Good morning all!

I am starting on the planning stage for my next big ride. Two weeks of riding from Austin, to Seattle, down to LA area, then back to Austin.
I will have four days to spend between Seattle and LA and would like to make the most out of it. I plan to ride some, if not all, of the PCW. I imagine some of 101 in Washington and Oregon may be nice too, but I have never spent any time on the west coast except for being attached to a ship while in the Navy in San Diego.

For all of you west coast folks that know it best, if you had four days to see the best between Seattle and LA, what would your route look like? It does not have to all be waterfront riding.

I do a lot of touring, so 6-8 hours in the saddle per day is not an issue. Six to seven hours would be better to allow time for stopping to take photos if it is very scenic and there are several places that are great for photos. However if it is a day of twisties I don't really stop to take pics so days like that are fine closer to 8.

I am very grateful for the help!

~MOT

 

101 & 1 from Seatle to LA will eat those 4 days. Not much time for photos and/or sightseeing. But it is a great ride.

 

The northern Oregon coast and the Redwoods in CA. The rest is all the same ol same ol.

 

In my opinion since you only have 4 days and your starting in Seattle, take the slab into Oregon and then hop over the PCH. 90% of the good scenic part of 1 and 101 in Washington is north on the Olympic Peninsula north from Hood Canal, then west, then south along the coast for awhile to Ocean Shores. This is a good days ride and scenic. Come back up sometime and I'll be more than happy to make plans for this ride. In the meantime slab it to Oregon then hit the coast.

 

hey MilesofTexas,
A great route is Hwy 410 past Mt Rainier over Chinook Pass.South on I-82 until Hwy 97 turn south .
Once you reach the Columbia River you could ride up Hwy 14 to Portland then hit Hwy 6 to the coast. I look for motels early on the coast,they fill up.
South on 101 until Coos Bay then take Hwy 42 to Roseburg and I -5.
South to Grants Pass. Depending on time you could head to Crater Lake via Hwy 234 (Gold Hill) and Hwy62. Fantastic ride!
From Grants Pass (a must do) ride down the Redwood Hwy 199 to Crescent city.
Then I ride 101 . Be careful of routing to Hwy 1 here it is slow riding
Stop and ride the Avenue of the Giants ,right off 101. The majestic Redwoods!
If you have time Hwy 1 south from Monterey. Great ride but really slow and busy in the summer.
Have fun a lot of beautiful country.

 

Thanks everyone, this is very helpful. I won't be riding this until next June, but I always start planning as soon as I return from my most recent summer riding trip (this year was Grand Teton/Yellowstone, Beartooth/St Jospephs Highways, and the Black Hills). I like to nail everything down by the start of fall so I can get my hotel reservations made long before they sell out.

0ldhippie - I orignally looked at that and felt I really needed more time than 4 days. I also figured there is more to see than the shoreline.

TwistaGrip - Thanks, wasn't sure if I wanted to spend much time in Washington anyway, lol! This means I can skip going to Seattle and start more southern. I am coming in from MT/ID via Lewiston, so I can free up more time by taking 12 to 82 to 84 and start from Portland.

woodman - Wow, thank you, that is a lot of great ride information!!! I believe I will incorporate nearly all of this into my ride plan. I think I will skip on Mt Rainier because my sister-in-law lives in Portland and we will be going there when we fly up to visit next time.

Now, let the modified planning begin!!!

 

If your taking 12 west jumping off 12 and heading south that's a nice scenic ride along the Columbia and by not going to Seattle it will free up at least another 4 to 6 hours to take in more scenery.

 

Thanks! Yeah, I was thinking of taking 12 west to the Columbia River then pick up 14 in Plymouth. Would it be better to take 84 down to 97 and pick up 14 there instead?

 

Don't forget to stop and see Mt St. Helens. It is a very humbling experience and a must see in life. The scale of it all is staggering. Go in via the town of Cougar. It is a nice drive up.

 

I personally would stick with 12 to Plymouth.