Traveling to Willits CA, Coos Bay, OR

[ruben]

This is my first time posting on any forum, so please bear with me. My wife, 6 year old son, in-laws (in their own RV) and I are planning a trip Oregon in June stopping in Willits, CA. I have a routing question as to the best route of travel from Tulare, CA to Willits. Then on to Coos Bay. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[drknapp]

We traveled that way last November. We just followed I580 up the Oakland side of the San Fransisco Bay until we hit Highway 101 and then took it north. Lot's of traffic in the Oakland area, but it's not too bad of a route.

[brenkco]

I would agree. If you can plan to get through the east bay late morning heading north on 101 you will be early enough to miss the late afternoon traffic mess at the Novato narrows and then the freeway construction from Petaluma through Rohnert Park. It is clear sailing from there north. Also, traffic is easier weekend mornings.

Hope that helps,

Ken

[Carl n Susan]

As for your question for the best route from Willits to Coos Bay, Hwy-101 is the answer. You will really enjoy the drive, towing the Montana won't be an issue, and there is terrific scenery along the way.

[HamRad]

Ruben,
An alternative to the 101 would be to take the 5 north to Williams, CA. Take the 20 west from Williams toward Clear Lake. This will take you to the 101 just south of Willits. The 20 is a fairly decent 2 lane road. It gets a bit narrow in places but is an easily doable road. We've been that way several time with the Monty.

From Willits just stay on the 101 north all the way to Coos Bay. Don't know if you have reservations or not for some park but on the north side of Coos Bay...... actually is a town called North Bend is a Casino with a very nice RV Park called The Mill. We usually stay there when visiting that area.

South and West of Coos Bay is a nice little town called Charleston. Very scenic area. If you haven't visited that area you should put it on your list of things to do.

Good luck and enjoy. Dennis

[Capt Kidd]

I agree with HamRad I-5 to Williams then Hyw 20 t 101. Not a bad road and the wildflowers should be great this time of year.

[Parts Ed]

Make sure you take time to ride the jet boats up the Rogue River, (at least to the town of Agnes) I would recommend Jerry's Jet Boat Tour, it is something that you will talk about for years to come.

[ruben]

Thanks to all that took the time to reply, I really appreciate your input. This is a really great forum, especially for a newbie like me. Thanks again.

[sreigle]

We did that route last year and 101 is the road we took and would take again. Give yourself a little time to enjoy the redwoods. You're in for some beautiful scenery!

If any interest in previewing some of the sites you can see..

www.vickiandsteve.com
then 2004 Postcards - from May 4 through May 15
and 2010 Postcards - from June 28 through July 4 and then July 20 through about Aug 18.

I lived in Willits for about a year when I was a toddler. One of my sisters was born there. The home of Seabiscuit (Ridgewood Ranch or something like that) is just south of town and there's an rv park on the ranch now. When we were there in 2004 you could walk to the ranch buildings which still had the logo on the window and door shutters, etc. At that time they were planning on someday doing tours. I have no idea whether they ever actually got that far with it.

Enjoy your trip!