We may be towing a travel trailer out of the Northwest in a couple of weeks. Would a southern route through California be safer than a more direct route on interstate 90 heading east?
Thanks.
I 90 in washington state takes you over snoqualmie pass (near seattle) You should expect some snow or ice on the pass this time of year. They maintain the road well but..... Washington DOT has a website and a "pass cam" that's worth taking a hard look at before traveling.
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We may be towing a travel trailer out of the Northwest in a couple of weeks. Would a southern route through California be safer than a more direct route on interstate 90 heading east?
Thanks.
Hi, Try this site http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/traffic/passes/. This will give you a look at what your heading into. I can't think of the name, but there is a large pass from Oregon to California that can get rough. Winter has come early this year. The sooner the better. Lee
Look at I-5 to Portland. Go up the Columbia River Gorge into Utah & Wyoming. Depending upon your destination, you should hit very few steep climbs. Early in the season the weather whouldn't be too bad, but you can't be sure no matter which way you go.
I would agree that going down to PDX and then out the gorge and down to Boise would be preferable to I90, however that still leaves you in pretty high terrain once you get to Salt Lake City and then east on I80. If it were me, I would probably go down through Cali on I-5 and then go across on I40. The only point of possible concern is the Siskiyou summit, 4000', crossing into Calif, and possibly the next 100 miles until you drop down into Redding. And even that is only a problem if we are getting a heavy winter storm, with snow. After that it is clear sailing. And if you have to, you can still avoid the Siskiyou Summit by diverting down 199 from Grants Pass in southern Oregon, to Crescent City, then down Hwy 101 through the Redwoods, crossing back over to I5 on 20 through Clearlake. Beautiful drive but about 6 hours longer.
You can monitor the Siskiyou by ODOT weather info and live road cams beforehand and if snow and cold weather are anticipated to cause problems over the pass, take the 199 alternative. If the weather is that bad I don't think I would try to outrun it by heading across further north on I84 or I90.
I vote for going straight down I5 into CA. I think I5 is better maintained, and kept clear except in the worst winter storms. The gorge (I84) can be hazardous with stiff winds and icy roads even in mild winter weater. Really at this time of year things are usually pretty good whichever way you want to go, but you never know how fast things can change in the mountains!
Travel by day, check out the road reports, and have a good trip.
We just did the 1-90 route about a month ago. We went from Seattle through the panhandle of Idaho, across Montana and then south through Wyoming and Colorado to end up in New Mexico. We had to go this route because we were spending some time in Montana. But it was quite a hassle. There was tons of road work in Eastern Washington, then a lot of winding around to avoid passes - we kept running into passes that were not listed on the map and alot of places were at such a high elevation that even if there wasn't a pass you could still encounter snow/icy conditions.
So... that was my experience on the 1-90 east route. If we would not have had to stop in Montana, we definitely would have done the Cali route.
We may be towing a travel trailer out of the Northwest in a couple of weeks. Would a southern route through California be safer than a more direct route on interstate 90 heading east?
Thanks.
Go south young man. All of the passes have snow on them I live outside of Fresno Ca at 4500 feet and we had 2 inches of snow plust lots of rain. Depends where you are going but hwy5 to Saramento ,99 to 58 east in Bakerfield Ca., then 40 to Needles Ca, to 95 south and 10 east. That is how we are going to go to Tuson Arizona in January. If you need weather report from my area let me know. The e mail address is gmby@netptc.net. Have safe trip Regards Russell
Why wasn't that trailer I love offered before the snow hit? A frustrating business -- the ones I really like are always far away, and now we're into winter considerations, too! Thanks for all your help. Think we're going to pass on this one!
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