Hi,

I know there have been several tips how to plan an roadtrip including Orgeon and California (Portland to LA) but still I would like to have some additional details when (concerning weather and scenary) and which way to go (S to N or N to S). I have full 23days to spend. So far I have following itinirary in my mind and i would appreciate your comments on it whether it is realistic. I would start in begining of October

5 DAYS ORTLAND + SUBURBS – 2 days city, 2 days coast, + 1 DAY SEATTLE (one day trip from Portland)

6 DAYS OREGON NPs – CRATER LAKE, DESCHUTES, UMPQUA, WILLAMETTE, ROGUE RIVER NF

2 DAYS LAKE TAHOE

3 YOSEMITE

2 DAYS SAN FRANCISCO

2 DAYS BIG SUR

2 DAYS LA

I know there will be a lot of driving which is mostly included in these alleged days that is why I also left almost 2 days for driving.

Thank you in advance for all suggestions...

regards,

G.

This is quite an idiosyncratic itinerary.

I notice you do not include the Columbia River Gorge, which is a major attraction in Oregon.

Also, Seattle is not reasonably visited as a day trip from Portland. If you go to Seattle, it would be a good idea to include Mt. Rainier, which is a quite spectacular treat.

Check if it might snow at Crater Lake in October.

Since there is much of interest between San Francisco and Los Angeles, I am curious why you are stopping only in Big Sur.

HTtY

Oregon has only one National Park - Crater Lake.
I would fly to Seattle to start and see either Mt. Rainer or Mt. St. Helens. Return the car to Seattle and then take an Amtrak Cascades train to Portland. Rent a car for 7 days in downtown Portland. See what you want of Oregon in your week and maybe spend a night in Portland before getting on the Coast Starlight from Portland to Sacramento.
Rent a car in Sacramento for about 12-14 days to see all you want to see in California.
Probably the best that the Deschutes NF has to offer is the Cascades Lakes highway out of Bend past Mt. Bachelor and then south past a few nice lakes.
Along the coast be sure to see Haystack Rock at Cannon Beach.
Don't pay a big drop off fee on a rental car.
My style is riding a train and renting a car and returning and going onward by train.

I'll only comment on the California portion since I have not been to Oregon lately.
It is great you are spending two nights along Highway 1, however I would not stay in Big Sur for two nights for several reasons, the lodging there is pricey, heck even some of the rustic places are pricey. Instead stay one night in Monterey or Cambria and the second night in Cambria, Pismo Beach or Morro Bay. Also although there is a Big Sur Village, Big Sur itself is not one single place, but the stretch of Highway 1 between Carmel and Cambria.
I would also take one night away from Lake Tahoe and add it to San Francisco.
Do you have Yosemite lodging booked yet? It books up to a year in advance, you don't want to stay an hours drive each way in a nearby town.

A silly addition to the trip planning the N to S versus S to N part of the trip may be your tolerance for precipices. On highway 1 near Big Sur, heading South puts you on the outside of the cliff, and can lead to increased anxiety you didn't know you had back in Carmel.

I second staying in Monterey instead of Big Sur. There are some great beach spots near Cambria as well that justify that second day between San Francisco and L.A. In between, the best nature spots are highway accessible and you can hike and enjoy as you go.

Highway one is IMO anxiety free driving in either direction for any driver of average competence.
A Seattle day trip from Portland is truly impractical.
2 days in LA will barely scratch the surface,
You might consider doing Seattle to San Francisco only for this trip keeping farther South for another time. Or at least stop at the Big Sur area.

If you keep all of Oregon portion...Ditch Tahoe and spend 2 nights in Seattle. Or ditch Tahoe AND Seattle and add the time to SF. You'll want more time in SF unless you've been before- two nights is not enough. 2 nights in Seattle isn't really enough either but it's definitely more doable than 2 in SF.

Big Sur is gorgeous, and I did spend a night there at Ragged Point which was an amazing place to wake up- but you will save soooo much money if you don't overnight there. If you want to spend money- I would still give up one night in Big Sur for 1 night in Carmel.

I am sort of wondering why you are spending more time in Oregon than southern CA. I love Oregon- but weather can be kind of uncertain then- and there's so much to do in LA that I'd get frustrated with only one day. It takes time just to travel from place to place while Portland can be done in one day, in my opinion.

I'm also wondering why redwoods aren't listed- I'd definitely spend one night somewhere in that region. Nothing like it!

I realize it's a bit jumbled but here are some quick thoughts:
Crater is one day, tops. I'd rather do Tahoe than Crater, more activities. I'd skip willamette and rogue entirely in October. I don't necessarily agree that the Gorge is a must see- but I think it's definitely a higher priority than Bend (which is what I assume you mean by Deschutes).

Alternatively- you could leave California entirely for another trip. Do an enormous circular trip of Oregon and Washington. I'm suggesting it because you do seem very interested in Oregon and national parks- have you been to Rainier or Olympic?? There is also the San Juan Islands and the Cascades (although I haven't been in the Cascades in the last 2 months so I couldn't say how the fires have affected the area). You could hit all the places you have listed in Oregon plus some stuff in Eastern Washington or even British Columbia if you have a passport. There's more than enough to see- it would involve more on the ground time and less "drive through" time.