Driving Portland to Los Angeles Tomorrow

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Just found this forum! Hopefully someone has an idea or two...

I'm driving from Portland to Los Angeles via San Francisco tomorrow and looking for a halfway-ish place to stop for the night. A town that's off the beaten path is great- I don't need wifi or chain hotel. Love the mountains and cabin feel, ghost towns with good junk stores a plus. Also I drove cross country and found a number of Buddhist & Catholic Monasteries that offer donation based lodging. So I'm up for an adventure.

Thoughts appreciated! Thanks so much.

[Southwest Dave]

Hello and welcome to RTA !

I am not sure if you are looking for a half way point to SF or to LA ? If you only have 2 days for the complete journey and you need to go to SF then you really need to start out early and get to SF for the night, or at least nearby. The 630 odd miles between Portland and SF will take 11-12 hours with basic stops. Now if you were to stop overnight on route to SF, you could go across to the coast and the Redwoods and overnight in the area and then continue to SF on 101 and over the Golden Gate bridge.

[Lifemagician]

The HI in Sacramento is a unique mansion to stay at. I have stayed there several times. Don't worry about it being a hostel, it takes all ages. Secure parking, beautiful ambiance and more facilities than in a hotel, for a bargain price. It would rival any 4 star hotel.

Lifey

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Thanks so much! And to be more clear, I am driving from Portland to San Francisco and then to LA. My idea is to stop somewhere between Portland and SF for the night and then on to SF to see family. From there I'll drive straight to LA.

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That sounds pretty cool, life magician
thanks!

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Oh, and Southwest Dave my travel time is flexible by a few days.

[landmariner]

A nice stretch after I-5 to southern Oregon (Grant's Pass), is routing onto US 199 towards Crescent City and then south along US 101. Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park (Orick, CA) is great if you like to camp or Elk Prairie Campground (Orick, CA). The parks are located in the midst of the Redwood National Park. Hiking into the Lady Bird Johnson Grove (where the famous Star Wars Ewok scene was filmed) is an experience not to be forgotten.

You can then continue along US 101, or if you have time branch off to the coastal highway CA 1.