Crecent City via 199 Grant's Pass or 299 Redding

[philmcg]

Heading to Crecent City from I-5 and wondering which route is better with a 5th wheel?

Thanks in advance.

[Me_Again]

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.

[profdant139]

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.

[ppine]

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

[philmcg]

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.

[philmcg]

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.

[Rocky2]

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.

[bukhrn]

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 .

[philmcg]

Thanks for the input everyone.

Foliver: Crecent City , California.

[mike-uswest]

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

[folivier]

Crescent City as in New Orleans, LA?

[Janss]

Pretty sure 199 is preferred, but I want to follow this thread because I may be doing the same drive this summer.