Oregon Coast

[Bruce H]

What would be the best time of the year to travel the Oregon coast? Actually from northern Washington to San Fransisco. Would you recommend towing a toad or not? I traveled the PCH from LA to SF a couple of years ago in October and it seemed to be a good time weather wise at that time. I did not tow, however I think I could have. I was concerned about the fog, however there was a little fog in the mornings but nothing that interfered with our travel plans. The motor home is 36 feet.
Your input will be appreciated

[mofa]

I believe October is fine, we were there this year in October and had towed a trailer and no issues. RV spots are busy though as it is crabbing season. Beautiful.

[Jeff and Cheryl]

I would suggest late April into May. Less storm activity is likely and since school is still in session, the road will not be too crowded.

[ottffss]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bruce H What would be the best time of the year to travel the Oregon coast? ....

What do you like to do/see? Spring flowers, fall foliage, summer beach, winter sports. Crowds...no crowds. Festivals...pure nature. Every season has a different lure and appeal. Give us some more details of what you want to do/see/experience or maybe even what you want to avoid.

[frankdamp]

We did it last year in late Sept. Went down I-5 to Roseburg, then over to the coast to Cape Blanco. We'd planned 15 days or so all the way up to Astoria, then over the bridge to Washington and up to Kingston for the ferry across to Edmonds.

Unfortunately, on the first night stop in Ridgefield, I almost fell out of the driver's door and hurt my back. Could still drive, so we continued. On Day 4 we stopped at Florence, with temps in the mid 70's, blue sky, light breeze. The next morning it was 45, rain sheeting across horizontally in 45-knot winds.

Continued up to Lincoln City, where the CG had cable TV. First thing we saw was the Portland TV weather forecaster saying "Five more days like this". We came home through McMinnville and I-205 with an overnight at Millersylvania SP.

Late fall weather can be unpredictable. If we'd gone a week earlier, it would have been spectacular all the way and I might not have had my little incident. That incident later resulted in a herniated lumbar disk and back surgery!

We'll probably do the northern half next spring, going across on the ferry from Coupeville to Port Townsend and then on 101 all the way to Lincoln City -Two weeks?

[Bruce H]

Thank all of you for your input. I am leaning more toward Jeff's April- May time of the year. Plus I am getting anxious to get on the road again. We usually take one big trip a year and then several small ones after that. We went to the east coast and back last year, a two month adventure.

[dieselclacker]

Bruce H, April can be a little risky weather wise for traveling the Oregon coast. We went with daughter and SIL a few years back in mid April and had a lot of drizzle and cool weather for most of the week we were gone. I think I would prefer May, or at least late April.

Dieselclacker

[frankdamp]

Another comment, this time regarding direction of travel. Almost all the pull-outs for points of interest are on the west side of the highway. Travelling north, that means they all require turning across the traffic. Also, the book that O-DOT puts out assumes you're going north-south.

It was a minor annoyance when we did our trip last year, but it was an irritant. We'll be going southwards when we do the northern section next season.

[awarnes]

Late spring our early fall would work well. Stay away from the coast between Mid-June through Labor Day Weekend. Very crowded and you will find it very difficult to get a camping spot. Prime time to travel for most families with children.

[Bruce H]

Thanks for the tip on the April weather Dieselclacker, I'll make the trip in May. I may have not mentioned it but I do plan to make the trip from the north to the south for the very reason you mentioned Frank. I learned that from the trip I took on the PCH.

[TEDDE]

The DW and I were heading toward the Oregon coast this summer with our 38 DP towing. We were going to go to Seaside and travel down to San Fran. We stopped at a rest area and started talking to a long haul trucker. He said that to stay away from the coast highway, there is no room for a rig the size of ours. So we changed our plans and came down the interstate instead. We had our heart set on the beautifull coast highway but chose not to as we didn't need the stress of a narrow highway with tight turns......So he said..

Guess he was wrong...story of my life....

Ted and Kathy Mckay

[quadnkev]

Whenever you go do take a tour of the Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area by a dune buggy tour group
or rent a ATV or Side by Side, sort of a mini-jeep, it will be well worth the effort.
The three areas are at Florence, Winchester Bay/Reedsport and Coos Bay.

[JimM68]

Truckers are earning a living, not siteseeing.

We did 10Q, north to south, from seatle into california in a 36 ft class a without a toad 3 years ago in july.

The road can be skinnny but was doable.
We lived without the toad
Even in july, the coast is cold and windy.

Course we did the columbia gorge on the old hwy....
So we just might be nutso....

[WheelingIt]

I would recommend either spring or fall. No problems for big rigs -> we're 40-foot plus toad and had no issues. Highly recommend the state parks, but do think about reserving for weekends especially.

We were there all Sept and it was fabulous. Be prepared for some wild weather though no matter when you go. If you're interested I wrote a couple of posts about RVing the OR coast:

http://wheelingit.wordpress.com/2011...-oregon-coast/

http://wheelingit.wordpress.com/2011...coast-weather/

Enjoy!! Love that coast!!