Traveling in Oregon, Wash, Idaho, Montana

[pmaen]

Has anyone gone from California north to Oregon, Washington, Idaho and Montana? I am wondering the best way to go. Route 5, 97, 395, or 95?
DH wants to take 5, but we can do that trip a little later. I am wondering the easiest, most scenic way to get towards Montana. Has anyone driven these routes?.
We have a 26 foot Shamrock hybrid travel trailer.

[450Donn]

Starting where? 395 is an interesting trip across some mostly desert. 97 is another great route north. In WA you have a couple of choices east. If you were to take 97 then transition onto hwy 2 east across the northwen part of the state.

[mtofell]

Pretty open-ended question - What time of year? Time of day through metro area?

I'd personally avoid I-5 through Portland if given a choice. Traffic in Portland is total hell these days unless you can sneak through just after the AM rush hour and before the PM rush hour that starts at about 11:30AM.

Weather over the Cascades can be rough but not always. Central/Eastern Oregon is beautiful and has lots of great things to see.

[andy29847]

I-84 east out of Portland is very scenic (Columbia River Gorge). I-82 north to 395 northeast to Spokane is easy driving. It's open country and relatively flat. Hwy 2 west from Spokane to Hwy 89 in Montana is a good road with some very scenic spots and some ups and downs. I drove 89 southeast to 87 to Billings, Montana and enjoyed the trip. It is mostly open cow country.

[pmaen]

thanks for all the info!! it will come in handy planning the trip.

[dix39]

What I've always done is pick the places you want to see, then find the routes that take you there. Easiest and most scenic do not always go together.

Interstates are always faster, and generally easiest, but not always the most scenic. All big cities are a pain to drive through, at least in my mind.

All the states you mention including CA have a tremendous amount of scenic beauty. Much of that is within NPs and NMs, but not all. It would be impossible to see it all in one trip, but researching and being selective would allow you to see much of what is important to you.

Steve