Good route Portland, OR to Phoenix, NOT thru California?

[DHart]

If you have good suggestions for a route from Portland, OR to Phoenix, AZ which does not involve California, I would appreciate your input.

Someone told me that there was a new, very nice highway through part of Nevada, but I forget what that route is.

We recently made the route along Columbia River Gorge I84, then through SLC, Las Vegas, then Phoenix, but I'm thinking a route through Nevada would be more direct.

We don't need scenic, this time, just fairly direct and nice roads would be good.

Thank you!

[DHart]

mockturtle wrote:
Both 93 and 95, while two-lane, are well-maintained highways. While traffic is light, there is traffic and it's not as though you could be stranded helpless for days at a time. And there is at least spotty cellular coverage on 93 and quite good coverage with Verizon on 95.

Gotta love Verizon! 😉

Yes, I'm thinking we will give 95 a try on this run. The run looks to be a very comfortable 6 day run. We like to sleep-in and prefer less driving time per day and more "hang out" time each day, thus:

Day 1---287 mi. to Burns, OR
Day 2---221 mi. to Winnemucca, NV
Day 3---305 mi. to Tonopah, NV
Day 4---215 mi. to Las Vegas, NV
Day 5---102 mil to Kingman, AZ
Day 6---161 mi. to Phoenix area

I never let the coach fuel level drop below about 1/2, which leaves roughly 350 to 400 mile range of "back up" fuel.

Any "favorites" for stop over parks in these areas?

I know none of them will be dream RV parks, but level sites, near the highway, pull-thru, capable of handling a 43' Class A with toad is all we would need for a one night "sleep-over".

[paulj]

A slight variation on the OR78/US95 from Burns, is OR205 south from Burns. This passes Malheur Wildlife Refuge (birds around a large shallow lake), Frenchglen (a state owned inn), Page Springs Campground (BLM, popular with birders), possible side trip up Steens Mtns (w/o RV), Fields (remote gas station and malt shop), and NV140 to US95. It's more scenic than the OR78 route, but not as fast and straight.

In fact if you are up for some straight flat gravel you could take Fields Denio Rd for OR78 to Fields, along the east side of Steens Mtn and the west side of the Alvord salt flats (used for land sailing).

There are some hot springs in the area, including a rustic one near the salt flats, and commercial one with camping near Crane (on 78).

There are also some lava fields off of 78 south of Malheur Lake (and a round barn).

[wintersun]

That would be the least bad route for avoiding California. You will have the fewest places to stop along that route so plan on some long driving days in some pretty stark country.

[DHart]

I beginning to think going with Portland, OR to Burns, and south on 95 to LV might be something to try. I was hesitant due to the paucity of services and RV parks, but perhaps it's not as bad as I was thinking.

Do Burns, Winnemucca, & Tonopah seem like good stopping points?

Portland == Burns == Winnemucca == Tonopah == Vegas == Phoenix

[mockturtle]

Both 93 and 95, while two-lane, are well-maintained highways. While traffic is light, there is traffic and it's not as though you could be stranded helpless for days at a time. And there is at least spotty cellular coverage on 93 and quite good coverage with Verizon on 95.

[msmith1199]

Those roads through Nevada are all in Fairly good shape. I've never been completely across from North to South, but I have done East to West several times. The roads are good, but all two lanes and some of the most remote roads in the Country. You will not have cell phone coverage in many places and you may be hours from any services at any given time. If you're going in the summer make sure you have survival supplies for a few days and make sure you got enough fuel in the toad to get to the next town if something happens to the motorhome. You won't be able to call for help, you'll have to drive for help. But I wouldn't let that stop me from doing it. I love those back roads through Nevada.

[2gypsies1]

CA 395 is a lot better than the rest of Calif. Good campgrounds and beautiful scenery. The difficult part is from AZ traveling I-40 to get to CA395. 😞

We've also gone thru Utah to Idaho which is o.k. but we always strive for 'scenic' not interstates. We'll be going via Nevada our next time. Haven't been that way for a few years.

[paulj]

With Grand Canyon in the way, almost all routes from the north pass through Las Vegas. The next bridge upstream is at Page, and there's a detour south of Page (US89 is closed between Page and US89A).

Now the drive from Las Vegas to I40 past the dam is nearly freeway quality.

[mockturtle]

We did this route many times with our DP: I-84 almost to Twin Falls (I agree, going through Twin Falls does 'suck'). Instead, take cutoff 30 near Bliss and it takes you right to 93 into NV (Cactus Pete's at Jackpot, just across the border, is a convenient place to stay). Highway 93 is a bit nicer than 95, IMHO. You will have to go through Las Vegas but it's not usually too bad. US 93 will take you to I-40 then south on I-17 to Phoenix.

[DHart]

Paul.... thanks very much! Lots of options to consider.

Would any one of them offer more/better possibilities for RV parks to stay in along the way?

We have found that covering 300 miles in a day is as much as we generally like to do, so it can be great to go along routes which offer more frequent stopping points. (Yeah, I guess we're wimps when it comes to covering long distances!)

[paulj]

First, do you want completely avoid California, or just the Central Valley routes (I5/CA99)?

Alternative 1:
- I5 to Shasta, then diagonal over to Reno, US95 to Vegas. That's been discussed a number of times

Alternative 2:
- US97 to Klamath Falls, diagonal over to US395 in northern Calif. US395 to Reno.

Alternative 3:
- US97 to La Pine, OR 33 (?) to Lakeview, US395 south

Alternative 4:
- to Bend, US20 to Burns, OR 78? to US95 south to Winnemucca (sp?), then then south to Vegas (don't have go through Reno)

Alternative 5:
- I84 to Ontario, US95 south

Alternative 6:
- I84 to Twin Falls, US93 south to Vegas. US93 has often been discussed as an alternative to I15 to Vegas.

Focusing on the middle part. The NS options are US395 (some Nevada, mostly eastern Calif), US95, US93 (I15 if you really must have freeway). For the most part these highways follow NS valleys between mountain ranges. While there are some grades, there aren't any difficult passes or curves.

[DHart]

Earl... that's not a bad idea... I will definitely consider it.

I'm actually even considering a re-do of our trip north last May... I-84 east up the Col. River gorge, down to Baker City, to Boise, Salt Lake City, Las Vegas, Phoenix.

It's a couple of hundred miles longer this way, but my reasoning is that there are many more good places to stop for the night all along the way, with very little in the way of long, long desolate stretches.

[louiskathy]

Yarnell, AZ is just 85 miles outside of Phoenix and 19 firefighters are unaccounted for... 18 feared dead. News still coming in so I don't want to quote data. I want to alert you that you need to keep on top of the fire alerts.

Weather Underground will plot a course... and if you click on
the weather/traffic alerts ... will give you road and weather advisories.

Still it's better to get "feet on the ground" information and you almost can't beat the members here for that.

Weather Underground

[Earl_E]

I know you said "not CA" but if you are willing to do just a few hours in CA, it will be much faster going down I-5 to Eugene and cross over to 97, then drop down to Susanville or Alturas, and into Reno, Las Vegas and across to Phoenix. Good roads all the way.