driving thru coast highway 101

[pavementproton420]

Hi all.

Say, I'm sure there are many of you who have traveled thru highway 101. I am planning to do this for the first time, in a Toyota RV no less. I am leaving San Diego to go to the Oregon coast. I wanted to avoid I-5 especially the Siskiyous because of the strains those elevations might put on my 4-cylinder. My question to all who have traveled this route is, one, what or where if any are there the steepest climbs and high wind areas? Two, How dispersed are the gas stations? And finally, where are the dump sites. I'll look these up on the internet myself, but if anyone has broader insight,especially regarding good rv hangs and in general what to watch out for, I'll appreciate your input very much. Thx.

Edited April 29, 2009 by pavementproton420

[Supurcar]

The big sur, Pebble beach, aptos, Santa Cruz and all is a must see, even farther up to San Gregorio. I usually cut over to 5 before Sacremento (heading North), I take 6(80) to 505 to 5 from San Jose (To avoid the SF city traffic and mayhem). There is a nice RV park at Rolling Hills Casino with a traveler's lodge and a nice place to shower for a few bucks. I usually gas there, and then again before going over Shasta. I am not sure where you want to end up, you can take the coast the whole way if you want. There is a lot of coastal towns and most have services available. I try to never go below a 1/4 tank so I will gas early rather than chance it.

[pavementproton420]

The big sur, Pebble beach, aptos, Santa Cruz and all is a must see, even farther up to San Gregorio. I usually cut over to 5 before Sacremento (heading North), I take 6(80) to 505 to 5 from San Jose (To avoid the SF city traffic and mayhem). There is a nice RV park at Rolling Hills Casino with a traveler's lodge and a nice place to shower for a few bucks. I usually gas there, and then again before going over Shasta. I am not sure where you want to end up, you can take the coast the whole way if you want. There is a lot of coastal towns and most have services available. I try to never go below a 1/4 tank so I will gas early rather than chance it.

[pavementproton420]

Thnx Supurcar.

That is very helpful.

[lanwee]

Hi All! Finally something I can post to!

I have taken this route many times - and just returned to San Diego from Olympia in my new Sunrader.

Getting out of LA is never fun, there are basically 3 big hills - One on the 405 just before you hit the 101 and two on the 101 just before Oxnard.

I usually head straight up the 101, but if you haven't seen the 'Ragged Coast', take Hwy 1 North at San Luis Obispo and a leisurly drive through Cambria, San Simeon, Big Sur, Monterey Bay.

If you bypass Hwy 1, there is a fairly long grade just north of SLO.

You can cut back over to the 101 at Seaside or at Santa Cruz, then grab the 280 at San Jose. Look for Park Presidio Blvd and follow that around the West side of San Francisco - it will drop you off at the Golden Gate Bridge - not usually too much traffic - but you are in a Toyota and sightseeing! Enjoy the ride!

Heading on up the 101 from SF is nice and fairly flat. There are quite a few long slow grades in Northern Cal and Southern Oregon - I drop down to 35 a few times, but I come back up to speed fairly quickly.

I have never had any problems with gas stops. - I tend to fill up at half tank intervals which turns out to be about 2 hours for me.

I really like the coastal state parks in Northern Cal and Oregon/Washington. Much more reasonable than anything around San Diego, and they all have dump stations included in the overnight fees.

This route can be done in 3 days - if you push it, and 2 if you REALLY push it, but I prefer to take 4 or 5 days, starting fairly early and stopping early to enjoy an nice sunset and dinner.

Everybody likes different things, so whichever route you take, be safe and have FUN!!!

Lance

[pavementproton420]

Hi All! Finally something I can post to!

I have taken this route many times - and just returned to San Diego from Olympia in my new Sunrader.

Getting out of LA is never fun, there are basically 3 big hills - One on the 405 just before you hit the 101 and two on the 101 just before Oxnard.

I usually head straight up the 101, but if you haven't seen the 'Ragged Coast', take Hwy 1 North at San Luis Obispo and a leisurly drive through Cambria, San Simeon, Big Sur, Monterey Bay.

If you bypass Hwy 1, there is a fairly long grade just north of SLO.

You can cut back over to the 101 at Seaside or at Santa Cruz, then grab the 280 at San Jose. Look for Park Presidio Blvd and follow that around the West side of San Francisco - it will drop you off at the Golden Gate Bridge - not usually too much traffic - but you are in a Toyota and sightseeing! Enjoy the ride!

Heading on up the 101 from SF is nice and fairly flat. There are quite a few long slow grades in Northern Cal and Southern Oregon - I drop down to 35 a few times, but I come back up to speed fairly quickly.

I have never had any problems with gas stops. - I tend to fill up at half tank intervals which turns out to be about 2 hours for me.

I really like the coastal state parks in Northern Cal and Oregon/Washington. Much more reasonable than anything around San Diego, and they all have dump stations included in the overnight fees.

This route can be done in 3 days - if you push it, and 2 if you REALLY push it, but I prefer to take 4 or 5 days, starting fairly early and stopping early to enjoy an nice sunset and dinner.

Everybody likes different things, so whichever route you take, be safe and have FUN!!!

Lance

[futar]

You won't see any serious elevations on the Oregon coast. There are many mini climates so if you do hit some cross wind, it won't be long before you're out of it. Head winds are a rarity. The road goes inland in a number of places.

The first town Brookings is about 22 miles from Crescent City in CA. Brookings has two state camp grounds. http://www.oregontravels.com/brookings/cam..._brookings.html

It's worth your time to go the 9 miles up the Chetco River to Loeb State Park. It's on the river. I'm planning a camping trip for the locals to there in the next few weeks.

Just before the bridge on the north side of Lower Harbor road is a great fried fish place.

It's about 100 miles to Coos Bay/North Bend, good size towns with a super Wally World if you need to stock up. Go west a few miles to Cape Arago. http://www.oregonstateparks.org/park_94.php It's very nice and there's a state campground in Sunset Bay http://www.oregonstateparks.org/park_100.php If you decide to bypass Brookings, Gold Beach about 25 miles north is the next nice place. It's where the Rogue River meets the ocean.

It's about 50 miles from Brookings to my digs in Florence. Six miles south of here is the Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area. Go in there to the Waxmyrtle campground on the left. Try and get a site next to the Siltcoos River. There's trail leading to where the river meets the ocean. It's awesome.

There's a jillion waysides, attractions and state and federal campgrounds on the coast. I would go to their sites and plan in advance. Any questions, feel free to contact me. Sunday May 17th is the Rhody days parade in Florence, one of the biggest in the north west. If that's your arrival date, your screwed. There isn't a square foot of camping available unless you want to plug in at my place.

Enjoy

[pavementproton420]

You won't see any serious elevations on the Oregon coast. There are many mini climates so if you do hit some cross wind, it won't be long before you're out of it. Head winds are a rarity. The road goes inland in a number of places.

The first town Brookings is about 22 miles from Crescent City in CA. Brookings has two state camp grounds. http://www.oregontravels.com/brookings/cam..._brookings.html

It's worth your time to go the 9 miles up the Chetco River to Loeb State Park. It's on the river. I'm planning a camping trip for the locals to there in the next few weeks.

Just before the bridge on the north side of Lower Harbor road is a great fried fish place.

It's about 100 miles to Coos Bay/North Bend, good size towns with a super Wally World if you need to stock up. Go west a few miles to Cape Arago. http://www.oregonstateparks.org/park_94.php It's very nice and there's a state campground in Sunset Bay http://www.oregonstateparks.org/park_100.php If you decide to bypass Brookings, Gold Beach about 25 miles north is the next nice place. It's where the Rogue River meets the ocean.

It's about 50 miles from Brookings to my digs in Florence. Six miles south of here is the Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area. Go in there to the Waxmyrtle campground on the left. Try and get a site next to the Siltcoos River. There's trail leading to where the river meets the ocean. It's awesome.

There's a jillion waysides, attractions and state and federal campgrounds on the coast. I would go to their sites and plan in advance. Any questions, feel free to contact me. Sunday May 17th is the Rhody days parade in Florence, one of the biggest in the north west. If that's your arrival date, your screwed. There isn't a square foot of camping available unless you want to plug in at my place.

Enjoy