Oregon trip planning - Montana Owners Club

mobrownies · 05-24-2008, 06:49 AM

We will be leaving Utah in a few days and making our first trip into Oregon. Would appreciate guideance and suggestions. We will be entering from Idaho along I84 and wondering what Hwy 20 or 26 is like to the Bend area. We plan to stop at Crater Lake and then up the coast on 101. Can anyone tell me what those roads are like for pulling, camping and fuel facilities? We have a lot of places highlighted to see, any "must see" or favorite stops?

Thanks in advance for your help.

blarkman · 05-24-2008, 09:48 AM

hWY 20 goes from Ontario to the coast, the road is good going via Burns, Bend. Fuel is not a problem. You can stay at Burns nice RV park,IMHO or the indian casino at Burns has basics and price is reasonable for what you get, have stayed at both. We usually stay at Jsckpot,NV and spend nite at Burns and drive home next day to Lebanon. You probaly want to stay at one of the RV parks on 97 or 138. I could probaly give u a long list depending on how much time u have or what u want to see.
bob

rogue · 05-24-2008, 01:00 PM

Right near Bend is Sisters, named after the Sisters Mountains, nice small town. Also Smith Rock State park is nice to visit, through most of the summer they have rock climbers there. On RT 242 (DO NOT take the Monty on that road), there is the Dee Wright Observatory, well worth the trip about 12 miles from Sisters. Its a observatory that looks at the mountains, not the stars. Its one open air room made from the local Lava. South of Bend is "the High Desert Museum" and a little further is Newberry Creator (its not Creator Lake, but still nice). All of these I'd suggest doing as side trips from a CG.

You did not say anything about going to the coast. Sure hope you get a chance to see and camp on the coast of Oregon.
For information on the coast you can find some stuff at http://101things.com/
Bob

markwick · 05-26-2008, 01:01 PM

Oregon State Parks are wonderful - probably the best anywhere. Crater Lake is a must see if the weather is fine - they do get snow up there late in the season sometimes, also the drive up to the lake from the North end can be a bit hairy. the road is fairly narrow with total dropoffs at the side, lots of RVers do it though.
Have a great trip

rving2us · 05-26-2008, 06:24 PM

Sounds like a great trip. We made a trip to Crater Lake from Seattle last summer, in July 2007. Our connections from I5 was routes 58 and 97. The sinage on both could have been better but the drive was beautiful, passing through a number of national forests.
If you stay in Klamath Falls, we were in the Klamath Falls KOA. They have fuel on site and the location is easy excess. While in Klamath Falls take in Abby's Legendary Pizza, I think everyone in town goes there.
After leaving Klamath Falls OR our drive took us to 101S to Crescent City, another beautiful drive but some fuel stops were to small for us to get into and the roads through some of the red wood forests were narrow. The drive made me work a little. We left Klamath Falls at 9A and we were parked and set up by 5P in Klamath,CA so I hope this gives you some idea of time frames. Happy trails and keep the rubber side down.

blarkman · 05-27-2008, 04:04 AM

You might want to stop at the rest area south of Ontario and check with infomation center. They have lots of free info and an online computer so u can check roads. There is still a lot of snow in the mountains and last I heard the Mckenzie pass was still closed, will be late opening. It usually opens around April 15. Some of these roads are narrow, steep and IMHO I would not pull my 3000 over them.
bob

toolmanroy · 05-28-2008, 04:38 AM

As everyone has told you, the snowpack this year may be a problem for you this early in the season. Most of our area, including Crater Lake has 150% of normal. It is still raining here today but I am not sure what the snow level is. One of the best places for information as far as road conditions in Oregon is:
http://www.tripcheck.com/Pages/CamerasEntry.asp

You cannot miss at the Oregon coast. Each section from south to north is different. All the state parks are great. If you are in southern oregon for any part of your visit, we would be happy to direct you if you need help.

mobrownies · 06-08-2008, 12:37 PM

Thanks to all for your comments and suggestions. We came across on 26 and have been without internet for a while. We are now heading south on 97 and will cut across on 138. Then up 101 along the coast. Stopped in Vale, then Dayville and are now in La Pine State Park. Unexpected road closures will hamper our trip. We attempted to do the Cascade Hwy scenic loop only to find that it is still closed from Elk Lake to Mt. Bachelor. The north entrance to Crater Lake is still closed and it may be the end of June before it is open.

So much to see, so little time...
Thanks again for the info.

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