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Hello! First timer here.
Planned to go to Victoria, Canada. We are starting from LA to Seattle. On our way to Seattle, we would like to stop by Sacramento and spend a night there before heading to Seattle to take ferry from Port Angeles (Seattle) to Victoria.
Coming back to LA, we would like another route (not through Sacramento anymore).
Any suggestions for our trip is highly appreciated. This is our first time. We need all the tips and tricks to do this.
Thank you.
Welcome to RTA!
First off - how much time were you planning to take for the trip north and then the trip south?
LA to Sacto is just under 400 miles -- a nice comfortable day's drive on I-5. Then it's another 800 mi up to Victoria via the ferry -- another 2 day drive, including that ferry ride.
If you have at least 5 days, you could come down the coast all the way from WA down to LA. If you don't have that much time, you could do part of it on the coast and part of it inland.
Do you have maps, or are you trying to plan this from online mapping programs or a GPS? I highly recommend paper maps.
Donna
Thank you Donna. We have 2 weeks for this trip, LA to Victoria and back.
From Sac to Seattle, considering we have an 11-year old boy, which city would you recommend for us to spend the night, stop and maybe visit a place/places that our son would like.
I planned to use GPS but since you recommended paper maps, I'll buy one. Thank you.
You can get a good atlas at most big box stores, or a good book store. If you're a member of AAA, maps come "free" with your membership, just request them.
On the way up, on the first day, you could swing into Crater Lake National Park (southern Oregon). You could spend a few hours there, then spend the night in Roseburg. (Introducing children to national parks is a great thing, IMHO.) On the way up the next day, drive through Mt Rainier NP. Or, if you can spare a day for either one, it would be (IMHO) time well spent.
Donna
If you plan to get from L.A. to Victoria in three days with a stopover in Sacramento, then I'd suggest that perhaps Eugene OR is a reasonable lace to spend your other over-night. There are a couple of things you need to take into account and balance. If you are staying with friends or family, or have another significant reason for stopping in Sacramento, then you probably won't get a terribly early start and so need to cut down a bit on the second day's driving goal. On the other hand, you absolutely have to leave time for getting to the ferry a bit early (Make reservations!!!) and you'll want the crossing to be in daylight hours so that your son can really enjoy it. At just under 500 miles from Sacramento, Eugene is possible even on a slightly shortened day. Then it's only about 350 miles from Eugene to Port Angeles to catch the ferry, meaning you should easily be able to catch the 5:20 PM sailing to Victoria.
Note: It is not necessary to go through Seattle to get to Port Angeles, if fact it would be out of the way. Better would be to leave I-5 at Olympia and take US-101. Be careful here - I'm not sure how it is marked, but this section of US-101 is actually the tail end of the highway after it has hooked around through the Olympic Peninsula and so it may be marked as US-101 South(!) even though it's headed north. But this will be a far more scenic and less congested drive than heading up I-5 thorough Tacoma and Seattle . Indeed, if you went all the way to Seattle, you'd have to take another ferry across Puget Sound to get to Port Angeles.
For the drive home along the coast, you'll need four days at a minimum. Five would be better, there's so much to see. Highlights for an 11 year old boy would include Fort Clatsop outside Astoria OR, Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area, Redwood National Park, Point Reyes National Seashore, and Monterey's Aquarium as well as many other smaller coastal state parks and historic sites.
AZBuck
Thank you Donna and AZBuck for the tips. A lot of information to digest for a first timer but got me excited at the same time.
And yes, we are staying/visiting a cousin in Sacramento, that's why it's included as our stopover.
Yes, we like national parks.
Now I have to get that paper map.
If there's anything that I need to know, please. Thank you.
Hint: You can avoid Seattle traffic by just taking 101 from Olympia, WA to Port Angeles.
Thank you.
AAA has maps?
On our way back, taking the coast (101), which cities would you recommend we spend the night considering we have 4 days spend stopping at the national parks, etc.
AAA has maps which are free for members.
Thank you. Will definitely drop by their office then.
The coast is slow going as not only do you pass through small towns there are just so many great views to stop and admire. The Redwoods are quite a treat and something you should allow time for so if you only have 3 nights you may have to skip some of the coast. On the way 'up' your son [and you] may enjoy Lassen Volcanic park after Sacramento but you will have to pick and choose as there is so much to see ! The longer you can spend on the road the better in my opinion. You can check out a few of the 'Wonders of the West' between LA and Port Angeles here. [Start on page 2 from Lassen as you are heading to Sacramento]
With 101 and 4 days, You can go Aberdeen, Astoria and all the way down to California coast via 101. It's slow going but very enjoyable drive with many stops along the way. Many hotel options along the way as well. There are couple resort places on 101 in Oregon (example: Best Western Ocean View resort) Seaside OR.
As I noted in my first response, four days is the minimum needed for a relaxing drive down the coast from Victoria to Los Angeles with no stops. It is not enough to enjoy any of the many great venues along the way. You also have to consider that your first day is going to be pretty short to start with. The first ferry of the day leaves Victoria at 10:30 AM and is scheduled to arrive in Port Angeles at noon. Again - Make reservations! That means you really only have about a half day to drive on that first day. With that in mind, what I'd recommend if you only have four days for the southbound journey is the following. On Day 1, plan on stopping at Fort Clatsop for your major stop and aim for Wheeler OR for your overnight stop. On Day 2, your major stop would be Oregon Dunes National Recreational Area and Crescent City/Orick CA would be your target for the night. If you arrive early, get to Orick and perhaps see the Redwoods. For Day 3, plan on spending some time in the Redwoods if you haven't seen them already and/or at Point Reyes National Seashore and spend the night in the San Francisco area. You can also make shorter visits at some of the many, many state parks along the coast.
Obviously, this leaves your fourth and final day to get back to Los Angeles which necessarily means using I-5 rather than the Pacific Coast Highway (PCH). But that's a section of the coast that you can visit at your leisure from your home(?) in Los Angeles. Again, a fifth day would give you significantly more time out of the car since almost all of that time could be spent at attractions along the way, assuming you still don't use the PCH between San Francisco and Los Angeles.
AZBuck
Between SF and LA, US-101 is an option - it's near-freeway quality and can be done in 1 day. It's a lot more scenic than I-5 or CA-99.
Thank you everyone.
If we will not make a stop in Sacramento, going to Port Angeles, what route can we take. Is it possible to get to the Port make it to the 5:20pm sail, for 2 days? Say we start early from LA, can we make it to the 5:20pm sail the following day?
Thank you again.
P.S. got maps from AAA already.
It's nearly 1200 miles from Los Angeles to Port Angeles by the most direct route. That's already at the far limit of what would be possible with two long days of driving. Also, remember that the last 150 miles of that will be on two-lane surface roads. Even under the best of conditions you couldn't be at Port Angeles by late in the afternoon (say 4:30-5:00) which you'd need to be in order to board the ferry before it leaves the dock at 5:20.
AZBuck
Thank you.
We plan to leave the car when we go to Victoria. Is there any parking in or near the port? Or would you recommend it? I have a relative there but they are 3 hours away from the port, so I don't think it's doable to park in their place.
From the ferry's website:
"Parking is available in numerous privately operated lots within 1 or 2 blocks from our Port Angeles ferry terminal. Prices range from $5 - $15 per day."
AZBuck
Thank you AZBuck!
Port Angeles has similar homeless/drug issues as Seattle. Be sure to check the parking is secure and monitored 24x7. Most parking spots will not take a liabilities for broken cars.
Thank you for the heads up jm98.
Anybody tried parking there already? Remember the name of the parking lot?
Update: (ATM) on our way to Sacramento 😎