San Diego to Oregon

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?

When we leave Orange county always try to
make 1st stop in Buelton, Ca.at Flying Flags RV Resort. Great place along the coast and just a short drive to visit Solvang-a town modeled after a Danish Village. Also, if you are a KOA member- Moss Landing N. of Monterey-small, quiet, clean and short walk to the ocean. Try to find a place in Pismo Beach, also. I realize these campgrounds are on Hwy. 101-but sure is a beautiful drive.

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.

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.

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.

“ 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?