Route to Gold Beach Oregon

Highway 140 is a good road but definitely can be remote. Make sure you fuel up in Winnemucca as there is not much in the way of fuel in between there and Lakeview. Going down the Dougherty Slide can be exciting but there are warning signs to slow down. I would not recommend the drive at night as there are wild burros that can be really hard to see in the dark and are not forgiving if you hit one. Enjoy your trip.

once you get to I-5, take the time to travel 199 thru cave junction oregon and the redwoods, and on towards crescent city calif, to hwy 101, then north to gold beach.....
going across hwy 42, which is north of 199, is just another highway that, in my opinion, is quite a bit less scenic than 199.... and except for the historic portion of 199 that winds thru the redwoods, they are both nice fast roads...

I had to look at a map to be sure, but poloace is not talking about interstate 40. there is a state hwy 140 that runs from hwy 95 to Klamath Falls.

CA20 is the most recommended route from I5 (Central Valley) to US101, the Redwood coast highway. Taking that bypasses the pass on I5 at the state line.

Beware that 140 from Nevada to Oregon crosses some of the most remote part the country, with spotty gas. And there is a significant grade over a rim just after the state line (the kind that gliders like to use).

140 and 199 were billed at one time as a special route to the coast, and there may still be some signs and websites highlighting it.

Winnemucca to the Sea

So if you are coming to this part of Oregon via Winnemucca and 140, then 199 is the logical way to the coast. And there's plenty to see in the Medford/Grants Pass area before crossing the coast mountains. Your question is inspiring me to think of a spring trip to this area.

I am in no hurry. We only travel 300 mi or so a day, and stop a couple days on the way to see things, on our way to our destination.

I-80 seems way out of the way . It seems to run west then south.

What about going west on I-80 then north on US 101? Eliminate slow or questionable cross overs.

The roads paulj is referring to are BLM 34-8-36, NF-23 or NF-33. Don't try them unless you want a day trip in a car/pickup. Then be sure you know exactly where you are going. And I wouldn't want to do them at night if you are on the wrong side at nightfall.

Be aware that 199 has a rather winding section of about 20 (?) miles. Totally doable some get rather upset about it.

US 199 and OR42 are the two highway options. 42 is lower.

The land in between is Forest Service and BLM. This BLM is forest, not grasslands, but that's due to quirk in history. There is a paved route across this, that may be marked as scenic on paper maps. But it's not for the faint of heart. Local river float trip shuttles take it at high speed, with a trailer stacked high with rafts in tow. There haven't been any news worthy search and rescue missions in this area in more than a decade.