visiting Oregon suggestion
 

Ok, I want to plan a road trip to Oregon from Elk Grove Ca. I have no clue where to start. If i drive from Elk Grove straight on I-5, I feel like I'll be missing the coast on the CA side but it'll be alot faster to get to Oregon. Then from there rent a car to explore Oregon Coast? I like the outdoors and lots of trees. Was also thinking of flying rt to Oregon or one way. But renting car one way is expensive? What is the best thing to do and what to see. And where to stay etc. Thanks in advance.

Are you returning to Elk Grove?

And how many days do you have in total? How long you have makes a HUGE difference.

>>on I-5, I feel like I'll be missing the coast on the CA side but it'll be alot faster to get to Oregon. Then from there rent a car to explore Oregon Coast?<<

And if you are driving up from EG, why would you be renting a car in Oregon? Just confused a bit.

Anyway -- if your time is short you could take I-5 one way (one day straight shot) and 101/1 the other. If you have more time you could go up 49/89/catching I-5 just below Mt Shasta then jogging NE on 97 -- Crater Lake then to Roseburg and over to the coast. This would add at about 3 days to your trip though.

I'm a bit confused. You are talking about driving on I5 in CA but then you mention renting a car in Oregon? Are you doing public transportation in CA and driving yourself in Oregon?

I think a little more information would be helpful. Where is your end point? I'm assuming Portland. How long is the trip? That will affect the route. When are you doing this, and what do you like to do? I.e. Does liking trees mean you want to hike and camp, or does it mean you like to drive through and occasionally stop to admire views? What is your budget? If this is for summer, the Oregon coast is going to be pricy and you want to make your reservations ASAP.

Something to consider: you live in CA and probably can do that coast on weekends. Take Amtrak from the closet state, get off in eugene, or, rent a car there, do a loop in Oregon hitting everything you want to see ( if it's just the coast, you can drive up the coast and take as long as you like, then head inland at portland and zoom down I5 back to eugene). Then return the car, ride amtrack home. This will save you driving time- depending on your age, it may save you money too because you will have the car for fewer days and no one way fee.

have you been to oregon before? If you tell me what you are especially interested in I can expand on that:)

Lol. Janis and I posted at the same time, both confused!

Also, autocorrect hates me. That's supposed to be "Amtrak from neared station"

My favorite places in Oregon are the coast from Brookings to Port Orford, the coast from Florence to Yachts, Ecola State Park (north of Cannon Beach), the Columbia River Gorge, and the Wallowa Mountains in the NE corner of the state.

There is much else I enjoy in Oregon, including Crater Lake, Mt. Hood, the John Day Fossil Beds, and Lava Land in the Bend area.

The State of Oregon has excellent information for travelers on line.

HTtY

The northbound Coast Starlight #14 leaves Sacramento about midnight every night. Turn in the car that you rented in Sacramento and wait for the train. Take the train at least as far as Eugene if you don't want to go as far as Portland.
Rent a car near your Amtrak stop and return it there when you are ready to leave Oregon.

First of all I don't see any mention of a rental car in Sacramento (though there may be one -- there is a bit of confusion) . . . but Tom, how do you propose someone get from Elk Grove to Amtrak downtown at midnight?


(Unless the OP is visiting friends/relatives there, s/he most likely lives there )

I believe that SAC is the closest Amtrak station to Elk Grove unless you count Lodi which might have either a train or bus stopping there. If you are taking the Coast Starlight north, I suggest getting into the station after a good meal.
The CS gets into Eugene at about 12:30PM after a scenic trip past K-Falls and over the Cascade Summit.

Sorry, I meant to say fly to Portland and from there explore. I don't want to miss famous destinations. I love beaches with nice rocks, tidal pools, mountains with water falls, etc. Will I see any animals? Thinking about 10 to 12 days? Is that enough? Thanks again. I will look at amtrak.

From Portland you can conveniently explore waterfalls in the Columbia River Gorge and nice rocks and tidal pools at Cannon Beach. It would be nice to have a car.

Mt. Hood also has waterfalls: http://www.mthoodadventure.com/summer/waterfalls

HTtY

If you start in Elk Grove and return there by car, you could actually drive a loop. North along the coast of CA stopping at perhaps Drive-Thru Tree Park, Richardson State Park, Humboldt Redwood Park, Patricks Point State Park, Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park (Fern Canyon and the elk herds) before driving the Oregon Coast. Bandon has tide pools at the beach (I'm sure other beaches do too), OR Dunes Nation RA is fun, sea lions along the coast then on up to Tillamook. Over to Portland, along the Columbia River Gorge area, up to Mt. Hood, down to Bend and the Lava Lands area, down Hwy 97 toward Klamath Falls with a detour to Crater Lake (look for the permanent Bald Eagles residents around Klamath Lake, they are in the trees or on the telephone poles), follow Hwy 97 to where it meets I5 at Weed. Then it is a straight shot down I5 to Elk Grove. I have done this route before in 14 days. Depending on how often you stop and how far you want to drive each day, you could adjust the total days.

I live in the Sacramento area and drive to Bend, OR via I5 and Hwy 97 about every six weeks. It is 7.5 to 8 hour drive without a detour to Crater Lake. There are a lot of different birds that you will see along this route.

Lots of options for this trip.