road trip december

We will be driving from Vancouver, BC to Palm Springs, CA in early december %26amp; driving back home early Jan. Does anyone know if travelling the coastal route is better for bad road conditions? We have driven the mountain pass route before %26amp; I am sure it can get pretty scary in the winter. Also how much longer will it take us? We are not in a huge rush to get down there but also the quicker the better. Any help would be great.

road trip december

Early December should still be fairly good for travel, weather wise, although the San Joaquin Valley will undoubtedly be experiencing morning/evening Tule fog, which you should avoid at all costs. This kind of fog is so dense you can%26#39;t see beyond your windshield. That%26#39;s why pile-ups are so common on Central California%26#39;s freeways in winter months.

The 101 freeway corridor would by-pass that, but add on extra hours of drive time. However, it%26#39;s much more scenic than I-5 or the 99 freeway.

If we enter the rain season during your drive back to Vancouver, you may encounter snow in the mountain passes (Hwy 58 through Tehachapi or the Grapevine on I-5). The coastal route is the better option if a storm is passing through, but the 101 can be dicey in some areas where rain hits pretty hard. The two places I can think of in my area that get scary in rain is the Nipomo mesa and the Cuesta Grade just north of San Luis Obispo. Once in a great while we experience snow flurries on the grade.

road trip december

In Oregon, the bad spot is on I-5 over the Siskiyou Pass right near the OR/CA border. In January, there is a good chance of snow there. They do plow it and keep it open, since it is a major artery, but if you don%26#39;t want to drive in snow, you%26#39;ll need to keep tuned into a weather information TV channel, radio or online to get the latest weather news.

The alternative is Hwy 101 along the coast of Oregon, then you can return to I-5 using Hwys 42, 38 or 126.

You%26#39;d need to get over to Hwy 101 in CA south of Redding, though, since Hwy 299 in CA is very winding and may also have snow.

If conditions are good, I-5 is far faster than Hwy 101.