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West Coast US Tour - advice


Skids

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@Ziffer - sounds like a well thought-out route, I'll check it out, Thank you. :beer:

 

edit: just taken a quick Google Maps look at that route. I never would have thought to head to the Olympic National Park, the start of Route 101 and the rest of that route looks stunning. Cheers.

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I know this will be on 4 wheels, but if you can find the time do the drive on CA36 between Fortuna and Red Bluff and just imagine doing so on a motorcycle.  It's one of the best rides in the entire country.  Up there with 12/24 through Utah and Route 550 through Colorado.

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11 hours ago, vfrgiving said:

CA36 between Fortuna and Red Bluff

 

This is indeed a great route, but it used to have a really fun roller-coaster like section about 10 miles west of Red Bluff. Sadly, the best part was straightened out some years back.

This video shows how that looked back in 2003. The neutered segment starts at about 2:05 mins in:

 

Highway 36 near Red Bluff, Ca.

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Following/reading with interest.

Well, Misses Dutchy and me are planning to "do the west coast" too this year, half july-half august.

Our 25th wedding anniversary is this year, so another honeymoon is due!  (1st 'luna di miel' was a road trip through Cuba 🙂 )  

Never been west of the Mississippi.

Will be driving too., we have 4 weeks at our disposal. 

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If anybody is coming thru NW Washington State on their tours (and you should), I would love to meet up at a breakfast, lunch or dinner stop on your way thru if interested.  Will travel.

 

@Ziffer We should get lunch this spring.  Longhorn, Train Wreck, Brown Lantern, ?  I head east from Edmonds towards Duvall and take back roads to Burlington.  Then across the flats onto Whidbey and back home on a ferry.  It's a good day ride, with occasional side trips into Bow and/or Anacortes depending on start time / progress.  Been a really long time since I've been to the Cliff House (now closed?), I rarely get up near Bellingham.  But depending on the day of the week, sometimes I might go up and down Chuckanut. 

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11 hours ago, Captain 80s said:

If anybody is coming thru NW Washington State on their tours (and you should), I would love to meet up at a breakfast, lunch or dinner stop on your way thru if interested.  Will travel.

 

@Ziffer We should get lunch this spring.  Longhorn, Train Wreck, Brown Lantern, ?  I head east from Edmonds towards Duvall and take back roads to Burlington.  Then across the flats onto Whidbey and back home on a ferry.  It's a good day ride, with occasional side trips into Bow and/or Anacortes depending on start time / progress.  Been a really long time since I've been to the Cliff House (now closed?), I rarely get up near Bellingham.  But depending on the day of the week, sometimes I might go up and down Chuckanut. 

 

Oh, hell yeah! Maybe I can ride part of that with you. Sounds like a great route.

 

And, yeah, I should have mentioned the last time I was at the Cliff House was pre-pandemic, so I don't know if it's still open.

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On 1/31/2023 at 10:32 PM, Skids said:

I never would have thought to head to the Olympic National Park, the start of Route 101

 

Yes, this route avoids the cities. Of course, I can see how, if you've never been through Seattle, you'd want to see it, but at this point, I think Seattle is an embarrassment. Which is sad, because ten years ago, Seattle was beautiful (as cities go). Also, the route I described above will keep you rolling, rather than being stuck in a long parking lot.

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11 hours ago, Ziffer said:

 

Yes, this route avoids the cities. Of course, I can see how, if you've never been through Seattle, you'd want to see it, but at this point, I think Seattle is an embarrassment. Which is sad, because ten years ago, Seattle was beautiful (as cities go). Also, the route I described above will keep you rolling, rather than being stuck in a long parking lot.

 

Totally agree.  Don't go any further south past the Edmonds Ferry, and get your ass towards the Olympic Mountains.   But the Northern route onto the Peninsula he described is absolutely, quintessential Pacific North West.  Incorporate a ferry ride at some point to complete the experience.

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Will try and book a camper rental package tomorrow, will be mid-june though mid july.  One month later the price goes up 4k....  😞

 

 

 

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6 hours ago, Dutchy said:

Will try and book a camper rental package tomorrow, will be mid-june though mid july.  One month later the price goes up 4k....  😞

 

 

 

Please let us know how you get on with the trip, any advice or lessons etc.

 

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Time of the year is a more important consideration for a trip to the Pacific NW than specific locations are.  We have so much wildfire smoke at the end of the summer that picking that time period is risky.  June and early July are relatively predictably clear skies, but late July, August and early September might be considered asking for trouble.  Smoke can be so bad that it isn't just an inconvenience, it can be downright dangerous to human health.  

 

Locals ride all summer long, but we follow the wildfire smoke apps daily to pick routes.  

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On 2/5/2023 at 1:09 PM, Oregonian said:

Locals ride all summer long, but we follow the wildfire smoke apps daily to pick routes.  

 

What a tragedy there are multiple apps for to monitor and check routes for wildfire smoke.  😞 

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On 2/5/2023 at 6:15 PM, Skids said:

Please let us know how you get on with the trip, any advice or lessons etc.

 

Now planning from 4 through 26th june.

Flying to/from SF.

Rental company El Monte.

Rather than pre-booking all campsites in advance, we intend to book a few for the 1st week and than as we get along.

Or is this a bad idea??

 

 

Rough outline

Screenshot_20230207-100214_Chrome.thumb.jpg.f544c771b563dd5ab946f0ac92627da6.jpg

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6 hours ago, Dutchy said:

Now planning from 4 through 26th june.

Flying to/from SF.

Rental company El Monte.

Rather than pre-booking all campsites in advance, we intend to book a few for the 1st week and than as we get along.

Or is this a bad idea??

 

You're going to have a great time Dutchy!

 

I'm guessing from your route that you will be hitting many of the great national parks: Sequoia, Yosemite, Death Valley, Zion, Bryce, Grand Canyon, maybe Moab and Capitol Reef. Good choice, but as you know this is peak tourist season--Yosemite alone gets 4-5 million visitors per year, mostly in the summer, so camping spots for your RV may be at a premium near the parks, book ahead where possible.

 

Pretty spectacular, though:

 

IMG_3931.JPG

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100% book ahead as much as possible.  Camping has increased even more in popularity and most places (at least here in Washington State) are reservation only and are booked out months (up to 11 months, 29 days) in advance.  Unless you like camping in a Wal-Mart parking lot. 

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7 hours ago, Dutchy said:

Go big! 😇

 

167527648_C28buitenkant_big.thumb.jpg.0b05d81afd0004aab2a8f6f085bf3bdc.jpg

 

250556175_3.C28Floorplan_big.thumb.jpg.7926eb39ee3c4afa7769aa56ba5423db.jpg

YOU CALL THAT AN RV? THAT'S NOT AN RV! I'm really looking forward to the pics and stories from you and Skids.

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1 hour ago, Sweeper said:

YOU CALL THAT AN RV? THAT'S NOT AN RV! I'm really looking forward to the pics and stories from you and Skids.

Oh there's plenty of time for Mrs Skids to change her mind and tell me she wants to sit on a deck chair on Cleethorpes beach for 2 weeks. 

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10 hours ago, Dutchy said:

Go big! 😇

Indeed. Looks like plenty of room to carry your VF500. Sure, the Gilera is smaller & lighter but not so comfy for Mrs Dutchy.

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You can find out about California road conditions here: https://roads.dot.ca.gov

 

Death Valley NP might be pretty hot when you are there, and some roads don't allow vehicles longer than 25 feet. Death Valley conditions

There are terrific view of the Sierra Nevada mountains along Hwy 395 between Death Valley and Lake Tahoe.

 

Looks like you'll be visiting Grand Canyon. If so, and you are going to South Rim then consider the train from Williams: https://www.thetrain.com

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5 minutes ago, Lorne said:

Death Valley NP might be pretty hot when you are there, and some roads don't allow vehicles longer than 25 feet. Death Valley conditions

I rode a Hardley Driveable through Death Valley in late July 2012. It was 47c at 10 am in Furnace Creek and something like 53c at 2pm. Luckily we made it to Lone Pine before    lunch and sat in the motel pool for a couple of hours. Amazing that the Hardley Road King survived!

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Rental and flights are confirmed.

I've asked the consultant (who has done these trips) to draft an itinary and suggest campsites.

Any 1st hand suggestions from you guys (and girls!)??

 

Decided to remove LA from the trip and spend 2 more days in the parks

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On 2/8/2023 at 11:23 AM, Dutchy said:

Rental and flights are confirmed.

I've asked the consultant (who has done these trips) to draft an itinary and suggest campsites.

Any 1st hand suggestions from you guys (and girls!)??

 

Decided to remove LA from the trip and spend 2 more days in the parks

...is the right answer!

 

I grew up there, and wouldn't put it on any "must-see" list.

 

The only thing I would consider "missing" from your itinerary is any venturing north of SF.  Wine country (Napa and Sonoma Counties) is lovely, and that part of the state has always held a somewhat magical attraction for me.  Maybe something to do with the road trips my friends and I used to take to Sears Point all those years ago.  But, you'll get some excellent similar territory in the central and mountain parts of the state.

 

We're thinking of visiting CA this summer, too.  I haven't been back since 2018... :blush:

 

Ciao,

 

JZH

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^ Yes certainly book ahead, since Covid, camping is the new hobby it seems. Used to be great to go out in the middle of nowhere for the weekend, now it's crowded even in remote areas!

 

Good thing you guys are coming out in the summer time, this was Alice's today! Compare to the pics I posed of it above (page 1)...:laugh: Welcome to Wallyfornia!

 

 

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San Francisco

 

Yosemite national park

 

Seqouia national park

 

Las Vegas

 

Zion national park

 

Brcye Canyon national park

 

Page/Lake Powell

 

Grand Canyon national park

 

Kingman

 

Joshua Tree national park

 

Malibu/Santa Barbara

 

Pismo Beach area

 

Monterey/Carmel by the Sea

 

San Francisco

 

 

Camppersites will be booked in advance.

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