Crecent City via 199 Grant's Pass or 299 Redding

For trailering 199 has some tight spots for big rigs. Going North I always go from Lodi to Petaluma to go North on 101. Going South I would go out 38 to Reedsport and South on 101. A friend from Eureka told me the 38 is the lowest alt route to the coast. We towed a 5th wheel South many times between Christmas and New Years, four times we went to the Coast because on snow on the Siskiyou's. 299 is not recommended for large rigs.

I spent a year and a half at Point Arena, Ca one Higway 1 in the USCG and would run to Seattle or Port Angeles a lot back in summer 1967-1969, in a 1967 SS/RS 350 Camaro.

Just FYI, always check the CalTrans website before taking 299. There are some geologic problems that flare up from time to time -- the road was built across some unstable sedimentary rock.

The road is rarely closed, but there are often delays due to alternating one lane restrictions.

And here is a completely different route -- if you are coming up 5 from the south, cut over on 20 and take 101 all the way up the coast. And if you do that, stop for sandwiches at Granzellas in Williams.

Take the long way. Make sure you do not try to follow the Rogue River.

Rocky2 wrote:
While you asked about cutting across from I 5 at Grants Pass or Redding to Crescent City, and I agree that 199 is certainly preferred, have you thought of leaving I 5 south at Cottage Grove taking Oregon 38 to Reedsport and south on US 101? I can't compare I 5 and 101 on the Oregon Coast for scenery and camping options.

We have done the drive from cottage Grove to Reedsport. Wanted to mix it up this time. I think we will go back 199 to Grant's Pass on the way home.

Just drove the 299 and then 101 North. Not to bad. Lots of turnouts and beautiful this time of year. We made 6 stops along the way (dogs and potty breaks) and pulled over many times for the faster traffic and made it to Crecent City in just under 5 1/2 hours. I would highly recommend this drive. Just have patience and go slow. We hit the 55mph speed limit in a few places for just a few minutes on 199. Most of the time, we under it.

There area a lot of grades but none over 7% for more than a mile. Most of them were 6% or less for a mile or two, with one or two just a little longer.

We were traveling with a dog and kid that gets car sick and neither got sick.

Safe travels.

While you asked about cutting across from I 5 at Grants Pass or Redding to Crescent City, and I agree that 199 is certainly preferred, have you thought of leaving I 5 south at Cottage Grove taking Oregon 38 to Reedsport and south on US 101? I can't compare I 5 and 101 on the Oregon Coast for scenery and camping options.

We don't have a 5'er but with our class C w/ toad on the dolly, we had no problems on 199, plus according to Google maps, it's roughly 1 hour 45 minutes, Vs 7 hours and 9 minutes down to Redding & up 299 .

Thanks for the input everyone.

Foliver: Crecent City , California.

199 is fine, just take it slow, and enjoy the view.

Crescent City as in New Orleans, LA?