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This is to be the sequel of our fabulous USA2005 tour. However this time a little shorter 3100 miles trip starting in Northern California, driving north roughly along the Pacific Coast through Oregon and Washington to Vancouver Island, going east to British Columbia, and back south inland along the Cascade Range (Mt. Rainier, Mt. St. Helen’s, Mt. Hood, The Sisters, Crater Lake, Mt. Shasta and Lassen NP). Cities to visit are Eureka, Victoria and Portland (see also attached picture)
This tour plan summarizes the original survey of potential participants and additional input over the last few months. The main change to the the last plan of Nov. 2005 is to move the schedule for the tour back to the second half of August and to put more focus on nice driving roads than on city visits.
Dates:
The schedule for the tour is now set from Aug. 17, 2007 (group meets Friday night) to Sept. 2, 2007 (next day is Labor Day, to get home). This is about 2 weeks plus an extended weekend. The later time was chosen for less traffic most of the trip and more stable weather with the known disadvantage of more traffic the last few days (labor day weekend).
Organization:
I am planning to coordinate the trip, i.e. tour preparation (incl. GPS routes) and hotels. I will probably have a solution for the support truck. Still looking for volunteers to organize the ferries, coordinating pictures and videos and compile a tour book. USA2005 set an amazing standard for the tour book but a little more modest would do :) . The car transport and plane tickets for out-of-state participants are impossible to organize centrally, with people coming from Texas, Midwest, Northwest, East Coast and Europe. If not feasible to do this individually more volunteers are needed for organization of these trips.
Tour Start and End:
We will meet in Vacaville, CA, Friday night 8/17/2007. This is a small town about an hour from the bay area with ample hotels at the I80 freeway. Good destination for car transport, too. We will start off the tour with a reception, compliments of Woody Harris/MSI Motorsports. This location will allow us to start the tour with some of California's best and most winding back roads from the get-go. We will also return to Vacaville after the tour, allowing participants to store trailers and stuff.
Total distance:
Total Distance is approx. 3000-3100 miles. With additional day tours and side trips this could become 3400 miles. People with more time to travel or who need to justify the transport cost can easily make this a 3+ week trip (e.g. go to Lake Tahoe, Mono Lake, Tioga Pass, Yosemite etc. before or after the tour) These are all beautiful destinations on great roads and with rather short distances in between.
Daily distances:
Average about 220 miles varying between 100 miles and 300 miles typically. Double day stays are planned for Victoria/BC and Portland/OR allowing for the inevitable repair, laundry, sightseeing or a day trip in the vicinity. There are 2 more days with very short distances that might count as rest days.
Road selection:
The goal was in the first place to pick roads that make for a fun drive. Twisty, uncrowded but still smooth enough for a Seven (I had to take out some very interesting pieces with questionable road quality). Fortunately the area of the Pacific Northwest is abound of winding roads as well as beautiful sights and great cities (not to mention the Seafood...) I selected roads from tour guides and Internet info, but most helpful was the advice of John Christensen (Washington State) and Dan Holtman (North West California).
Hotels:
I am planning to look mainly for mid-range hotels and book through a service like Groople. However, right now nobody I spoke with is taking reservations yet for a group of our probable size (15-20 rooms) and we will have to hang in until August. My guess will be about $1000-$1400 for the 2 weeks hotel.
Limitations:
The distances and time don’t allow going much further east. I would have liked to see Glacier National Park, Yellowstone and some other great places in the northern Rocky Mountains. But, it just doesn’t work out….Might have been sensory overload, anyway :)
Preparation Schedule:
- Open sign-up for tentative travelers now (done)
- Collect input on routes and stops now to April 2006 (done)
- Check out and identify suitable travel agency Jan – May 2006 (in work)
- Finalize route and stops, communicate final plan April 2006 (Done)
- Head count of people who are pretty sure to go (for hotel reservation) June/July 2006
- Get Travel agency going with hotels Aug. 2006
- Publish hotels list and cost Oct. 2006
- Commitment and first payment for hotels Dec. 2006
- Final payment for hotels TBD
- Tour starts August 2007
Itinerary
Friday, 8/17: Meeting at MSI Motorsports Vacaville in the afternoon, evening reception and stay overnight. NorCal locals may save the hotel cost and join Saturday morning.
Day 1, Sat. 8/18 – 309 miles: From Vacaville via Pleasant Valley and Sage Canyon to Calistoga, Hwy29 to Middletown, Hwy175 to Old Hopland, 101 to Ukiah, Hwy253 west to Boonville, then Mountain View Rd to the coast, north on Hwy 1 to Mendocino and continuing to Garberville, then Briceland Rd. to Shelter Cove.
POI: Napa Valley area, Robert L. Stevensen Park, Mountain View Rd, Hwy 1 and Coastal Redwoods. Shelter Cove is part of California's "Lost Coast".
(The option of using Stewarts Point/Skaggs Springs Rd. as described in the first tour proposal is still open and TBD later)
Day 2, Sun. 8/19 - 142 miles: From Shelter Cove back on Briceland Rd., Hwy1, Humbold Redwoods State Park to Eureka. (Alternatively there is Mattole Rd. directly from Shelter Cove to the Redwood Park but that is likely unpassable for Sevens). Opportunity to see the Redwoods and hang out in Eureka.
Day 3 Mon 8/20 - 314 miles: From Eureka north on Hwy 101 through Redwood NP, Crescent City, into Oregon, in Wedderburn to the Rogue River Loop (County Roads 595, 33, 219, 42). Continuing on 101 to Coos Bay and Newport.
POI: Many small towns and fishing harbors to stop at along the coast, Redwood National Park, Rogue River Canyon
Day 4 Tue 8/21– 228 miles: From Newport continuing on Hwy 101 to Pacific City, Cape Lookout, on Whiskey Creel Rd. to Tillamook, Miami River Rd., Hwy 53 to Necanium Jct., Hwy 26 back to Hwy 101 and Seaside, then Lewis and Clark Rd. to Astoria, across the Columbia River Astoria Bridge, along the Willapa Bay to Hoquiam.
POI: Half spectacular coast and major highway, half smaller, twisty roads through the coastal range.
Day 5 Wed. 8/22 – 217 miles: From Hoquiam north to Olympic NP, encircling the park, from Sappho north on Hwy113 to Pysht, Hwy112 to Port Angeles. 2 side trips included: Hoh Valley and Hurricane Ridge in Olympic NP.
POI: definitely Olympic National Park
Day 6 Thu 8/23 - 24 miles plus ferry time: Ferry to Victoria/BC early in the morning (beat traffic). Sightseeing in Victoria.
Day 7 Fri. 8/24 : City tour or day trip on Vancouver Island. Rumored to have excellent Se7ening roads. Possibility of visiting Super 7 Cars (Canadian builder of bike engine Caterhams). Maybe just time to stroll the Garden City.
Day 8 Sat 8/25 - 147 miles plus ferry time: from Victoria on 17 Fwy then Swartz-Tsawassen ferry, north on 17 through Vancouver to Fwy 1 then on Sea-to-Sky Hwy to Whistler.
Day 9 Sun 8/26 - 284 miles: From Whistler on Hwy99 to Lillooet and on to Hwy97. South on 97 and 97C to Ashcroft, then Merrit continuing to Kelowna.
POI: Mountains, high Mountains, more Mountains. Some major, some smaller highways but should be pretty twisty, anyway.
Day 10 Mon 8/27 - 273 miles: From Kelowna south on Hwy33 and Hwy3 to Osoyoos, on Hwy97 south (back in US) to Brewster and Chelan, US97Alt to Cashmere, US2 to Leavenworth.
POI: Lake Chelan, Columbia River Valley and Wenatchee Valley.
Day 11 Tue 8/28 - 263 miles: From Leavenworth on Hwy97 to Ellensburg then south on I82 to Yakima, Hwy 12 to Naches, Hwy 410 to Mt. Rainier, Sunrise Rd. into the National Park, south on 123 to Packwood.
POI: Volcanoes!!!! Mount Rainier NP, Mt. St. Helens.
Day 12 Wed. 8/29 - 160 miles: From Packwood south Hwy12 to Randle, then on NF25 and NF90 to Carson. Along the Columbia River Gorge, Bridge of the Gods, to Multnomah Falls and Bridal Veil Falls. Along Historic Columbia River Hwy to Portland/OR.
POI: Columbia River Gorge and Waterfalls, Portland.
Day 13 Thu 8/30 : Rest day Portland. It may be tough to decide if to just explore Portland (one of my favorite cities) or to go on a 70 mile day trip through the Oregon Wine Country. Rolling hills and small twisty roads….tempting.
Day 13 Fri 8/31 - 245 miles: From Portland east on small roads to Marmot, then on Marmot Road and Barlow Trail Rd. to Faubion. Hway26 to Government Camp then Timberline Lodge at Mount Hood. South on Hwy26 to Oregon Skyline Road. South on Skyline to Clackamas River Rd. and Breitenbusch Rd. East on Hwy22 and Hwy20 to Bend. Then CR46 (Cascade lakes Highway) to Elk Lake.
POI: Yes, more Volcanos (Mt Hood and The Sisters). Otherwise very off-track roads, Cascade Lakes and beautiful scenery.
Day 14 Sat 9/1 - 291 miles: From Elk Lake south along the Deschutes River. Crescent Cut-off-road to Hwy5825 to Hwy 58. South on Hwy97, West on Hwy 138 and 232 to Crater Lake National Park. Drive around the lake crater Rim Rd., then Back on Hwy62 to Hwy 97. Along Klamath Lake to Klamath then on 97 to McDoel. Old State Hwy to NF15 road then Hwy89 to Burney
POI: Crater Lake National Park, McArthur-Burney Falls.
Day 15 Sun 9/2 – 313 miles: From Burney south oh Hwy89 through Lassen National Park. Continue on Hwy 36 and Hwy 32 to Chico. Then Hwy45 and Hwy20 to Wilbur Springs. Hwy 16 and Fwy505 to Winters, back on Pleasant Valley Road to Vacaville Last Overnight stop, return home Monday. This last day can be shortened quite a bit with more Freeway use (I5 to 505 and I80). Nice Dinner as conclusion of the trip?
This tour plan summarizes the original survey of potential participants and additional input over the last few months. The main change to the the last plan of Nov. 2005 is to move the schedule for the tour back to the second half of August and to put more focus on nice driving roads than on city visits.
Dates:
The schedule for the tour is now set from Aug. 17, 2007 (group meets Friday night) to Sept. 2, 2007 (next day is Labor Day, to get home). This is about 2 weeks plus an extended weekend. The later time was chosen for less traffic most of the trip and more stable weather with the known disadvantage of more traffic the last few days (labor day weekend).
Organization:
I am planning to coordinate the trip, i.e. tour preparation (incl. GPS routes) and hotels. I will probably have a solution for the support truck. Still looking for volunteers to organize the ferries, coordinating pictures and videos and compile a tour book. USA2005 set an amazing standard for the tour book but a little more modest would do :) . The car transport and plane tickets for out-of-state participants are impossible to organize centrally, with people coming from Texas, Midwest, Northwest, East Coast and Europe. If not feasible to do this individually more volunteers are needed for organization of these trips.
Tour Start and End:
We will meet in Vacaville, CA, Friday night 8/17/2007. This is a small town about an hour from the bay area with ample hotels at the I80 freeway. Good destination for car transport, too. We will start off the tour with a reception, compliments of Woody Harris/MSI Motorsports. This location will allow us to start the tour with some of California's best and most winding back roads from the get-go. We will also return to Vacaville after the tour, allowing participants to store trailers and stuff.
Total distance:
Total Distance is approx. 3000-3100 miles. With additional day tours and side trips this could become 3400 miles. People with more time to travel or who need to justify the transport cost can easily make this a 3+ week trip (e.g. go to Lake Tahoe, Mono Lake, Tioga Pass, Yosemite etc. before or after the tour) These are all beautiful destinations on great roads and with rather short distances in between.
Daily distances:
Average about 220 miles varying between 100 miles and 300 miles typically. Double day stays are planned for Victoria/BC and Portland/OR allowing for the inevitable repair, laundry, sightseeing or a day trip in the vicinity. There are 2 more days with very short distances that might count as rest days.
Road selection:
The goal was in the first place to pick roads that make for a fun drive. Twisty, uncrowded but still smooth enough for a Seven (I had to take out some very interesting pieces with questionable road quality). Fortunately the area of the Pacific Northwest is abound of winding roads as well as beautiful sights and great cities (not to mention the Seafood...) I selected roads from tour guides and Internet info, but most helpful was the advice of John Christensen (Washington State) and Dan Holtman (North West California).
Hotels:
I am planning to look mainly for mid-range hotels and book through a service like Groople. However, right now nobody I spoke with is taking reservations yet for a group of our probable size (15-20 rooms) and we will have to hang in until August. My guess will be about $1000-$1400 for the 2 weeks hotel.
Limitations:
The distances and time don’t allow going much further east. I would have liked to see Glacier National Park, Yellowstone and some other great places in the northern Rocky Mountains. But, it just doesn’t work out….Might have been sensory overload, anyway :)
Preparation Schedule:
- Open sign-up for tentative travelers now (done)
- Collect input on routes and stops now to April 2006 (done)
- Check out and identify suitable travel agency Jan – May 2006 (in work)
- Finalize route and stops, communicate final plan April 2006 (Done)
- Head count of people who are pretty sure to go (for hotel reservation) June/July 2006
- Get Travel agency going with hotels Aug. 2006
- Publish hotels list and cost Oct. 2006
- Commitment and first payment for hotels Dec. 2006
- Final payment for hotels TBD
- Tour starts August 2007
Itinerary
Friday, 8/17: Meeting at MSI Motorsports Vacaville in the afternoon, evening reception and stay overnight. NorCal locals may save the hotel cost and join Saturday morning.
Day 1, Sat. 8/18 – 309 miles: From Vacaville via Pleasant Valley and Sage Canyon to Calistoga, Hwy29 to Middletown, Hwy175 to Old Hopland, 101 to Ukiah, Hwy253 west to Boonville, then Mountain View Rd to the coast, north on Hwy 1 to Mendocino and continuing to Garberville, then Briceland Rd. to Shelter Cove.
POI: Napa Valley area, Robert L. Stevensen Park, Mountain View Rd, Hwy 1 and Coastal Redwoods. Shelter Cove is part of California's "Lost Coast".
(The option of using Stewarts Point/Skaggs Springs Rd. as described in the first tour proposal is still open and TBD later)
Day 2, Sun. 8/19 - 142 miles: From Shelter Cove back on Briceland Rd., Hwy1, Humbold Redwoods State Park to Eureka. (Alternatively there is Mattole Rd. directly from Shelter Cove to the Redwood Park but that is likely unpassable for Sevens). Opportunity to see the Redwoods and hang out in Eureka.
Day 3 Mon 8/20 - 314 miles: From Eureka north on Hwy 101 through Redwood NP, Crescent City, into Oregon, in Wedderburn to the Rogue River Loop (County Roads 595, 33, 219, 42). Continuing on 101 to Coos Bay and Newport.
POI: Many small towns and fishing harbors to stop at along the coast, Redwood National Park, Rogue River Canyon
Day 4 Tue 8/21– 228 miles: From Newport continuing on Hwy 101 to Pacific City, Cape Lookout, on Whiskey Creel Rd. to Tillamook, Miami River Rd., Hwy 53 to Necanium Jct., Hwy 26 back to Hwy 101 and Seaside, then Lewis and Clark Rd. to Astoria, across the Columbia River Astoria Bridge, along the Willapa Bay to Hoquiam.
POI: Half spectacular coast and major highway, half smaller, twisty roads through the coastal range.
Day 5 Wed. 8/22 – 217 miles: From Hoquiam north to Olympic NP, encircling the park, from Sappho north on Hwy113 to Pysht, Hwy112 to Port Angeles. 2 side trips included: Hoh Valley and Hurricane Ridge in Olympic NP.
POI: definitely Olympic National Park
Day 6 Thu 8/23 - 24 miles plus ferry time: Ferry to Victoria/BC early in the morning (beat traffic). Sightseeing in Victoria.
Day 7 Fri. 8/24 : City tour or day trip on Vancouver Island. Rumored to have excellent Se7ening roads. Possibility of visiting Super 7 Cars (Canadian builder of bike engine Caterhams). Maybe just time to stroll the Garden City.
Day 8 Sat 8/25 - 147 miles plus ferry time: from Victoria on 17 Fwy then Swartz-Tsawassen ferry, north on 17 through Vancouver to Fwy 1 then on Sea-to-Sky Hwy to Whistler.
Day 9 Sun 8/26 - 284 miles: From Whistler on Hwy99 to Lillooet and on to Hwy97. South on 97 and 97C to Ashcroft, then Merrit continuing to Kelowna.
POI: Mountains, high Mountains, more Mountains. Some major, some smaller highways but should be pretty twisty, anyway.
Day 10 Mon 8/27 - 273 miles: From Kelowna south on Hwy33 and Hwy3 to Osoyoos, on Hwy97 south (back in US) to Brewster and Chelan, US97Alt to Cashmere, US2 to Leavenworth.
POI: Lake Chelan, Columbia River Valley and Wenatchee Valley.
Day 11 Tue 8/28 - 263 miles: From Leavenworth on Hwy97 to Ellensburg then south on I82 to Yakima, Hwy 12 to Naches, Hwy 410 to Mt. Rainier, Sunrise Rd. into the National Park, south on 123 to Packwood.
POI: Volcanoes!!!! Mount Rainier NP, Mt. St. Helens.
Day 12 Wed. 8/29 - 160 miles: From Packwood south Hwy12 to Randle, then on NF25 and NF90 to Carson. Along the Columbia River Gorge, Bridge of the Gods, to Multnomah Falls and Bridal Veil Falls. Along Historic Columbia River Hwy to Portland/OR.
POI: Columbia River Gorge and Waterfalls, Portland.
Day 13 Thu 8/30 : Rest day Portland. It may be tough to decide if to just explore Portland (one of my favorite cities) or to go on a 70 mile day trip through the Oregon Wine Country. Rolling hills and small twisty roads….tempting.
Day 13 Fri 8/31 - 245 miles: From Portland east on small roads to Marmot, then on Marmot Road and Barlow Trail Rd. to Faubion. Hway26 to Government Camp then Timberline Lodge at Mount Hood. South on Hwy26 to Oregon Skyline Road. South on Skyline to Clackamas River Rd. and Breitenbusch Rd. East on Hwy22 and Hwy20 to Bend. Then CR46 (Cascade lakes Highway) to Elk Lake.
POI: Yes, more Volcanos (Mt Hood and The Sisters). Otherwise very off-track roads, Cascade Lakes and beautiful scenery.
Day 14 Sat 9/1 - 291 miles: From Elk Lake south along the Deschutes River. Crescent Cut-off-road to Hwy5825 to Hwy 58. South on Hwy97, West on Hwy 138 and 232 to Crater Lake National Park. Drive around the lake crater Rim Rd., then Back on Hwy62 to Hwy 97. Along Klamath Lake to Klamath then on 97 to McDoel. Old State Hwy to NF15 road then Hwy89 to Burney
POI: Crater Lake National Park, McArthur-Burney Falls.
Day 15 Sun 9/2 – 313 miles: From Burney south oh Hwy89 through Lassen National Park. Continue on Hwy 36 and Hwy 32 to Chico. Then Hwy45 and Hwy20 to Wilbur Springs. Hwy 16 and Fwy505 to Winters, back on Pleasant Valley Road to Vacaville Last Overnight stop, return home Monday. This last day can be shortened quite a bit with more Freeway use (I5 to 505 and I80). Nice Dinner as conclusion of the trip?
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