Road conditions for proposed shorter route

Cell service is quite good if you have Verizon, AT&T or US Cellular. The county road from Hwy 97 to Hwy 31 is 52 miles it's a good road and you might even see buffalo.

At Hwy 31 turn right to Silverlake, there gas station is only open a couple days a week but Christmas Valley will be open everyday. You may want to get fuel in Christmas Valley since it is 103 miles to Burns.

Christmas Valley/Fort Rock have some unique formations, Hole in the Ground, Fort Rock, Crack in the Ground, Derrick Caves and The Lost Forest, but all of these are on dirt/gravel roads.

I like taking the back also, Hwy 97 is a two lane road and has a lot of traffic and lots of accidents. Hwy 20 will have traffic but not as much as Hwy 97.

This is the route I would take rather than running through Bend.

The south entrance road to the Park (from 62) will have biggest climb and tightest curves on the whole route. And even there the curves won't be tighter than a freeway cloverleaf. If you can drive onto a freeway, or negotiate city streets you can drive any highway that does not explicitly exclude vehicles over a certain length (e.g. some of the paved wagon roads in California).

Sounds like it'll work for us. Just wanted to make sure we didn't wind up somewhere that we had to "buy a squirrel." (Rat Race reference). What about cell service on those roads?

And yes, we will be visiting Crater Lake. In fact it's the primary reason we're going. DH has been telling me about it for 45 years. It's time I see it for myself.

I see what your trying to do, and while I've never went that way, I'm looking at it for an upcoming trip. Very doable in your RV. Faster is maybe another ?? but I'm in no rush.

From Medford, if you want to visit Crater Lake you could stay at Joseph Stewart State Rec Area on Hwy 62. Lovely big sites. Or you could take 62 to 230/138 to the Diamond Lake area just north of Crater Lake and there's a park road into the national park from the north. There are RV parks and campgrounds at Diamond Lake. Or you could get into the national park from the south and the park has a campground.

From 230/138 at Diamond Lake go over to Hwy 97 and drive north on 97 to Hwy 20 at Bend, OR. Take Hwy 20 all the way to Meridian. This is 476 miles.

If you go via the route you proposed it's 461 miles so no big deal. Both are good routes.

On Hwy 20 you'll have Drinkwater/Stinkingwater Passes.

Drinkwater at MM177-1/2 is 5% for 1 mile - definitely not a biggie.

Stinkingwater at MM161 is 5-6% for 5 miles - again, no issue. Some spots on interstates can be 6%.

You won't have any hairpin turns, steep drop-offs or narrow country roads. Either route goes through gorgeous wide-open countryside on a very good wide secondary road.

Fill up in Bend at 97/20 or on Hwy 20 at Burns. If you're ready to stop for the night around Burns, there's a very nice RV park if you take Hwy 78 south a few miles from Burns. It's called Crystal Crane Hot Springs and you can even soak for a while if you want.

I'd take a secondary highway anytime over an interstate! Go for it....

If you have doubts about Silver Lake Hwy, you can take 97 all the way to Bend and then 20 east, or turn on to 31 at LaPine. Christmas Valley is flat with several interesting volcanic features. 31 is the Outback Scenic Byway.

On silverlake hwy there is about 40 mi. of a little windy road after that its wide open desert. Gas is available in Christmas Valley. We go that way all the time to the dunes. Hwy 20 is a good road to Burns and beyond. Big trucks use it all the time. Have a fun trip.

Can't help with a route as we have not been west, but we always check google earth view of the route if it's new. You can see the road, if there are shoulders or not, and follow it along like you are driving it. This also allows you to see the condition of the road - smooth, full of potholes etc.

Are you going to visit Crater Lake? Or does 'Crater lake area' just mean Medford? Crater Lake is a mountain top.

62 and 140 are the routes to the Lake. OR138 drops from the north entrance to US97 in a straight downgrade.

I've looked at Silver Lake Rd on the maps but haven't driven it. Most of the area between 97 and 395 is flat, almost desert. There is an upland to the west of 31 above Summer Lake, but you have to take forest service roads to get up there. There's also a Rim to the east of 395.

US20 and 26 are easy drives across eastern Oregon. 97 and 395 are flat straight drives (some grades on 395 north of Burns).

Online maps like Google Maps give you lots of information of highways. Simply noting the color of National Forests helps (the forests are in the mountains). Terrain mode shows relief and contours. Sat. mode shows whether the area is farmed, forested or grass land. Zoom in enough and you can see every curve. Streetview shows you steetlevel images of the route, showing the guardrails and drop offs - or flat desert views.