Los Angeles to Seattle: a summer Road Trip

"Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)" (rduncan5678)
04/11/2018 at 20:17 • Filed to: None

Next week is my first full time week back home in Los Angeles so I am starting to plan ahead for the summer about what sort of road trips I want to do. I know my short list includes a drive out to AZ for the Grand Canyon, a camping trip to the PCH between SLO and Monterey (when it opens), and an epic journey to Seattle via the PCH/101 the whole way. On the topic of the epic Seattle journey, I thought out a brief summary of how I would approach the trip with some rough estimates of time. I came out to a 10 or 11 day trip with the following details:

11 Day Trip

2700 miles

48 hours of drive time

Along the Coastline/Scenic going North and inland/direct going South

2 full days in Seattle

1 overnight in Portland with half day each day

(Approximate Driving hours)

LA to North of SF - 10 hours

North of SF to CA/OR border - 6 hours

CA/OR border to midway OR - 6 hours

Midway OR to OR/WA border - 6 hours

OR/WA border to Seattle, WA - 6 hours

Seattle - 0 hours

Seattle to Portland - 2 hours

Portland to Sacramento - 6 hours

Sacramento to LA - 6 hours

!!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!!

Now the question is, which car should I take?

The freshly bought, practical, fast car with real seats and storage space that gets 20mpg on a good day

Or the road trip proven roadster that will easily achieve 28mpg while being flogged, equipped with a racing bucket seat and requires “creative” luggage packing.

This trip (should she accept) would be done with my girlfriend since she REALLY wants to go to Portland and Seattle. I could see her deciding to fly to Seattle to meet me and only travel one way home. But either way, I’d be planning to be accommodating a passenger then. So obviously the Miata is at a “practicality disadvantage” but considering it worked for 4000 miles across the country, half that can’t be all that bad! Plus it being most likely late summer (Aug/Sep), the top down weather along the coast will be ideal.

The genesis of this trip idea for me is that I originally planned on driving a Northern Route on my cross country journey and including that whole section along the coast to finish the trip. Since I ended up travelling in November and missing out on that chance, I am looking to still live that journey ASAP.

DISCUSSION (15)

Chuckles > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
04/11/2018 at 20:17

Debating between those two is a good problem to have.

AestheticsInMotion > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
04/11/2018 at 20:22

I say Miata. But I’m biased.

Either way I’ll 100% show you some incredible driving roads/scenery around Seattle. One way or another my NA should be all fixed up by then

CompactLuxuryFan > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
04/11/2018 at 20:30

Is Portland to Sacramento really only 6 hours? I’m also guessing the LA - SF part of the PCH drive is highly traffic-dependent.

Sounds like an amazing trip, though! I’d probably take the Subaru. But I’m pretty risk-averse.

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > AestheticsInMotion
04/11/2018 at 20:39

I sure was hoping for that! I definitely am leaning towards the Miata as well. Its just much more of an “experience” in that car. But I also think that all cars need to be roadtripped before they are really mine. And the Subaru would be infinitely easier to pack and drive comfortably for long distances. Either way, I am sure it would be fun as hell.

wafflesnfalafel > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
04/11/2018 at 20:41

that looks awesome, La Push should be spectacular, (Seattle to Portland likely will take more than a couple hours even if no traffic/weather - WSP is usually heavy near Chehalis/Centralia.)

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > CompactLuxuryFan
04/11/2018 at 20:43

I have no idea how far those distances are, I was taking REALLY rough estimates based on just looking at the map lol. I figure I would just adjust things slightly and end up driving shorter/longer on some days. There are enough days in the schedule to account for 6 +/- 6 hours like every day so its should be fine on that end.

I would be skipping the LA-SF PCH section since ive done it twice already and its a big question of the road even being open anyways. Plus I will be going back there on separate trips since I can get there in just a few hours from home. It is a huge time sync even if there is no traffic. I would rather just spend a nice 3 day weekend alone on that section at some other point.

CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
04/11/2018 at 20:47

Nice! I’d make the trip down to Seattle that’s for sure, especially if it turned into a bit of an Oppo meet!

feather-throttle-not-hair > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
04/11/2018 at 20:49

That route misses the best driving road. Dont miss the best driving road. You’d be foolish to go both ways while missing the best driving road.

Kinja'd!!!

Okay full disclosure, its been a while, but to my memory this was the best driving road i’ve ever driven on.

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > wafflesnfalafel
04/11/2018 at 20:51

Oh yeah I figure those estimates are a bit off. I didnt even plug it in to gauge any sort of distance. Just completely fudging the math haha. I also know it will take way longer to really travel through each segment since I will stop, take detours, and do stuff like hike and explore. Very early in the planning stages but it isnt the first time I’ve looked at the route so I have a rough idea of how it would play out.

CompactLuxuryFan > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
04/11/2018 at 21:02

Oh. Well that’s the only one that really stood out to me so shows how much I know. Say hi on your way past SF!

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever
04/11/2018 at 23:17

Hoping I can find the time and coordinate it right.

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > feather-throttle-not-hair
04/11/2018 at 23:20

That’s a mighty detour but I’d definitely be interested in trying that out. The issue is I want to stay along the coast the way up there and on the way back I’ll be in “just get home” mode by then. I’m glad for the suggestion though idk anything about the area lol

feather-throttle-not-hair > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
04/12/2018 at 13:13

The area between I5 and 101 is where all the fun is in southern Oregon and northern California. I5 is a slog, just did it two weeks ago (Seattle to Napa and back) But it is way way faster than anything else.

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > feather-throttle-not-hair
04/12/2018 at 14:38

I know I have gotten used to California when seeing “I5" or “101" just looks wrong. It’s only ever THE 5 or THE 101.

feather-throttle-not-hair > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
04/12/2018 at 15:35

I think its even specifically a so-cal thing. Most of my family lives in the bay area and I never hear them say “the” before I-5 or 580 or what have you.