Need Advice, Cali roadtrip

Hello'
Im riding with a buddy from Vancouver down the Coast to San Diego and then over to Vegas and back through the mountains. We are leaving next month from may15-june1 (ish)

Day1- Vancouver to Astoria https://goo.gl/maps/hjPsQ
Astoria to Eureka or Crescent City https://goo.gl/maps/VA0nf
eureka E36 loop Moved Permanently

Cali shoreline highway to San Fran https://goo.gl/maps/yAAyJ

vegas to reno? https://goo.gl/maps/FXLvl
reno to portland? https://goo.gl/maps/eyGSj then home

Thats the gist of the ride we are thinking about doing.
The most important part of the ride is to get in some great riding, so if you can offer any advice for alternative routes or ideas of must rides it would be appreciated. Such as I'd like to ride to the Grand Canyon or hoover dam but not sure of what is best route to get there.
Also looking at california there is a lot of 'places' I recognize the name of but no clue as to where is worthwhile to stop and check out and explore. Basically what are the 'must-do' in Cali/anywhere on our trip. We are in our mid-20s so stopping at wineries is not high on the list of 'must do'. We haven't booked anything except for the time off. We figured we will see what its like and have the freedom of staying longer/shorter in some places more than others. The route back from Vegas I am most unsure of what is the best riding/scenic route. We expect to be staying in cheap motels/hotels along the way. My fz6 is set up for touring and he has a street triple.

Any advice would be much appreciated!
thanks in advance!:thumbup:

Going from Settle to San Fran (101 and 1) occasionally you will see signs on the side of the highway saying Scenic route, take them.

Sounds like an awesome trip! Be sure to check the ODOT site (TripCheck - Road Cams, Road & Weather Conditions in Oregon - ODOT). Road crews are starting up and, personally, I'd rather take an hour detour to go around work then spend an hour in stop and go traffic.:thumbup:

If you're coming this far south you have to hook up with us SoCal Hoons!
We could hit some really nice roads here and ride you out toward your next stop. I'll PM you my mobile number.

Did a driving tour in that area in 2006. FWIW, some of my fonder memories:

The OR and CA coast and redwoods. Looks like you have that covered. There are some short trails in Redwood National Park like Lady Bird Johnson Grove to stretch your legs and hug a big tree. Watch out for Elk! Stayed in Coos Bay OR, a cool little town with plenty of lodging and dining options. Eureka was ... a town ... but had plenty of places to rest your head and eat.

Crater Lake ... on your route from Reno into Oregon. If I went again I would still visit but not do the entire loop around the crater if I were pressed for time. There are places stay in nearby Klamath Falls.

A loop around Lake Tahoe, not far from Reno, was very scenic, but the place is expensive and can get congested.

I thought Lassen Volcanic National Park, east of Redding, was pretty cool for a park I never heard of before. But it's not on your routes and they might still be cleaning up from recent fires. More scenic than fun riding.

tripadvisor.com is always helpful with planning.

I made a few suggestions to your path from Eureka to San Francisco...

Eureka to SF

On your return route from Vegas to Reno is good, the road from 97 to Bishop has some nice passes and don't blink when in Lyda-you'll miss it. I have a slight must ride detour north of Bishop where you will ride from Benton to Lee Vining on hwy 120. Of hell of a fun motorcycle road, one of my most favorite roads on the west coast.
https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Bis...71beb!2m2!1d-119.119943!2d37.957592!3e0?hl=en

Hwy 97 is boring as watching water boil. This is a longer way to Bend but less traffic and 31 is quiet in places where you may want to open the bikes up a bit.
https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Can...1b4!2m2!1d-121.3153096!2d44.0581728!3e0?hl=en

I can offer much more riding in the Sierra's but need to know how may days you want to spend getting from Vegas to Portland.

Thank you [MENTION=681]Cali rider[/MENTION], I the change looks great so many twisty lines. I might back track a bit on the 101 because I want to check out the avenue of giants... mostly to say I've driven through a redwood. Which I believe is a bit North of where I join back with the highway. Do you recommend taking any/all of the avenue of giants or staying with the 101?

[MENTION=5002]red[/MENTION] wasp [MENTION=14104]oaks[/MENTION] I was thinking about doing the crater lake, looks like a long day ride but thats why I also planned on doing a bit of the 97 so I could take a side trip and do crater lake. Perhaps do Reno to Bend with Crater lake in a day>? the volcanic park looks pretty cool too. Lots of great sight seeing in Cali/Oregon.

Any suggestions for the best route to take in the grand canyon area? Reminds me of Yellowstone with too many entrances.


In terms of time, I have about 19 days of road tripping. I assume a day down to Astoria area, next day to Eureka, then a day doing a couple loops around there. then another day down to San Fran, then spend 2 days there, a day or two in LA, then probably two days down to San Diego, spend couple days there, couple days in Vegas....... so if my guessimates are correct, I'll probably have about 7 or so days left after Vegas to put around getting back, with intent of spending a night in Bend and night in Portland.

[MENTION=2579]Motogiro[/MENTION]: Sounds great! I'd love to meet up and you can show us some great riding/local hot spots in SD/SoCAL.