We will be at Trinity Center for a family get-together & are unfamiliar with that area. We will leave there and continue up into Oregon. My uncle in Gold Beach is insisting that the way to go is I-5 to Grant's Pass. My husband looked up route on mapquest and it is saying take Hwy. 299, then up the coast. Any comments? Thank you!

Denise,

I can tell you that my husband and I drove the 299 when we moved to California. That ride from Redding to Arcata was *the* worst 3 hours I have ever spent in a car! Yuck! Two lanes, many hairpin turns, and being stuck behind logging trucks - you can iamgine, I'm sure! I agree with your uncle about taking I-5 into Oregon. If your destination is not far off of the interstate, that would be the best route to go. Even if you're going to somewhere on the coast of the state, I can't imagine any other route going west on I-5 being as bad as the 299 in California! Hope this info helps.

Denise: Especially if you are "unfamiliar with that area" you should take your uncle's advice. He definitely knows what he is talking about. 22 miles behind a logging truck will cause a divorce in many families

I-5 is fast, open - and the scenery isn't bad. 299 is slow, windy, good scenery.

Well it depends on where in Oregon you're going, doesn't it? If you're headed for the south coast, or want to see the Redwoods, SR 299 is about your only choice, otherwise you have to travel well into Oregon on I-5 before you can cut back across (US199 from Grants Pass isn't all that fast, either, and you backtrack into California in the process). There are log trucks on the Oregon roads too, although some are quicker drives than 299. If you're not headed for some destination on the southern Oregon coast, save your energy for a better road farther north.

I'd give my vote to the 299 for a number fo reasons. There were enough straight sections for me to pass on - not that I encountered many trucks, the town of Willow Creek (and beyond to Bluf Creek) is on the way - the centre for Bigfoot Sightings, there's even a museum to Bigfoot there. Plenty of other cute little towns like Big Bar and Burnt Branch to stop at.

Interstate is always quicker but is it the right way to go? If you drove to the coast, you'd get to see some of the giant redwoods at Lady Bird Johnson Grove. Either way, you'll still make it to Grants Pass.

Denise
I have driven on 299 scores of times in the last 25 years. I have family in the Chico area and live near Eureka. It is not as bad as Samantha makes it out to be. Like John said it depends where in Oregon you are going. If you are going to the Oregon coast anywhere south of Newport take 299, Anywhere else I-5. There are MUCH fewer logging trucks these days and most of the men and women that drive them make better time than the tourists.
PS To Samantha in Calfornia US 199 and SR 36 are worse than 299