First time in USA- Driving from San Fran to Seattle

[Lifemagician]

Aww! Renee, that was in 2001. Gee I am not sure. I never saw a map of the place, I just followed my nose (and signposts), and fly by the seat of my pants.

Trying to remember, and looking at that map, which as I said, I have not seen before, it was probably to Horseshoe Bend. There was a lady there counting the mountain sheep and wild horses. She was from some volunteer society. We talked for ages, and then it was time for me to head on, it was getting late. That night I stayed in Dayton.

My only concern when I read your posts (and most others who post here), is that you seem not to allow time to enjoy these interruptions along the way. I could never book myself to your time schedule. I drive until I am ready to stop, and then I find a motel. So long as I am quarter way through the trip when quarter way through the time, etc. I just enjoy whatever I meet along the way, and never know where I am going or will be the next day.

Enjoy!!

Lifey

[reneec133]

Hi everyone, me again!

So it is getting close to our trip (feels like forever ago we started planning). We have booked or decided on most of the details for the trip, however are still unsure about one section.

We are hiring a car in San Fran on 9th June and driving to Yosemite. We are staying 3 nights in Yosemite, thus leaving on the 12th of June. Then we are stuck... We need to be in Portland by the 18th of June so we have 6 nights to travel that distance. The places that interest us include:

-Redwoods
-Lake Tahoe
-Crater Lake
-Mt Shashta
-Mt Lassen NP

We are conscious that it will still be spring and we could face chilly weather and unmelted snow. I have researched Lassen & Crater Lake in spring and sometimes the roads are not even cleared that early in the season by the sounds of things.

Has anyone travelled to any of the above places and can give some advice on what would be the best to see in Spring.

Cheers,

Renee

P.S. Any cool names for a travel blog?

[Lifemagician]

P.S. Any cool names for a travel blog?

Renee, why not post it here, for future roadtrippers to read. Your experiences will help others. Besides that, we like to hear how you got on, and see some of the places you went.

Lifey

[Southwest Dave]

Hi Renee.

You certainly have time to hit all the destinations you have mentioned in your 6/7 day time frame from Yosemite to Portland. You are right that you could see varied weather conditions, but Crater and Lassen are open year round. There maybe limited access with some roads closed, but it can also be quite spectacular without the crowds. Being a short season, these places can get pretty packed out in the height of season and Crater Lake is on my 'to do ' list in June, with images of deep blue waters and sky's broken by the white of snow covered mountain peaks, in my mind. [Not to say it will be !]

You could leave SF via the Golden Gate Bridge to Muir woods for some Redwoods, or you would need to zig-zag a little to and from the coast and add quite a few miles, if you wanted to visit the Humboltd forest and Redwood NP for example. Altogether a different species, you also have the option to visit the Giant Sequoia trees near the south kiosk of Yosemite in Mariposa Grove.

If you were to go from Mt Shasta to Crater Lake you could consider continuing through Bend OR to Hood River and head into Portland along the Columbia River Gorge.

Hopefully the Tioga pass [CA120] will be open [very good chance] and I would certainly take that route over the Sierras and then up to Tahoe.

[glc]

Correct, Lassen and Crater Lake are open year-round, but vehicle access is VERY limited till they get all the snow cleared. Right now at Lassen, the entrances are open only to the visitor's center which is right inside the entrance. Until the main park road is open (CA-89), there's really no point in going, you can't see anything. The snow cover at the south entrance right now is 7.5 feet. At Crater Lake, the Rim Drive will be closed well into spring and possibly summer - the only year-round access is the south entrance to the Rim Village. At least you can get that far and actually see the lake.

[reneec133]

Thanks for the input guys. I guess we will just look at the weather before we leave Australia and see if the snow has cleared/roads are open. We heard that the snow fall on the west coast was not as heavy this past winter compared to usual...?

[Waughc01]

We are planning a very similar trip to yourself and wondered what your final route map looked like:)

[Southwest Dave]

Thanks for the input guys. I guess we will just look at the weather before we leave Australia and see if the snow has cleared/roads are open. We heard that the snow fall on the west coast was not as heavy this past winter compared to usual...?

There has been nowhere near the normal snowfall in the Sierras, although I am not sure how the Cascades are fairing, I would think it is a similar story. Lassen can open anytime from mid May to Mid July and all you can do is keep an eye on the weather and current conditions as you go.

[Southwest Dave]

We are planning a very similar trip to yourself and wondered what your final route map looked like:)

Hi Waugh01, welcome to the RTA forums !

I hope you have found RTA to be helpful in your planning. If you would like to discuss your trip in more detail, you are more than welcome to create your own thread and ask specific questions. There will be quite a few route options, and different ways to 'tweak' your route, so I will leave your question to the original poster, for them to respond to in the meantime.

Dave.

[reneec133]

Thanks for that info Dave.

Waugh here is our route, I hope it is helpful!

3/06- Fly into LA, CA (stay 3 nights)
6/06- Fly to San Fran, CA (stay 3 nights)
9/06- Yosemite NP, CA (3 nights)
12/06- Lake Tahoe, CA (2 nights)
14/06- Lassen Volcanic NP, CA (1 night)
15/06- Crater Lake, OR (2 nights)
17/06- Bend, OR (1 night) (4.3 hours to Portland via Columbia Gorge)
18/06- Portland, OR (2 nights)
20/06- Mt St Helens (Castle Rock), WA (1 night)
21/06- Mt Rainer NP (Paradise), WA (2 nights)
23/06- Seattle, WA (1 night)
24/06- Alaska Cruise (8 nights)
2/07- Arrive in Seattle early morning from cruise. Drive to Vancouver, BC (3 nights)
5/07- Vancouver Island- Victoria, BC (1 night)
6/07- Vancouver Island – Cowichan Bay, BC (2 nights)
8/07- Whistler, BC (2 nights)
10/07- Clearwater, BC (1 night)
11/07- Jasper, AB (2 nights)
13/07- Moraine Lake Lodge, AB (4 nights)
17/07- Banff, AB (3 nights)
20/07- Calgary, AB (1 night)
21/07- Waterton Lakes NP, AB (2 nights)
23/07- Glacier NP, MT (2 nights)
25/07- Helena, MT (1 night)
26/07- Yellowstone NP, WY (3 nights)
29/07- Red Lodge, MT (1 night)
30/07- Sheridan, WY (1 night)
31/07 Keystone, SD (1 night)
1/08 Badlands NP, SD (1 night)
2/08- Sioux Falls, SD (1 night)
3/08- La Crosse, WI (1 night)
4/08- Arrive Chicago, IL (2 nights)
6/08- Fly to Toronto (2 nights)
8/08 Fly to New York, NY (12 nights)
20/08- Fly to Las Vegas, NV (2 nights)
22/08- Fly to LA, CA (1 night)
23/08- Fly home to Melbourne, Aus

So excited!!!