Coopers

Help, we're busy trying to get together a route for our RV trip late March/early April. We've 3 wks to travel north from San Francisco. Our plans our ok till we get as far north as Mount Shasta area. But we're not sure what roads to take to get to Lake Tahoe. We've read reports that roads around Lassen NP area will be closed with snow? Is this right, can anyone give us some suggestions for a scenic route? Many Thanks.

Barblab

Since you will be traveling in an RV your best route advise will come from fellow RVers. I suggest you go to RV.net and do a search on the "roads and routes" section and if nothing shows up post your question there. Have fun!

Gardyloo

With respect, you're likely to encounter deep roadside snow, if not actually on the highway, around then.

The National Park Service starts plowing the roads in Lassen Park around the first of April; typically things don't open fully until June. This year in particular, the snow pack in the Cascades and Sierras is far above normal (around 30% above average in the northern Sierras around Tahoe, nearly 50% or more above normal in parts of the Cascades) so even the later dates for road openings might be in jeopardy.

In addition, travel in the mountain areas around your time frame can be subject to delays as the authorities do avalanche control; and many of the camping and RV areas are still closed for the winter.

While nobody wants to spoil your plans, I really do think you should be working on two route scenarios, one that goes up into those areas, and another "snow" plan that avoids them.

In late March/early April the conditions will be much nicer in foothill areas - for example the Gold Rush country in California (along Highway 49) can be quite beautiful then (early spring) or, alternatively, stick to the coastal areas and enjoy wonderful scenery - north from SF through the Redwoods to the Oregon coast, or south from SF along the Pacific coast toward Los Angeles. With 3 weeks you could do something of a loop - north to the Redwoods, across to the Gold Rush country, south toward, say, Death Valley (marvelous in the spring) then cross over to the coast and back up to SF.

As for Tahoe, two main roads, Interstate 80 and US Hwy 50. Neither is hugely scenic; one goes past the north end of Tahoe, the other the south. If the roads are good, it's an easy loop.

janisj

Gardyloo has given you great info. I live in the Sacramento Valley and was born near Mt Shasta (and take most of my vacations at Lake Tahoe or in the UK - )- and you will have problems w/ your plan.

What is your entire itineray plan? Once we know where you are heading, we can give you much more useful advice . . . . . .

nytraveler

It is often a surprise to people from the UK that weather is the US is so much more extreme than they are used to.

I'm not an expert on the Mt Shasta area - but do know that you can get heavy snows in the mountains through April and even into May. (I did a business trip to Denver - NOT in the mountains - the first week in September one year and when we landed found more than 8" of snow. It melted the next day when the temps went into the high 50's - but it had been over 80 when we left NYC.)

Similarly, one year flying into NYC from London in mid September the young woman next to me - from Edinburgh - was astonished to hear from the pilot that the temp was 98. Her wardrobe was wool sweaters, cords and a fall jacket.

Agree that you should consult the RV site - but also have alternate plans ready if the winter snows continue to be heavy.

janisj

A main point is - It doesn't have to be wintery, or even snowing, for the the roads to be closed. The roads through Lassen will be closed when you are here.

So, as I suggested - tell us what the itinerary is in full and we can help.

Coopers

Thanks for some really useful advice. We had anticipated snow, but maybe not so much! We live in Scotland and do get snow, but nowhere near the amount you're all talking about. So we are really grateful for your advice. I have spent a few more hours with maps and guide books since my posting and now have what I think is possibly a better itinerary. So here goes, but it is still a rough idea, that's the beauty of taking an RV trip; if you find somewhere particulary interesting you can take a little extra time and if it's not as good as expected well you just move on. Hence there's no exact days mapped out!

We arrive SF on Frid 21 March and pick up RV on Sat. Head out over GGB towards Muir Beach and take H1 towards Mendocino, picking up H101 at Leggett and on to the Avenue of the Giants/Humboldt Redwoods State Park. From there back down to Clear Lake and across towards Sacremento, then onto 49 heading to Sonora and hopefully (any advice again here much appreciated) into Yosemite; we met other UK visitors who had been to Yosemite with an RV at this time of year in '07. At least staying a few days here and then down to Death Valley and possibly Hoover Dam before looping back to SF. These are rough ideas just now and I will spend more time once I receive any more suggestions.

We spent 3 wks in an RV last year. We went down H101 from SF to LA and thought the scenery absolutely fantastic. From LA (Disney for kids) to San Diego (Sea World for older kids) and then headed toward Pheonix and up to Flagstaff, Grand Canyon (breath taking). We also got as far as Arches, Bryce and Zion NP's. Zion we found particulary beautiful and the weather was so mild. In total we did 3100miles, so as you can guess we don't mind putting in the miles!! We had the best holiday ever, everyone was so friendly and helpful, the screnery spectacular, we just can't wait to get back!

Thanks for advice already given and any yet to come.

janisj

I only have time for a very quick comment right now. The bit of hwy 1 from the coast to Leggett is VERY windy, hilly and narrow. Not single track or anything like that but it would be slow slog in an RV. Lots of switchbacks and blind curves.

I would definitely explore the coast above Ft Bragg (be sure to visit the Pacific Star Winery right on the bluffs near Westport)- but when it comes time to leave Mendocino/Ft Bragg, I'd take hwy 20 to Willits to catch 101.

Gardyloo

Having more or less suggested your route, I think it will be fine.

Highway 1 is indeed very twisty between Ft Bragg and 101, but not impassible, just slow. Your comfort will depend on the size of your RV to some extent, but at that time of year it's unlikely you'll have much traffic to worry about.

Doubling back to SR 20 and over through Clearlake is okay - kinda boring IMO but not bad in spring; however you could also use Hwy 299 from Eureka through the Trinity Alps over to I-5 and make it more of a loop - pretty scenic, not fast but not terrible.

I'd also reiterate that continuing up 101 into southern Oregon is very scenic - you could make it a one-day excursion from Eureka if you still wanted to cross over to I-5 somewhere in northern California rather than in Oregon.

Yosemite is fine, however if you're planning on going from Yosemite over to Death Valley be advised that Tioga Pass will definitely still be closed, so you'll need to exit Yosemite back into the valley then go around the bottom of the mountains instead of over the tops; it makes for a pretty long day's drive.

Coopers

Hello again,
Oregon sounds very tempting, but we would like to find a bit of warmer weather for at least part of our trip! UK weather as it is, it's nice to find some sun when we can! Husband and kids would like to re-visit GC but I'm not to sure if we'll actually get that far. We know that Tioga Pass will be closed at this time of year. We've been reading guide books just about since we got back last year, but sadly weather/road conditions for the Mount Shasta/Lassen area at this time of year are hardly mentioned. We've been onto various web sites gathering info. but thought in the end it would be better to get info 'direct from the horses mouth' as we say over here, so thanks for your advice.

We've booked a 30ft RV together with a set of snow chains for this trip! Husband manages driving it no bother, I'm lucky if I even get to sit in the front seat, ha, ha. Having teenages travelling doesn't always make for an easy life!