Hello and thanks to all in advance!Planning a long trip up the 5 this summer and wanted some reccomendations for stops. Only stops on my radar are Crater Lake and Lake Tahoe. We have about 2 weeks and we prefer dry camping but open to hookups. Open to any recommendations as we gave never been to Oregon. Thanks!

Your user name is er78mph....and with only 2 weeks to do a trip from San Diego through Oregon - you are going to need to drive 78 mph....:)Just my opinion, Crater Lake, Lake Tahoe and then Oregon Coast is way too much to cram into 2 weeks. Lots of driving and not a lot of relaxing and exploring this awesome part of the country. Anyway, hopefully others will be more positive about your plan. Have a good trip.

Two stops to consider are: Lone Pine to camp in the Alabama Hills...it will be warm...and visit the Western movie museum and Whitney Portal.Tom’s Place to camp at French Camp and visit Rock Creek Lake, Mammoth Lakes and the June Lake loop just up the road. Mountain bike riding.

Consider two days each way. That leaves you 10 days to see Tahoe, Crater Lake. OK now your down to 8 days. What do you want to see? Ocean or high desert. Both could take you two weeks each. But you only have a week. What to do? Hummm. How about at Weed cut off on US97. You have a chance to stop at Collier SP and see the great,logging museum. North to Bend area to visit lava flows, caves, and mountain lakes. Time to turn around and rush back home. Your going to spend more time driving than site seeing.

If your from SD you will appreciate Oregon Coast - much different than the Southern Calif coast. Oregon Coast also has some of the best State Parks in the Country but if your going to Lake Tahoe and Crater Lake you may not have enough time. I travel from SD to Portland Oregon on occasion and that's two full day drive on I-5.

Ok, I could easily get rid of Tahoe, we just want a small taste of Oregon? Would 2 weeks be enough to race up the coast and get a taste of Oregon?

San Diego to Oregon | Good Sam Community

myredracer
Explorer II
Jan 31, 2018
If it were me, I'd skip the 5 altogether. While it is an interesting experience, it's not that popular for RV-ers and there's not a whole lot of CGs along it plus you're battling the truckers all day long. The OR coast would def. be recommended.

I'd suggest taking an inland route up into the east side of the Cascades. Take 97 eastward off I-5 from Weed up to Bend and from there take 26 to the east side of Portland. These roads are an easy drive. From Portland you'd have a choice of several routes to the coast depending on how far north you'd want to start from. The scenery and environment on the eastern side of the mountains is really different than along the coast and you'll see the diversity Oregon has. Crater Lake is just off 97 too.

If you do end up on I-5, I really like the drive from the north side of Grants Pass up to Medford/Ashland and down to the south side of the OR/CA border. Have camped a few times in the Siskiyou NF just east of Ashland and it's nice up there and there's a number of CGs there.
MarkTwain
Explorer
Jan 30, 2018
er78mph wrote:
Hello and thanks to all in advance!

Planning a long trip up the 5 this summer and wanted some reccomendations for stops. Only stops on my radar are Crater Lake and Lake Tahoe. We have about 2 weeks and we prefer dry camping but open to hookups. Open to any recommendations as we gave never been to Oregon. Thanks!

IMHO, Your trip to Oregon should be divided up into two seperate RV trips. Trip 1--- Oregon coast all the way on Hwy 101 north then turn around and come south down 101.
Trip 2--Crater Lake then Lake Tahoe. Save this for a seperate trip.Too try and do both in one trip will really not allow you to "stop and smell the Roses" to really have a comfortable and pleasant trip. The acumulated wear and tear of driving so many days on the road with little time is park and relax will be painful and not enjoyable.
I would suggest the following route:
1. I-5 --S.D. to Bullentin or just stay on I-5 to Bakersfield. Some good RV parks in the area. Continue north to Hwy. 46 over to I-5.
2. (staying on I-5 will save time and add more days in Oregon) Bulletin to to Hwy. 101 to Hwy. 46 over to I-5 the north to Kit Fox Rv Park in Patterson on I-5
3. Continue on I-5 to Cannyonville Oregon and stay at the 7 Feathers RV Park.
4. continue north to Hwy. 138 and go west to 101 then go north Fort Stevens. Take day trips to Astoria, Cannyon Beach and surrounding sights. Then just continue south and stay at what ever RV park/town that strikes your fancy. Drive south on 101 down to Hwy 20 in Calif. Take Hwy 20 east back to I-5
Boon docking is not really available along the coast along Oregon. Strongly suggest you make your reservations at RV parks as soon as possible primary because you are on a short time schedule.
bikendan
Explorer
Jan 29, 2018
the bear II wrote:
Along I-5 there isn't much of interest until you get to Sacramento. The capitol building, railroad museum, the river area...etc.

After leaving Sacramento other than some forests there isn't much until you hit Lake Shasta.

Same thing as you get into Oregon if you stay on I-5

Like others have posted a better sight seeing trip is up HWY 1 or HWY 101. Lots more to see and do. Hearst Castle, Redwoods, Fort Bragg, Skunk Railroad...etc.

California Highway 1 is still closed in the Big Sur area and isn't scheduled to open till October 1 of this year.
It will be over a year of closure by then.
the_bear_II
Explorer
Jan 29, 2018
Along I-5 there isn't much of interest until you get to Sacramento. The capitol building, railroad museum, the river area...etc.

After leaving Sacramento other than some forests there isn't much until you hit Lake Shasta.

Same thing as you get into Oregon if you stay on I-5

Like others have posted a better sight seeing trip is up HWY 1 or HWY 101. Lots more to see and do. Hearst Castle, Redwoods, Fort Bragg, Skunk Railroad...etc.
MarkTwain
Explorer
Jan 29, 2018
punomatic wrote:
Here's the route I would take. There are some nice RV parks in Prospect, OR, a few miles' drive from Crater Lake National Park. Then go down Hwy 62 to I5 north to US199. This route will take you back into CA a little south of the border, but head north on US101 to Brookings, OR and stay at the Beachfront RV Park, which is right on the ocean.

Do not use the elec hook ups without a good surge protector, I had my elec wired fried by poor electical connections at the RV site. Maintenance and up keep of their elec. system is poor.

On your way home, take the 101 to Calpella, then take Hwy20 to Nice and stay at The Aurora RV Park on Clear Lake. Yes it is a commercial park, but if you get a space right on the lakeshore, you won't forget it. From there you can return to the 5 and head for home. If you spend a couple of nights in each of these places, including Tahoe, you will have four stays and five driving days. That is a lot of driving in 2 weeks, but you will see some really beautiful places, including the Redwoods, the Oregon coast, Crater Lake, Clear Lake, and Lake Tahoe. Wow!! JMHO
punomatic
Explorer
Jan 29, 2018
Here's the route I would take. There are some nice RV parks in Prospect, OR, a few miles' drive from Crater Lake National Park. Then go down Hwy 62 to I5 north to US199. This route will take you back into CA a little south of the border, but head north on US101 to Brookings, OR and stay at the Beachfront RV Park, which is right on the ocean.

On your way home, take the 101 to Calpella, then take Hwy20 to Nice and stay at The Aurora RV Park on Clear Lake. Yes it is a commercial park, but if you get a space right on the lakeshore, you won't forget it. From there you can return to the 5 and head for home. If you spend a couple of nights in each of these places, including Tahoe, you will have four stays and five driving days. That is a lot of driving in 2 weeks, but you will see some really beautiful places, including the Redwoods, the Oregon coast, Crater Lake, Clear Lake, and Lake Tahoe. Wow!! JMHO
Lwiddis
Explorer II
Jan 29, 2018
“ I would head straight to Portland”

There are a couple of places between SD and Portland that merit a stop, ksg. Or is this a road race?
path1
Explorer
Jan 29, 2018
Finding stuff to do in OR. I find tourist or Chamber if commerce stuff a money separating endeavor. http://www.oregonlive.com/outdoors/ has interesting things you might want to try. Just thumb thru till you find what you what then see if area is an area you will be in. Bear in mind lots of things are seasonal.
ksg5000
Explorer
Jan 29, 2018
er78mph wrote:
Ok, I could easily get rid of Tahoe, we just want a small taste of Oregon? Would 2 weeks be enough to race up the coast and get a taste of Oregon?

Sure. I would head straight to Portland - stay there for a day and take day trip to scenic gorge/waterfalls - then head to Astoria and Fort Stevens State Park -- then plan your trip south down the Oregon Coast. Lots of nice beaches and things to do on Oregon Coast - I like Cannon Beach for day trip and usually stay at Beverly Beach State park when I hit Newport area. Lots of threads on what to do on Oregon Coast.
T18skyguy
Explorer
Jan 29, 2018
It is a lot of driving. One thing to consider is you don't want to go to Crater Lake before the middle of July, and August is even better. Earlier than that, and the mosquito's eat you alive. With crater lake you want clear sky's cause it shows the deep almost cobalt blue of the lake. If it's overcast you lose the color. One tourist trap I would advise to skip is Sea Lion caves. When traveling north, pull into the first overlook on the left past Sea Lion Caves and you can look down and see all the sea lions you want for free. When you look at the map, the coast highway looks kinda straight, but a lot of it is very twisty turny with switchbacks and you can't make good time, so you want to factor that in. Bandon, Old Town Florence, Nye Beach, and Newport are worth a stop. Same goes for Tahoe; you got some serious mountains to deal with that suck up your time.

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