Oregon / California coast weather

[craigagood]

My wife and I are planning a fly/rent MC trip to ride the coast highway in Oregon and California. This is one of my bucket list items and we are free to schedule it anytime. The only must see for the wife is the giant redwoods. The tentative plan is to fly to Portland rent the bike (probably a GS) and ride to San Francisco along the coast. The wife flies back to Texas from there and I take another week or so to return to Portland (at a slightly quicker pace ).

So I'm hoping some of you locals can offer some advice mostly on weather. Is there very much difference in the coastal weather between late Spring vs early Fall? We want to go during the time that school is in session to lessen the crowds as much as possible. That would mean either about late May or late August. I don't mind some rain but I'm hoping to lessen the chances of rain and cold together.

Thanks in advance for any help you guys can provide.

Craig in Central Texas
F650GS (wife's bike)

 

[henzilla]

One thing to keep updated on is the damage to HWY 1 near Big Sur after the recent storms...saw at least one major bridge landslided away

I have been both times of year and got wet near SF and the redwoods both times...so not much help

 

[SeabeckS]

West coaster here...

Generally speaking you'd probably have better luck with a late August trip in terms of weather. When you say Giant Redwoods I assume you're really referring to the Coast Redwoods near the Pacific in Northern California. The Giant Redwoods are a separate species located in the south-central Sierras, think Yosemite area and south.

From Portland I'd just super slab it down I-5 to Grants Pass, then take SR 199 to Crescent City. This puts you pretty quickly into Redwood country. You will encounter the trees before Crescent City, but the nicest groves are a bit further south.

Have fun!

PS. The Big Sur area Steve referred to is south of San Francisco.

 

[SeabeckS]

And a suggestion for your solo ride back to Portland. Backtrack north on 101 to Fortuna, then go east on 36 until the intersection with 3, then go north. That route avoids a lot of freeway until you connect back up with I-5 in Yreka. From there I'd consider going south for a few miles to Weed, then head north to go through Klamath Falls, from there go north until you see signs for Crater Lake. Go there.

 

[powwow]

Agree with SeabeckS that late August (or even better, early September) would be good timing. If you're also interested in riding most of the Oregon coast, beware that August would still likely have a lot of campers and RV's which can make the trip pretty slow. Cannon Beach is a popular stop on the Oregon coast.

 

[EvryDayRide]

My wife and I are planning a fly/rent MC trip to ride the coast highway in Oregon and California. This is one of my bucket list items and we are free to schedule it anytime. The only must see for the wife is the giant redwoods. The tentative plan is to fly to Portland rent the bike (probably a GS) and ride to San Francisco along the coast. The wife flies back to Texas from there and I take another week or so to return to Portland (at a slightly quicker pace ).

So I'm hoping some of you locals can offer some advice mostly on weather. Is there very much difference in the coastal weather between late Spring vs early Fall? We want to go during the time that school is in session to lessen the crowds as much as possible. That would mean either about late May or late August. I don't mind some rain but I'm hoping to lessen the chances of rain and cold together.

Thanks in advance for any help you guys can provide.

Craig in Central Texas
F650GS (wife's bike)

Weather, late spring or fall? I would say without hesitation, there is a bigger chance of rain in May than August? Late May is usually the end of the rainy season. No guarantees! The hills will most likely still have some green vegetation in May. August it will be brown and dry. For people coming from an area with real summer heat, like you have in Texas, late May or late August can feel pretty cold due to the possibility of fog along the coast. We have friends that come to visit and they freeze to death because the fog stayed in most of the day. If you don't have heated gear make sure you have some layers to put on. Riding in fog all day is a cold ride. The moist cool air eventually gets to you as the day wears on.

We are experiencing one of our wettest years in a very long time in California. 2017 will break precipitation records in some places. There will be a lot of road work happening this summer. Expect delays and detours.......

Hope that helps,

John

 

[exgman]

I RT'd it from Boston to Portland, LA and back in September and October of last year. I spent a few days in Portland with a daughter and her hubby. When I went south, I rode inland to get away from the big roads. Eventually, I got out to US101 and then (once in California) onto CA1 which I rode down almost to San Francisco.

Here are a couple of looks at 1) Mt. Shasta, and 2) Crater Lake.





Clearly, the weather in Oregon and Northern California is unpredictable, but my kid told me that I'd picked the best time of year to visit.

When in Portland, be sure to visit the Cee-Cee coffee shop which is all about motorcycles.

Anyway, just my views...

JG

 

[jamesdavidhoward]

Breathtaking Scenery on Oregon Coast also: avoiding I-5

By July, the Oregon coastal weather is routinely quite good. The coast highway (US 101) N of about Newport, OR can be very RV & tourista clogged on weekends in summer, but is not too bad on week days. S. of Newport, there are still excellent sea cliff vistas, twisties and much less traffic. That route takes you right past Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area, past Gold Beach and Brookings, down into the NW California Coastal Redwoods. Taking this route avoids the super-slab of I-5, but results in you missing the wonderful Smith River Highway (US 199) from Grants Pass into Crescent City, CA.

On the way back, consider taking Hwy CA-1, US-101, then CA-96 through "Sasquatch territory", up to OR-62 to Crater Lake, then any of a number of routes back north.

 

[zenwhipper]

I did the coast route going north from Eureka, CA, through Redwood National and State Parks (yes there are two), into Oregon in early June. Not a drop of rain the entire coast ride. But, the wind was atrocious. I believe it was a constant 25-30 MPH with gusts up to 40 MPH. This went on for two days. We finally re-routed our plan and did not complete the full Redwoods to Astoria coast ride. We jumped inland at Lincoln City - got tired of the battle. Other than this, it was a nice few days. If you like, no if you LOVE beer do not miss the Rogue Brewery in Newport, OR!

(BTW there are two in Newport. One downtown, smaller, quaint and then the brewery see below)

 

[bentkayne]

Oregon Coast Weather

My wife and I are planning a fly/rent MC trip to ride the coast highway in Oregon and California. This is one of my bucket list items and we are free to schedule it anytime. The only must see for the wife is the giant redwoods. The tentative plan is to fly to Portland rent the bike (probably a GS) and ride to San Francisco along the coast. The wife flies back to Texas from there and I take another week or so to return to Portland (at a slightly quicker pace ).

So I'm hoping some of you locals can offer some advice mostly on weather. Is there very much difference in the coastal weather between late Spring vs early Fall? We want to go during the time that school is in session to lessen the crowds as much as possible. That would mean either about late May or late August. I don't mind some rain but I'm hoping to lessen the chances of rain and cold together.

Thanks in advance for any help you guys can provide.

Craig in Central Texas
F650GS (wife's bike)

I've lived in Oregon my entire life. What's more my work takes me down to San Francisco on an annual basis. If I were you I'd shy away from traveling the coastline in late spring. During the spring, weather can be very unpredictable. Lots of rain and wind. The fall of the year, September or early October would be the best time to ride. Crisp morning with pleasant afternoons. The ride itself is nothing short of spectacular. You picked an exceptional ride to cross off your list.

Ben in Western Oregon
2016 RT