rest stop on I-5

[Ricker991]

Next month we are traveling from Phoenix to Northern CA. We are planning on leaving PHX about midnight on Friday to get through LA before early morning

My question is any advice does any one have on rest areas to stop that are dog friendly that we can spend a few hours at to relax along the way?

I am looking for maybe rest areas that have a little more to offer for the furry friends than the normal rest area

We have no problem going a few miles off I-5 for an interesting place to break the monotony Just trying to make a long drive more fun

[Skip426]

Just about every rest area; on the 58 and I-5 has the standard pet area , but as I don't travel with a dog , I didn't notice any with a fenced play area , for a run or ball play, if that's what you're after .

[Ldubs]

Skip 429 has it right. The rest areas along I-5 north of the Grapevine are about an hour apart the way I drive. Dog areas yes, but not fenced and on a leash needed. I don't recall any north of the Grapevine with dump stations.

For what it is worth, the rest area on the southbound side at Tejon Pass (Lebec) has a dump station. But that is south of the grapevine and I imagine you would want to be a lot further north.

The bad news is when we were along I-5 just this past June, a lot of the rest areas were closed and under some kind of renovation. I have no idea how long this will be happening, but it looked pretty extensive.

You might want to look into Harris Ranch. I've not used it for such, but think they cater to RVs even with free parking overnight. Great steaks and BBQ. Not sure about dog areas. Harris Ranch is about 200 miles north of Los Angeles.

You might want to also check the San Luis Reservoir Recreation area near Santa Nella. It is a short drive from I-5 at Santa Nella to the state park recreation area. They have campsites and perhaps they have day use, IDK. If like most CA state parks, then dogs would need to be on a leash. Note this is a hot/dry area, so don't expect balmy weather in August. Santa Nella is about 4.5 hours north of Los Angeles right on I-5. It is one of our routine stopping points. Easy gaso/fuel & a variety of fast food stuff to eat.

I'm along the I-5 stretch from SF to LA routinely. Sadly, because I'm usually focused on making the drive, I've not really strayed far off the freeway. So, can't offer any recommendations for those hidden places that might exist.

[twogypsies]

Personally, I would avoid LA & I-5 and take 395 north instead. Or even 93 to Kingman/Las Vegas and 95 to Reno. Then you can leave at a decent hour.

[TravelSolo]

Several Love's stops have dog parks. How nice they are I don't know (other than the one in Madera which is new and decent sized for a truck stop)

[johninsd]

I second the recommendation to stop at Harris Ranch - I've spent the night there several times - good barbecue, not terribly noisy. Just note that the dirt lot on the North side by the gas station is not where you want to be - I called the HR number and they said to park between the hotel and the sit down restaurant, anywhere I liked just don't block anyone in. At first it seemed rude to park across several spaces but that is where they want RVs to be. The big dirt lot is used by truckers and they come and go all night so it is noisy.
Another nice stop is Bravo Farms at the Kettleman City exit - they have designated RV parking - I don't know if they allow overnight parking though. Dogs must be leashed there IIRC. Bravo Farms is an excellent lunch stop and a great place to buy cheese.

[SergioP]

Originally Posted by johninsd

I second the recommendation to stop at Harris Ranch - I've spent the night there several times - good barbecue, not terribly noisy. Just note that the dirt lot on the North side by the gas station is not where you want to be - I called the HR number and they said to park between the hotel and the sit down restaurant, anywhere I liked just don't block anyone in. At first it seemed rude to park across several spaces but that is where they want RVs to be. The big dirt lot is used by truckers and they come and go all night so it is noisy.
Another nice stop is Bravo Farms at the Kettleman City exit - they have designated RV parking - I don't know if they allow overnight parking though. Dogs must be leashed there IIRC. Bravo Farms is an excellent lunch stop and a great place to buy cheese.

I’ll third the Harris Ranch stop. Great steaks and good bag snacks.

[Dutch Star Don]

We just came southbound I-5 last week. Every rest area between the Oregon border and Sacramento was closed. We change to Hwy 99 below Sacramento and drive that all the way to the Grapevine. Two of the three on the 99 were open. They all have dog walks.

The nicest rest area in the State of California is the Klamath River Rest Area just before the Oregon border. It's down in a valley with lush lawns and nicely groomed. We always try to use that Rest Area. It also has the most RV/Truck parking spots.

[Ricker991]

Thanks for all the helpful hints. Bummer about the rest areas being closed. We have a rv site at Santa Nella RV Park for Saturday night. Leaving PHX at about midnight gets us into Santa Nella about noon. We used just stay at one of the hotels there, but you can't check in until like 3:00 so we end up just waiting around.

The RV Park will let us check in about 1:00 so we really just need a place to stop for about 2 hours, so we don't arrive too early.

From Santa Nella it is an easy drive up the 101 to our destination just south of Fortuna CA

I thought about going up the Nevada side but was not sure of the roads. In the past we have pulled out 20-foot hybrid travel trailer. This will be the firat year we will be towing our new trailer that is a 30-foot Twilight.

This being the first real long trip with this trailer, I wanted to stay off two lane roads. I don't want to hold up traffic but still want to be able to pass if needed.

I have driven the 299 from Susanville to Erueka and it is better than it was but still mostly a two-lane road.

Even if the rest stops are closed do they let truckers in? If so, we could slip in and use our own bathroom and let the dog out for some exercise

[jl.kauai]

Why would you drive through Ca. Go up through Nevada then cut over. Unless of course you want to pay a fortune for gas. Travato John