ideas for parks and sights in eastern CA. highway 395

lanerd wrote:
The OP wants to go up 395 starting in March. Getting over to Hwy 49 (over the Sierras) would be very difficult between Tehachapi and Reno. 120 surely would be snowed in and I've never seen it "plowed" at that time of the year. Hwy 88, 89 and 108 are in the same boat. I would never recommend any of these highways during March or even April....maybe, just maybe, May. June is usually when all are open.

Ron

I went back and looked at our time frame and wrote April 15h as our start time heading north on highway 395. Thank you and everyone for your information. I have copied it all and can't wait to see this area.

The OP wants to go up 395 starting in March. Getting over to Hwy 49 (over the Sierras) would be very difficult between Tehachapi and Reno. 120 surely would be snowed in and I've never seen it "plowed" at that time of the year. Hwy 88, 89 and 108 are in the same boat. I would never recommend any of these highways during March or even April....maybe, just maybe, May. June is usually when all are open.

Ron

Hi,

That time of year, you'll likely have to stay out of the high country.
If you can boondock, check out the Alabama Hills.

Steve

Just north of Reno off of Hwy 70 is the Western Pacific Railroad Museum
and if you really want to play with the trains, you can actually drive a road engine or switch engine there.

NPS sites along 395
Manzanar National Historic Site - just south of Bishop

WW II Valor in the Pacific National Monument - Tule Lake Tule Lake

Bodie State Historic Park Gold Mining Ghost town just south of Bridgeport

Great resource for that area here Centered at June Lake... a must visit! You also have Mammoth, Lee Vining, Bodie SP, Carson Valley, and yes Tahoe is amazing.

lanard -- yeah, missed the "winter" part, but Hwy 88 and Hwy 120 get plowed, Hwy 4 does not. So, it's still doable -- and Hwy 49 is below the snow line, so is always clear. It would be worth the drive, over H-120 and back H-88, just to see it ... the Sierras are beautiful in that area. And, Columbia is in Murphy's, which is right above Angel's Camp, also Hwy 49 - no snow.

As for H-395, then - it does get snow, more than Hwy 49, which is a great drive too -- all through the gold country.

Just some thoughts anyway -- California is often odd in that area, sometimes snow, sometimes not - but Hwy 49is too low for snow.

And, right, Big Trees will probably close - too bad, it's a great campground, ever when California doesn't maintain its parks well any more. But the park areas are still great, if you can handle the park rangers and staff skipping the maintenance.

Monkey44 did you see the OP's schedule? As mentioned previously the roads through the Sierra's are all closed sometimes clear up to June.

tvfrfireman ...we live right off of 395 and spend our summers in Newport and we take 395 (for the most part) up and back. Others have given you just about all the sites available that are worth seeing, but you can pretty much forget about going over the Sierras except for I-80 or Hwy 50 (and even that can be doubtful).

We go north on 395 to Susanville (actually, 395 doesn't quite make it there) and have stayed there at the Susanville RV Park. Nothing special, but good for overnight. From there we cut over on Hwy 44 to Hwy 89 to I-5. Some times we'll stay at the Yreka rv park in Yreka CA or head on up to Seven Feathers in Canyonville Or, which is, in my opinion, a 5-star rv park.

Some rv parks worth mentioning along the 395 corridor are: Boulder Creek in Lone Pine, Highlands rv park in Bishop, Mammoth RV park in Mammoth Lakes, Mono Vista rv park in Lee Vining, Carson Valley rv park in Minden NV, Silver City rv park in Carson City Nv, and Sparks Marina Rv park in Sparks.

Hope this helps

Ron

Wave as you past Ridgecrest....

CA Traveler wrote:
No need to cross over to 5 from Reno. Continue on 395 and there are several routes through central OR to Portland.

X2 on that one ... and if you get the time, go west over Hwy 120, hit Colombia Wild West Town, and then across Hwy 49 and back over Hwy 4 to H-395. Both those routes are beautiful drives (about two hours each way), with lots of stops and camping. When heading back over Hwy 4, stop at Big Trees State Park ... nice campground, no HU, but worth it. Lots of hiking in that park - down to the river. Lots of camping along Hwy 395 too, national forests. Take your time, it's an amazing drive - that whole Hwy 395.

You can also take Hwy 88 or Hwy 50 back to Hwy 395 from Hwy 49, but the most scenic is Hwy 4 along the Carson River ...

We lived in that area for over ten years -- if you want more about Hwy 395 and Hwy 49, the gold rush country, PM is welcome. :)

IF you take Hwy 88 back over - stop at the Buckhorn Inn for Mexican eats. IF you go thru Jackson (Hwy 88and Hwy 49 crossroads) stop in Theresa's downtown ... best Italian food in three counties.

No need to cross over to 5 from Reno. Continue on 395 and there are several routes through central OR to Portland.

In Susanville, nice camp ground, I think called Susanville RV Park. Clean, spacious.