SoCal to North Central Washington: 395 or 95?

[profdant139]

Hoping to head to the Washington Pass/Rainy Pass area, and then later to Marblemount and then Mt. Baker. I am tired of Interstate 5 -- crowded, hilly, and bad pavement.

I asked Google Maps, and I expected it would give me "395 all the way" as an option. Instead, it took me up 95 to 84 and then north from there on 395, with mileage and elapsed time pretty close to what I-5 would have been.

So that is my question -- for those who have travelled to and from Washington and Southern California, what is the best alternative to Interstate 5?

I know it is going to be hot (this will be in late August, I hope). And yes, it is just desert most of the way. (I like the desert -- DW not so much.) . Two-lane roads are a plus -- yes, they are less safe than the freeway, but more interesting!!

Thanks in advance for your wisdom.

[RickLight]

I182 is great. 395 and I182 overlap for a few miles.

[2oldman]

To avoid the tri-cities go east at Umatilla to the 730 then 12 to 395. The drive along the Columbia is nice. About 7 miles up the 395 is the Country Mercantile, a good store to get fresh veggies, candy, a good meal and an overnight in the parking lot next to a corn field.

Up the road apiece is Scooteney reservoir, a pretty little dry campground well off the road.

[paulj]

Can you use I182 to connect I82 to US395 north?

[2oldman]

RickLight wrote:
Confirmed - the Tri-Cities changes are bad. You get down to some local arterials between freeways. Trust your GPS!

I do use my GPS, but southbound the first exits are very close to each other and easy to miss. I believe it takes 4 exits northbound to get to 395.

[Roy_Lynne]

obgraham wrote:

2oldman wrote:
I always found the drive thru the tri-cites of WA to get on 395 very confusing.

Heck I live here, and I find it very confusing also! We have morons designing the highways here.

LOL, I thought it was just me.

[time2roll]

I would take the unfamiliar 95 just for something new. Going to be a lot of open desert.

[paulj]

If you follow GMaps north on WA17, be cautious if it routes you down McNeil Canyon Rd. It's one of the steeper roads down to the Columbia. I've enjoyed it in a car, but for a big rig, 17 north to Bridgeport is probably better.

[RickLight]

Confirmed - the Tri-Cities changes are bad. You get down to some local arterials between freeways. Trust your GPS!

82 through the Yakima valley is prime wine country with some hops fields along the way, but not much else. Napa valley can't top the wine quality. 97 Ellensburg up to Wenatchee is very good road and nice tree covered mountains. Have a beer in Leavenworth!

On the other hand 395/17 through Moses Lake is through range and scrub land. Dry Falls (biggest falls ever when it was wet), Steam Boat rock and Grand Coulee are worth seeing. (High cliffs carved in massive floods. ) Hanford Nuclear history is interesting and the Hanford Reach section of the Columbia is very nice.

Buy apples and peaches along the way. Wapato tomatoes and Walla Walla onions are world famous.

[obgraham]

2oldman wrote:
I always found the drive thru the tri-cites of WA to get on 395 very confusing.

Heck I live here, and I find it very confusing also! We have morons designing the highways here.

[2oldman]

Nothing wrong with 95.

[paulj]

US395 in the south is between the Sierras and Death Valley, and then the White Mtns. There are a couple passes north of Bishop. The freeway in the Reno area. It continues at that inland 4000-5000 ft level into Oregon. North of Burns is crosses a low mtn range. and across the Columbia into Washington.

US97 to the west is closer to the Cascades, but is generally flat and straight. Some take a diagonal from 395 to 97 in N Calif, others pick it up from I5. It has more of a grade when crossing the Columbia (both sides). OR31 is another diagonal from 396 to 95.

US95 is deeper into the Nevada desert. Once in Oregon you could cut west to 395, or stay on 95 to I84. I84 also has some uplands before it gets to Pendelton.

In Washington, 97 has a low pass before merging with I82. There's anther pass crossing from I90 to US2, followed by river side driving all the way to Twisp (WA20). If entering around the Tricities (I82), some take WA17 across the Columbia Plateau. There are grades dropping from the uplands to the Columbia River.

I don't think it matters too much which of these routes, or mix of them, you take.

[profdant139]

So far, no votes for 95?? Google says it's the fastest. Must also be the dullest, I guess?

Keep those suggestions coming -- thanks!!

[IdaD]

395 is scenic and not crowded. 97 is also scenic and takes you by some cool stuff (Crater Lake, all the volcanic stuff south of Bend, Bend itself) but would be more crowded. If it were me I'd probably do 395.

[ppine]

I drive from Reno to Seattle at least once a year. I like the east side. Take US 395 north. There are several routes you can take. I like to go through Lakeview, OR and then up through Paisley and Silver Lake. I often camp in the Fremont NF which is about half way before I get to Bend. Then take US 93 up the east side of the Cascades. I drop in to Seattle over Snoqualmie Pass. You can keep going up along the Columbia up to Mazama, WA.