Calif Hwy 101

We want to drive from LA area to Astoria Oregon on Hwy 101 with our 38' motorhome and toad. Is this entire route easily done with our setup. Wife is not a fan of narrow roads with cliffs. Traffic doesn't really bother me and would probably stay on 101 thur the bay area unless I hear otherwise. Looking forward to input from my fellow RVers.

Highway 101 is often four lanes and very easy to negotiate with an RV. The highway your wife might be thinking about is Highway 1, the Pacific Coast Highway. The geometrics and alignment of Highway 1 are substantially different than 101.

Hwy 101 is the route I would take. Enjoy.

My 02.

I have taken coast hwy from Astoria to Southern Calif a few times. It's doable for your rig but there are sections where the driver doesn't get to take in the view as he/she is focused on keeping the rig on the road ... and if your wife is afraid of heights and cliffs then she maybe uncomfortable on some sections of the road and definitely don't try it on the Southerly return where she is on the Ocean side of the rig. IMO it's definitely worth doing once .. but we tend to use I-5 now.

the 101 thru SF is a 6 lane city street, then a crossing of the GG bridge.
101 in southern/central coast Oregon around Florence to Newport has some spots of narrow, sharp winding road. completely doable in your rig. Just take it slow in those sections. I don't remember what the north coast of Or. looks like.

When you go through the Bay Area there are a couple of choices. In San Jose switch over to I-280 to 19th Ave and go through San Francisco to the Golden Gate Bridge. In San Jose take I-880 to I80 and go over the Richmond San Rafael Bridge to Hwy 101. Both routes are subject to heavy traffic. Timing is important to avoid commuter traffic. Hitting San Jose about 9:30 to 10am is ideal. I've done both routes, the SF is the most direct, but city traffic.

Hwy 101 from S. Calif to the Columbia River (Astoria, Or.) is a must do RV adventure. Take it and you will have the trip of a life time.
Have a great trip and enjoy the ride.

We have made this trip twice in a 40ft Alfa See Ya ... loved the trip ... don't forget to watch for Elk

We have done this trip several times and would do it again. There is one narrow spot going through Richardson grove state park where one big tree is right on the side of the road. Going north the cliffs will be across the south bound lanes. Even south bound is not bad. Astoria has an awesome maritime museum BTW.

In reading posts some folks confuse Hwy 1 with Hwy 101.

Hwy 1 is not for big RVs.

Hwy 101 is just fine - no drop-offs - nothing scary. Plan to spend a night at Ancient Redwoods RV and take your towed vehicle for some great views of the redwoods and walk the easy trails near 101. It's a beautiful area. The whole trip is great. Have a good one! (But stay off Hwy 1 with your RV) :)

Don't take 101 through SF instead take 19th Ave off of 280 and stay in the center lane. About 6 miles of city traffic. Past SFO 380 is a short route to 280. From SJ 85, 280 is the best route. Right lane is required on the GG and it's actually 1' wider than the other lanes.

Almost all of the OR pulloffs are on the ocean side on a curve with little warning or oncoming traffic visibility.