Forum Discussion

Desert_Captain's avatar
Desert_Captain
Explorer III
Jul 12, 2014

North on 395 from I-15 to Lake Tahoe or???

We will be heading up to Lake Tahoe from Tucson in the middle of August and would like to avoid going up 95 from Vegas through western Nevada (too hot, boring and just plain ugly). Taking 395 north along the eastern slopes of the Sierra's looks doable but haven't been on 395 in 20 years and am wondering about the road conditions and what sort of temps to expect.

The other option is to go further west then north up the central valley, preferably not on I-5 but that will probably be just as hot as Nevada and not as scenic as 395. We have a 24' Class C and are figuring on doing about 350 miles a day for an easy 2.5 day run.

Thanks for any input you can share.

:?
Roads and Routes
  • Lauren's avatar
    Lauren
    Explorer
    Jul 12, 2014
    We have done the 395 many times when we go from Tucson area to the OR Coast - in fact, we will be coming back down it again later in the summer / fall. Love that road. We have standard places we stay - Likely, Lee Vining, Lone Pine, etc. DO NOT plan to buy fuel anywhere near Lee Vining....they must fill it with gold for the price they get.
  • missourijan's avatar
    missourijan
    Explorer
    Jul 12, 2014
    X2 on what Litch said. We have traveled 395 many times from Ventura County up to the Reno area. Good road, grades aren't more than 6%, a lot of it is 4 lanes. Yes, it can be in the 90's. Last year we traveled across Hwy 6 in NV in late June, it was 106. If you look at the map Hwy 6 meets up with 395, north of Bishop. However, the temps should be less than coming up 95. I would avoid I 5, it could be 100 through the central valley and I 5 or I 99 are both rough. If you are going to stop in Bishop, there's a Tri County Fairgrounds on Sierra St that has full hookups for $25, all back ins, assuming no events going on.
  • Litch's avatar
    Litch
    Explorer
    Jul 12, 2014
    Desert Captain wrote:
    dkreuzen wrote:
    395 is a good route but you will need to get above about 6000ft to escape the heat.


    Thanks for the responses. How much of 395 gets that high? Seems like most of it is down along the foothills of the eastern Sierra, should I expect temps in the 90's or more? :h


    After you leave Bishop at 4150' you start climbing. Mammoth Lakes is around 7800', Lee Vining is 6781', climb over Conway Summit is 8143' and Bridgeport is 6463'. So yes, 395 is in the mountains on the east side of the Sierra, but not foothills by any means.
  • Desert_Captain's avatar
    Desert_Captain
    Explorer III
    Jul 12, 2014
    dkreuzen wrote:
    395 is a good route but you will need to get above about 6000ft to escape the heat.


    Thanks for the responses. How much of 395 gets that high? Seems like most of it is down along the foothills of the eastern Sierra, should I expect temps in the 90's or more? :h
  • dkreuzen's avatar
    dkreuzen
    Explorer
    Jul 12, 2014
    395 is a good route but you will need to get above about 6000ft to escape the heat.
  • Marv_Hoag's avatar
    Marv_Hoag
    Explorer
    Jul 12, 2014
    395 is a good road. It will be a little slower than 95, more small town to go through. I'd choose it over your other choices in a heartbeat.

About Bucket List Trips

13,487 PostsLatest Activity: Jan 18, 2025