Forum Discussion

crandle's avatar
crandle
Explorer
Nov 05, 2016

California Coastal Route

We are planing on heading south on Coastal Highway 101 from Washington to California in our 31 foot Class C towing a car. Combined length is 50 feet. We eventually want to get back over to I-5 far enough down into CA to avoid the mountain passes on I-5.

My options seem to be SR 36 and SR 20 as I have been on the end of SR 1 where it goes into San Francisco and would like to avoid that experience. I am used to narrow, steep roads as we have used this rig in Mexico for many years so I have a high fear threshold. :)

I am just looking for some advice of the best route to take from 101 east to I-5 somewhere north of San Francisco. Thanks.
Roads and Routes
  • Nunyadamn's avatar
    Nunyadamn
    Explorer
    Nov 05, 2016
    I have taken the 20 over from the 5 to the 101 and then over to the 1. It is a decent road. Better than the 1 and worse than the 101. I stayed at a campground right near the 101/20 called Bushay Campground (Bushay Campground - Ukiah, CA 95482). It was right on a lake but there is only one spot with electric that I found (spot 94 - it doesn't show on reserveamerica.com website map, but if you type it in the search for specific sites it shows. It says 30ft back in, but it is about 75 foot back in).
  • crandle's avatar
    crandle
    Explorer
    Nov 05, 2016
    Thanks everyone. I will keep SR20 as a backup plan but I would actually prefer SR36 as it would allow us to stock up on olives at The Olive Pit in Corning. Does anyone have any experience with that road?
  • MarkTwain's avatar
    MarkTwain
    Explorer
    Nov 05, 2016
    crandle wrote:
    Thanks everyone. I will keep SR20 as a backup plan but I would actually prefer SR36 as it would allow us to stock up on olives at The Olive Pit in Corning. Does anyone have any experience with that road?


    Hwy. 36 is ok for donkeys and motorcycles, not recommended for RV's:( I would take Hwy. 299 into Redding @ I-5. Corning is about 1 hr. south.
  • korbe's avatar
    korbe
    Explorer
    Nov 05, 2016
    Don't quite understand your avoidance of I-5 mountain passes, but If your loop is to come down 101 to north of SF and then back north on I-5, I would take hwy 299 back over to I-5. Anything south of Redding on 5 is kinda on the boring side. But north from Redding on 5 is a nice trip.
  • CA_Traveler's avatar
    CA_Traveler
    Explorer III
    Nov 06, 2016
    Another option is 101, 37, 80, 780, 680, 580, 5. This involves bay area traffic while the other above routes involve Sac and Stockton traffic.
  • CA_Traveler's avatar
    CA_Traveler
    Explorer III
    Nov 06, 2016
    BTW The mountain pass you will avoid is the Siskiyous but unless you cut back to 101 other mountains are in your future.
  • crandle's avatar
    crandle
    Explorer
    Nov 06, 2016
    We are just looking for something a little different from the old I-5 to Bakersfield route we have taken every year for the last 16 years since I retired. We live on the coast of Vancouver Island and have not been on 101 for about twenty years, so it is just an option we want to explore. Our destination is Yuma, AZ and then, who knows? My only concern is getting back to I-5.

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