Just the two of us senior citizens will be traveling from Portland Oregon to Sacramento in July. Leaving on a Monday morning and arriving on Friday evening. We have taken the coastal drive twice and we KNOW that is great but we are wondering if there is an interesting inland route with nice small towns and things...
THANKS...............Mark

Of course the coast route is fabulous. But if you go down hwy 97 through Bend, the Lava Fields, Deschutes Nat'l forest and Crater Lake, you will find as much to see and do as along the coast. Hwy 97 hooks up w/ I-5 at Weed. Then after Mt Shasta, if you have time, you could see, MacArthur Burney Falls, and Lassen.

It is a great route

In July it is also a hot route.

If you want even more hot, in California you might cut over to US 395 and follow it through some pretty remote country to Reno, or take one of several state highways, the aim of which would be to connect to I-80 in the Sierras.

I will do anything to avoid the northern Sacramento Valley in summer. Frankly if it was me I'd mosey down SR99W from Portland through the wine country, spend a night at the Flying M Ranch (http://www.flying-m-ranch.com), meander through the Willamette Valley looking at covered bridges and the like, then cut over on SR38 to the coast at Reedsport. Then I'd follow 101 through the Redwoods to the junction with Calif. SR1, take 2 days to poke along down to SF, then beam over to Sacramento.

Thanks Janis & Gardyloo. You already have given us a lot to thing about. We are definitely going inland this time..........MARK_RITA

If you go the Hwy 97 route, don't miss the High Desert Museum south of Bend; it is excellent. The rest of the route is somewhat dry and sparsely populated, though.

Alternately, you can go down the back roads through the Willamette valley, which has lots of pleasant small towns.

Crater Lake is a highlight you should try to see whichever way you go.