Fast drive from Portland to Los Angeles- questions
 

Hi,
Hoping for a suggestion of where to stop for the night when driving from Portland, Oregon to Los Angeles, California. Trying to get this done in two days and looking for a safe, budget place to stay that is about mid-way. Also, any idea of how long it will take?

Thank You!!

Thank you; I have already mapquested it but know that it can take quite a bit longer on some of their estimates. If you have made the trip, how long does it ususally take you?

Don't know about specific accommodations, but since Sacramento is about halfway, I'll pick someplace <b>soon after</b> Sacramento, not before it, so you won't need to see the traffic next morning.

actually - Sacramento is quite a bit closer to LA than to Portland. Portland to Sacramento is a long slog. I would stop in Redding or maybe Red Bluff (but both places are arm pits if it is a hot summer day). MT Shasta is prettier but a bit too far north.

If I were making this trip, I would drive about 579 (9 hours) to the Sacramento area the first day, get up early and drive the 384 (6 hours) to LA the next day--arriving in the early afternoon.

If you want to stop mid-way, Chico would be the place.

Both Chico and Sacramento have a variety of safe, budget places to stay of the Econolodge-Motel 6 sort.

yeah Chico would be good too - about 100 miles north of Sacramento. One problem w/ driving all the way to Sacramento is heavy traffic on the whole Woodland/Sacramento/Stockton corridor mornings and evenings really in both directions.

If you drove as far as Red Bluff or Chico you could relax a bit in the a.m. and try to hit Sacramento after about 9:30-10:00 a.m. the next morning.

I-5 south of Sacto is nasty - hot, featureless, reeking of cattle feedlots, and one of those roads where people tailgate each other at 80 mph. I would definitely push it the first day so that you can do that leg in the morning and be down by the Grapevine by late morning or early afternoon. You're going to &quot;LA&quot; but if your actual destination is anywhere past the northern part of the Valley it will serve you well to be in the LA area no later than 2 PM, or else the traffic will slow you way down.

Portland to Sacramento is doable; I've done it many times, but the earlier you can get out of Portland the better.

Oh, Gardyloo reminds me - way back at the beginning I meant to ask - what do you mean by &quot;LA&quot;?

Your final destination could make a difference of an hour or two.

If you must drive, I wouldn't sweat I-5 south as somebody else mentioned. It's going to be a long drive and the speed of I-5 south will be refreshing compared to the north where they don't move from the left lane even if they're turtles. Spend the night in the Sacramento area. It's an armpit but at least you're about half-way to civilization.

How long it takes depends on where in LA you are going. I live in El Dorado Hills (30 mins east of Sacramento on Hwy 50) and if I leave by 6:15AM I can reach Glendora (LA County) by about 2PM. Weekends are easier. I stop for lunch at the Fort Tehon rest stop. We stop at most rest stops as we usually take our golden retriever and he needs a potty break.

Chico is on Hwy 99. Don't take that route. Stick to I5. Sacramento is about 8-9 hours from Portland. We had neighbors that drove from Spokane via Portland to home in 12 hours. I guess it depends on how fast you drive.

There are several OK places on Richards Blvd. (off I5 just north of downtown).

Happy travels.

Wow! Thank you for all of the replies.
It will be an early Saturday morning departure from Corvallis and the end destination is Santa Monica. Hopefully, less traffic over the weekend. Except that it is Memorial Day weekend... Will there be rooms available at the places suggested on such a big travel weekend?

We, unfortunately, had to stay in Sacramento last weekend for an event. We booked two suites (one for us and one for the kids) at the www.innatparkside.com The inn was lovely. We stayed in their brand new building adjacent to the Fong Mansion (the main building). It's right off of the freeway with very easy access. If you're looking for a nice place to stay. Oops, just noticed you said budget. Well, there are plenty of budget places all over the valley. Most every exit off of I-5 has them.

If you are doing this over Memorial Day weekend - you can forget about Sacramento. The Jazz jubillee books up just about every hotel/motel/RV space in town.

Stop well before you get to Sacramento - Red Bluff, or any of the chain motels along I-5 between Redding and Woodland.

I just did a www.kayak.com search for Sacramento for a motel on 5/26. There were plenty available in Sacramento. You may want to check it out before you go and make a reservation:
http://www.kayak.com/s/hotels.jsp?co...Wcvp26HuqpQft4