the worst traffic - I'll definately try to keep it that way for this next trip!

Ending up on the wrong exit or turnaround or having multiple lanes merging into my lane is exactly why I hate the big city areas! Stop and Go gridlock is frustrating but at least I have plenty of time to read the signs and figure out where I'm heading. lol.

...and yes, I'll definately be printing out maps and directions! Definately a good idea there. I'll bring a laptop so if we need to stop in at a cafe with access I can download more too. I'm not a great mapreader but if I know ahead of time when/where I'm supposed to change direction I can make sure I'm in the right lane for it.

If I am organized enough before then I'll make a binder with maps of any area where we're not just on the I-5 so we don't waste too much time lost trying to find our way around. Thanks a bunch for the route suggestions to avoid the worst of it!

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Originally Posted by Mark Sedenquist

I agree -- Seattle is tougher the LA. Other spots to avoid -- anywhere on the east bay of San Francisco during commuting hours, Denver and Boston are heavy contenders, as well, for the slow-going awards.

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The worst traffic I've ever been in was in Rome.. DC's bad, Paris is nasty, Boston a nightmare at rush hour... But Rome was simply amazing. The wild part was the tiny little smart cars getting upon the sidewalks and zipping along with 2 wheels on the curb to dodge around slower traffic. Fortunately we had a good driver, who would zip down streets I would never even think of driving through and dodging in and out of crooked narrow alleyways to get us to our meetings on times. I also learned to not sit in the front passenger seat as I kept thumping my right foot down as I kept reaching for a non-existant brake, over and over.. Had to stop that.. didn't want to break the zen of our driver "being one with the city and the traffic..."

My two runners up are:

Moscow. There aren't enough streets for the influx of cars. Nothing like watching someone pull into the oncoming lane to pull up past a traffic jam, and trying to frantically get back into the correct side of the road as a tidal wave of traffic bore down on him. And the longest lines through a drive through McDonalds I have *EVER* seen...

India. There traffic laws are summarized as "who ever is biggest and drives most agressively has the right of way..." Stop signs are a suggestion, and blowing through a traffic circle in a minivan while weaving through traffic and simultaneously dodging a mule pulling a cement cart, and an on-going 10 ton lorry is just part of the daily drive... Don't watch the road, look out the window and talk pleasantly to your companions in the vehicle. It's much better for your nerves.....

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I kept thumping my right foot down as I kept reaching for a non-existant brake, over and over..

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That's hilarious- I've done that too.

I've seen clips of driving in India and NO WAY would I ever attempt to drive there myself. I think I'd probably shut my eyes in the passenger seat and hope I didn't meet my maker too lol.

How is traffic in Seattle, Portland, and LA on the weekends? We are still open on what days we leave and return.

How does this look for the way down:

-Leave *early* from Abbotsford BC
-Drive hard first day to Redding (11 hrs driving time with two drivers)
I expect to arrive quite late with bio/gas stops, and very tired.

Morning of day 2 see either sundial bridge and/or shasta Dam at the vista point(no tours, just quick stops) The hotel I might choose is fairly close to both. If we aren't completely wiped we might be able to do one of these stops before we reach the hotel. Night photos would probably be beautiful at either.

Late morning of Day 2
Redding to Monterey (5 hrs+stops)

-Monterey to San Simeon with some quick photo stops (3 hrs + stops)

Stay in San Simeon Night 2

See Point Piedras Blancas elephant seal rookery in the am. I realize in September there won't be many seals there, but there should be some according to the website.

San Luis Obispo to LA and then Anaheim (4 hrs)

Arrive hopefully before or after rush hour to get settled into hotel for Night 3.

Thoughts?!?

That's not an unreasonable schedule..

The first day is going to be the longest drive, but I-5 is fast and a good road. If you're heading across from Abbotsford, I hope you're doing the Medirian crossing or near Sumas when they open. My epxerience has been Blaine can be nasty -- but I recall having to sit at Sumas a while waiting for the border to open one early morning.

A couple of other random comments --

Just do a bit of internet surfing around and come up with sort of mental priority list of what to see. For example, given say 4 hours in Monterey area, what would youl like to see or visit? Cannery Row? The Aquarium? Walk out on the pier for dinner? Carmel and the 17 mile drive? etc.

If you're coming down Coast 1, be aware that the elephant seal colony is about 10 miles north of San Simeon. You might want to try to catch this on the way down, ratther than backtracking. You ought to be able to do the drive down Big Sur, the elephant Seal Colony and the Hearst Castle tour in one day -- without killing yourself running between sights.

It's about 4 hours without traffic Anaheim to SLO. With traffic, things can take longer. Just have this in mind... If you have some time to kill near Anaheim, you might consider having a secondary stop to fill in a couple of hours before the hotels start taking people in for the evening (2 O'clock check in or the like). This might include (as wild suggestions.. Long Beach drive through tour -- Queen Mary, Aquarium of the Pacific, etc.), or down along the coast in the "OC", including Huntington Beach (Surf City), and Newport Beach.

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If you're heading across from Abbotsford, I hope you're doing the Medirian crossing or near Sumas when they open.

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Yes, we'll be crossing at Sumas. It's the only crossing we've ever used and have never had too much delay. Heading south anyways.

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Just do a bit of internet surfing around and come up with sort of mental priority list of what to see. For example, given say 4 hours in Monterey area, what would youl like to see or visit? Cannery Row? The Aquarium? Walk out on the pier for dinner? Carmel and the 17 mile drive? etc.

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On our second day , we first have to drive from Redding to Monterey which shows as being a 5 hr drive right there. Conservatively leaving at 9am from Redding (sleepyhead start?!) we wouldn't reach Monterey until 2pm. Three more hours to San Simeon puts us at 5pm.

I don't think we'll have a lot of time to dawdle since I will probably want to pull over frequently for photos but I'll add some stops to the list incase we're making really good time and can afford to. We could definately see the Elephant Seal Rookery that night before reaching our hotel then like you suggested rather than backtracking. Thanks for the heads up.

It does open up the next morning to see the Hearst Castle :D which I didn't think we'd be able to do, and maybe something else between there and LA and still make it to LA for check in. With two long days, on that third day I want to get settled, maybe have a nice sitdown dinner, a swim, and head to bed early so we can be rested for our first day at Disneyland.

Counting our drive from Redding in the morning, do you think we'd be able to see both the Cannery Row and do the 17 mile scenic drive (and maybe stop for quick lunch at either) and still make it to the seal rookery before dark?

I'm busy looking on google maps and trying to plan a route and print directions but it seems to put me somewhere in the middle of somewhere instead of how it would probably be to really drive it.

I've booked hotel for first night in Redding, and second night in San Simeon so I'm repeating my question for those of you familiar with the drive/area/fall crowds.

'

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Counting our drive from Redding in the morning, do you think we'd be able to see both the Cannery Row and do the 17 mile scenic drive (and maybe stop for quick lunch at either) and still make it to the seal rookery before dark?

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Hi QuirkySue,

From Redding to Monterey is about 5 hours drive via freeways. If you're an early riser, and don't do a lot of stops you could make it to Monterey for for lunch. That would give you at least a bit to walk around Cannery Row.

From Monterey to San Simeon is doable in about 2 hours, not including stops. If your target is to get into San Simeon about dusk, you could possibly do the 17 mile drive, or a quick walk around Cannery Row. Figure something about...

7 am departure
12 noon arrive monterey -- 90 minutes to look around
1:30 depart
4:30 arrive Pedros Blancas Elephant Seal Colony (with an hour for different scenic stops)
5:00 arrive San Simeon

You're not hitting rush hour traffic through SF (I'm assuming you're not going through SF itself, but east of the bay through Concord, and skirting San Jose on the east side)

If my experience holds, you'll see some stop & go traffic on Coast Highway between Monterey and Carmel, but its only for like 2 miles (has to do with the layout of the road there it seems) But overall, ought to be a quick trip.

Thank you very much - that was very helpful!

We might leave a little later than 7am, and therefore arrive in San Simeon a little bit later, but it's nice to see it's possible to have a slightly more relaxed afternoon with stops and breaks here and there and still make it in reasonably good time. :D