PCH to South then North thru central California

[PoorSSJ]

My departure date is coming soon! We are expecting to be in Reno on the 8th or 9th of May, then planning on going up to Susanville and taking 36 across to the coast. We plan on cutting over and heading east north of LA. I'm thinking of taking Casitas Pass Road to Baldwin to Maricopa (33) to Lockwood Valley then after Bakersfield catching 178 to 395 North and doing some camping in Sequoia NP, then at Lee Vining heading west on 120 to Moccasin, then south on 49 then back northward on 140 to do a loop in the Yosemite NP area. Then taking 120 to 6 into Nevada and catching 287 and 190 thru Death Valley if it doesn't look too hot.

Can anyone give me an idea if I will be having issues with passes along this route being closed?

Thanks in advance. All of you folks who have offered advice have really help in the planning of this trip!!

 

[HIGHLANDER]

Highway 120 through Yosemite is closed for winter and probably will not open till late June or maybe July this year. Only passes open today are 88 twisty, 50 not so twisty, 80 even less twisty.

Camping on the backside of the Sierras ( Sequoia NP ) will be cold, be prepared for that.

This week the temps in Death Valley are scheduled to hit 100 degrees, they usually don't drop after that and only get hotter.

I'm not really following your trip planing as you start of mid state area ( Reno ) then your in Norcal on 36 and suddenly your in LA ( Socal ) and then heading back to Central Cali ( backside of Yosemite / 120 ? Maybe you could elaborate on the route / days and we can help more ?

 

[PoorSSJ]

Thanks Highlander.

when we get to the coast we're planning on heading north to check out the Redwoods, then following the PCH and ave of the giants and hwy 1. We're not really sure how much time we'll be spending in CA, but it will probably be 8-9 days.

Where is 88? I'm sad to hear that 120 will still be closed, as we find out more we'll have to reroute as we go.

 

[HIGHLANDER]

88 is 1 hour south of Reno, goes from Minden NV, on the backside of the Sierras, to the front side of the Sierras in Cali. ( only one bad section of road that's torn of from tire chains in the Carson Pass area ) You could go in and out of Yosemite on the front side as 88 hits 49 then onto the front side of 120 into the park.

The other passes south of 88 are still closed, 4, 108 and the rest of 120 over Tioga pass. The next pass south that's available is the 178 that you mentioned you may be taking.

 

[SacramentoMike]

I don't want to be a downer, but man, a lot of California roads are f'd up big time right now. If you saw "Airplane," you remember Lloyd Bridges who was in charge at the airport tower. As the situation got worse and worse, he went from "guess I picked the wrong time to quit drinking coffee" to "I picked the wrong time to quit smoking," then drinking, and then shooting heroin. I hate to say you picked the wrong time to see the California mountain passes or the Pacific coast, but you could have picked a better one.

Just pay close attention to road closures and mountain pass conditions--it's all up to date on the internet, but with landslides and bridges falling down and record deep snow, well, it's an issue. Tonight I heard the Merced River, that runs through Yosemite Valley, will be over flood stage most of this week. That can make a big impact for the park too. Just do your research--you can still have a great time, but don't get caught unawares.

 

[PoorSSJ]

Yesterday we left Red Bluff and took 36 to Fortuna. As you guys suggested, that is one fantastic road!

Last night we camped at Redwood NP, today we rode the Avenue of the Giants, what a beautiful road that is. After that we got on Hwy 1 and took that for about 160 miles, finally heading over to Santa Rosa to get a room for the night. I was really surprised how nice and twisty Hwy 1 is, and also quite surprised, happily so, that it is a 55 mph zone. I don't think I have ever spent so much time riding below the speed limit. There was many areas of construction from mudslides and washouts, but they didn't slow us down much. Tomorrow we're planning on heading back to hwy 1 and heading to San Fransisco and south from there.

 

[Tyler]

Be sure to put Alice's Restaurant on your trip south... it's kind of a big deal for moto riders.

 

[PoorSSJ]

Thanks for all of the advice and help guys! We had a great trip even with all of the closed roads. I'll just have to do the trip again in July or August