Jaclyn_T

I'm a solo traveller planning a road trip from Seattle to San Francisco. Will be spending a few days in and around Seattle before moving towards San Francisco. Because I'm in the super early stages of planning, duration is flexible (looking at around 6-8 days) for the drive.

Searching for suggestions on route and must see attractions or places along the way...

Gardyloo

Time of year makes a difference. When would this be?

Jaclyn_T

Oh right, forgot to mention that. December this year. Smack in winter.

janisj

Then you really have to wait to see what the weather is at the time. The safest plan is to stick to the coast -- but if there are heavy winter storms it could be very wet and there could be wash outs.

There could be heavy snow in the mountains . . . really not the best time to plan far ahead for a road trip. (I drive the coast in the winter pretty frequently - but I live out here and can decide at the last minute . . . "Hey, it is going to be a nice 3 or 4 days -- let's head up the coast" )

Gardyloo

Well then, things to consider:

Short daylight hours. Unless you like driving in the wet and in the dark, you're going to have to limit your driving to daylight hours, which will increase the number of days.

Weather: Specific day/place conditions are unknown, of course, but generally you can expect wet conditions in western and coastal areas, snow in the mountains, and ice on the roads here and there.

Tourist facilities: There will be a smaller selection of tourist facilities than during the tourism season.

So recommendations...

Stick to the Pacific coast. It may be stormy but snow and ice are unusual. December weather can also be unpredictable - usually there will be stormy days, then a rainy day, then one that's cloudy, then a clear one, then cloudy and stormy... the cycle repeats every four or five days. We can also get a couple of glorious clear days in a row, which is when you want to be near some beach/coastal scenery. But luck plays a part.

South is better: I would try to get to the southern Oregon and northern California coast as soon as possible. The redwoods are spectacular in the mist and gloom, and the weather will improve dramatically the farther you get into California.

In fact, as you're planning (and discovering how expensive one-way car rentals can be) I'll just suggest you do a thought experiment that involves flying to SF from Seattle and doing an all-California "loop" route from there, something like this: https://goo.gl/maps/dv9w6Nzyh8G2

This would involve going through the Napa/Sonoma wine country north to the redwoods, then through the redwoods to the southern Oregon coast. In my opinion the southernmost 60 miles or so of the Oregon coast is the most scenic - Brookings to Port Orford.

Then you'd turn around and see more of the redwoods, but take a short and very scenic loop from Victorian Ferndale (near Eureka) out to the edge of the "Lost Coast," the last remaining coastal wilderness in California. Then you would follow CA 1 the rest of the way back to the Golden Gate, visiting places like Fort Bragg, picturesque Mendocino, Bodega Bay and other nice towns along the coast, with terrific coastal scenery the whole way.

This would give you a terrific route with lots of variety, but without encountering the worst weather. Just a thought to consider.

2desitravellers

Hi, All the best for your trip. I have drafted places of interest for travelers along the route based on the number of days. Please visit the link. https://traveltheonlyworld.blogspot....road-trip.html

Also feel free to share your inputs.

Jaclyn_T

Thanks for chipping in all these great ideas everyone! Seems like the general thing that keeps popping up is about weather which I pretty much expected to be my main challenge.

Here's another question that I'm hoping the locals or frequent travellers might be able to answer:

Since I'm travelling in winter and it isn't really peak travel season. Am I safe to NOT book ahead accommodations just in case of plan changes due to weather? Or should I just do the safe thing and book all my accommodations beforehand?

Gardyloo

I don't think you'll have any difficulty playing it by ear. But because of the short days you'll have to find a place by late afternoon or else risk wandering around in the dark (and wet.) The towns are pretty small for the most part and spread out, so you'll need to be fairly decisive.

Jaclyn_T

Well my plans are a bit more firm now. I'll be arriving in Seattle 2nd Dec and probably planning to stay just a day or two in Seattle before getting on the road.

I saw Gardyloo's post on a different thread with this route: https://goo.gl/maps/AR1iUAiP7o52 Is this doable in winter?

I have to set off from Seattle so I'm planning to take your advice and get south quickly so would love to know if there's anything worth seeing (scenic, waterfalls, etc) along the way or should I just drive straight to Gold Beach and pick up from the loop that was recommended earlier in this thread.

Gardyloo

<i>I saw Gardyloo's post on a different thread with this route: https://goo.gl/maps/AR1iUAiP7o52 Is this doable in winter?</i>

Not really. Crater Lake will be partly/totally inaccessible due to heavy snow, and, depending on how early winter conditions arrive in the mountains, you might encounter difficulties on many of the mountain passes.

Also note that daylight is going to be short and it's likely to be cloudy/rainy anywhere west of the Cascades, so you'll want to shorten your drives accordingly.

Gold Beach is too far in one day from Seattle. I'd start by driving to Portland and take a couple of hours to visit Multnomah Falls, which ought to be pretty impressive with late autumn rains. The Columbia Gorge is lovely in any weather. Spend the first night in the Portland area.

Then head out to the coast; I'd shoot for Newport, then south as far as Bandon that night. From there, the drive to San Francisco is straightforward.

Here's a simplified map - https://goo.gl/maps/VUxiEPaQKSy

Bobmrg

I think that gardyloo's route was for a different purpose. No need for you to go east of the mountains...drive south on the freeway to exit 39 (Longview/Kelso) and west to Cathlamet. At Cathlamet, take the Wahkiakum ferry ($3) over to the Oregon side, then west to Astoria to pick up US-101 for the remainder of the trip.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=25mIFDHgt7E

If that is too slow for you, take the freeway all the way to the Drain/Curtin exit in Oregon to take OR-38 over to the coast and US-101.

janisj

Just time for a quick comment right now: >>I saw Gardyloo's post on a different thread with this route: https://goo.gl/maps/AR1iUAiP7o52 Is this doable in winter? <<

I wouldn't plan on duplicating that route in Dec. Could be fine to OK but if winter storms anything like this year the whole inland Timberline/Bend/Crater Lake leg could be treacherous. Plus at that time of year Crater Lake will be mostly inaccessible. The only place you could drive would be the visitors center. The rim road generally closes by mid-October (they get a LOT of snow)

Since you want to plan ahead - I'd stick to the coastal route.

Jaclyn_T

If I take up Gardyloo's advice on this simplified map, Here's a simplified map - https://goo.gl/maps/VUxiEPaQKSy is it worth a detour to Silver Falls State Park?

I've seen a couple of pictures of Winter Falls and am sort of interested to try to get there myself.

It says online that most of the hikes can be done year round but I don't want to plan to go there if I'm just gonna be stuck by impassable roads.

janisj

Oh -- that route is entirely different and would be mostly fine. Could definitely be winter (rain) storms but not much snow.