We are looking for best route & cheap/free over night spotsfrom Crescent City Ca to Quartzsite Az in Jan thanks Ken

It might depend on the weather. If snowy in the mountains I would use IR 5 and go to the LA basin and then east on IR 10 to Quartzite. If the weather is good an option is to go to Reno and south on US 95 to Las Vegas and then continue south on US 95 to IR 10 and east a few miles to Quartzsite. If you have the luxury of finding a weather window the Nevada route has far less traffic. Between Reno and Tonopah it can snow as Tonopah is the same elevation at Lake Tahoe. South of Beatty Nevada snow is almost never a factor. Find a clear day and make the trip. From IR 5 to Reno the Feather River SR 70 is a relatively low pass across the mountains.

jmtandem - could you give a little more detail about getting from I5 to Reno via 70?

We'll be leaving, with a good weather window, our home base in Reno on the 18th. This year we want to get warmer sooner, last year we went East on I-80 to 95 then Vegas, so we are going West on I-80 to the 5 then South.There are more choices where to stay on the CA side of the Sierra's than there is going over to 95 then South plus you won't have to worry about any snow or freezing.

jmtandem wrote:It might depend on the weather. If snowy in the mountains I would use IR 5 and go to the LA basin and then east on IR 10 to Quartzite. If the weather is good an option is to go to Reno and south on US 95 to Las Vegas and then continue south on US 95 to IR 10 and east a few miles to Quartzsite. If you have the luxury of finding a weather window the Nevada route has far less traffic. Between Reno and Tonopah it can snow as Tonopah is the same elevation at Lake Tahoe. South of Beatty Nevada snow is almost never a factor. Find a clear day and make the trip. From IR 5 to Reno the Feather River SR 70 is a relatively low pass across the mountains.Thanks, I-5 sounds like the way to go. I have not been south of Modesto for 30 years and the thought of LA traffic is not my Idea of fun!

jmtandem - could you give a little more detail about getting from I5 to Reno via 70? There are several good roads between IR 5 and Reno north of Sacramento. Most work better if the weather is good, no snow. California SR 44, 36 or 70 all are good roads. IR 80 if the weather is good will work from Sacramento to Reno. It is not fun if snowing with the demand exceeding capacity and resulting slow downs, sometimes the road is closed due to accidents and sometimes Caltrans requires chains to go over the summit. However, if the weather is good, it is smooth sailing. The highest elevation on SR 70 is around 5000 feet, Donner Summit on IR 80 is about 7200 feet, often enough elevation change to make a difference between rain and snow depending on your route. Between Reno and Beatty on US 95 it can snow and can be windy but if you catch a weather window the six hour drive is usually on dry pavement. South of Beatty it almost never snows as Beatty is a few short miles from Death Valley. Beatty has several RV parks and restaurants and is an oasis in the desert. It is about two hours from Las Vegas.SR 70 can be accessed just south of Chico and will connect with US 395 about 20 miles north of Reno. The largest town is Quincy and the drive is very interesting with tunnels, bridges, and it follows the Feather River a large part of the distance. It has some hills but they pale compared to other Sierra crossings.

Crescent City Ca to Quartzsite Az | Good Sam Community

DougE
Explorer
Dec 05, 2013
jmtandem - could you give a little more detail about getting from I5 to Reno via 70?
jmtandem
Explorer II
Dec 05, 2013
It might depend on the weather. If snowy in the mountains I would use IR 5 and go to the LA basin and then east on IR 10 to Quartzite. If the weather is good an option is to go to Reno and south on US 95 to Las Vegas and then continue south on US 95 to IR 10 and east a few miles to Quartzsite. If you have the luxury of finding a weather window the Nevada route has far less traffic. Between Reno and Tonopah it can snow as Tonopah is the same elevation at Lake Tahoe. South of Beatty Nevada snow is almost never a factor. Find a clear day and make the trip. From IR 5 to Reno the Feather River SR 70 is a relatively low pass across the mountains.

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