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Berkyeng's avatar
Berkyeng
Explorer
Nov 18, 2019

Road Trip! BC to California

Hi All

I’m new to the forum and was hoping to get some advice!

My family purchased our first Diesel Pusher (2009 Berkshire 390BH) this summer. We have been travel trailer RV-ers for over a decade but wanted to take it to the next level. Living in southeastern British Columbia, we are used to spending our summers hitting great RV destinations in BC, Alberta, and the northwestern US.

Now that we have a bigger rig, we want to expand both our travels and our camping season. I’m strongly considering a Spring Break (mid-March 2020) 10-12 day road trip with my sons (aged 6 & 10h) down to Disneyland in California with the bus. Given that we live about an hour east of Cranbrook BC I know that winter weather is a risk. Thoughts on how to get south of the snow safely at this time of year? What recommended routes are available? Also any good RV park recommendations along said routes? Will RV parks be open? I’m thinking I can log about 800kms/day.

Thanks in advance for the help!
Roads and Routes

26 Replies

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  • ppine's avatar
    ppine
    Explorer III
    Nov 18, 2019
    Find a weather window and drive south on the east side of the Cascades. Your best bet is the Columiba Gorge to I-5. I like the east side highway through Bend, crossing the Columbia at Goldendale, WA when the weather allows it, to US 395 south. There are many routes, depending on the weather.
  • enblethen's avatar
    enblethen
    Nomad
    Nov 18, 2019
    Think about coming south to Longview, WA, then US 30 to US 101 at Astoria, OR, then south on US 101.
    A slower, but scenic and normally no snow route.
  • MarkTwain's avatar
    MarkTwain
    Explorer
    Nov 18, 2019
    Disneyland trip! If Disneyland is the major reason for your trip and you only have 10 to 12 days available for your trip, I would suggest you consider flying into L.A., renting a car and staying at the Disneyland Hotel. 6 out of your 12 days will be spent bouncing down the highway. Your proposed 400 miles per day trip is more like a marathon and guaranteed to give you a case of SORE A_ _! with little time to stop, rest and enjoy the trip!! Driving a RV in southern Calif. is a nightmare for me. I will drive 100 miles out of my way to avoid driving anywhere near L.A. And yes I use to live in L.A.
  • PartyOf_Five's avatar
    PartyOf_Five
    Explorer
    Nov 18, 2019
    Sounds like a great trip! Don't forget to consider roadway elevation as part of the time and show calculations... 800 km would make for dinner long driving days with darkness. Maybe N. Cal makes more sense.

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