Driving from Lake Tahoe to Mt Bachelor

[karrie lou]

Hi!!
We'll be over in the States at Christmas and are thinking of driving from Tahoe just before New Years to Mt Bachelor.

Is this a nice drive? Is this even something people do?! lol I grew up in the tropics so winter conditions are a complete mystery to me.

My husband has done a lot of winter driving but doesn't know this area at all.

Our other thought is to drive to Mammoth. In the perfect world we would fly to another area and try it out, but not sure that's going to eventuate yet.

Thanks!

 

[marzNC]

Going from Tahoe to Bend in Oregon is on the order of 450 miles. Would you be trying to drive in one day? That would be a very long day. It's not really what I would think of as a scenic drive since the routes are mainly not in the mountains. So driving in snow probably wouldn't be the issue but boredom might be.

Tahoe to Mammoth is a lot shorter.

Where would you drive to after Bachelor? Back to San Francisco? There are fun and scenic places to visit on the way to SF but only if you were to plan to take at least 3 days to make the drive.

 

[karrie lou]

Boredom isn't really an issue - we're pretty used to long drives as my family are at least 12 hours away and all my life I've done 3 and 4 day drives to get anywhere as I lived at the top of Australia and my parents would drive to see relatives.

The drive back to San Francisco could be lovely, but I imagine what will end up happening is that we will not want to stop skiing and so, would just do a fast, but non sightseeing drive! Hmmm, I can't decide if that's sad or good! lol

 

[mustski]

If El Nino pans out, I would hit Mammoth. It's a truly fantastic mountain and gets dumped on during El Nino. I'm not sure how Bachelor is affected during El Nino, but most of the Pacific Northwest is dryer than usual.

Of course Mammoth Christmas lodging is crazy expensive so there is that to consider,

 

[WaterGirl]

@KarenDriscoll based on where you live, clearly you need to start surfing, yet another highly addictive sport

as @mustski stated, Mammoth at Christmas is pricy, as I just was researching for a friend who has a disabled son who wants to ski with Eastern Sierra Disabled Sports - an amazing program https://disabledsportseasternsierra.org/ but its going to be expensive.....

Not sure what the El Nino will bring, but I LOVED surfing my new boards in the last 2 weeks of consistent surf its been very tropical..... Love Oregon as well, have family near Portland so have enjoyed quick drive to Mount Hood Meadows to get some laps in..... but really thinking should be a super fun year for California -- I guess look at statistics for El Nino years and the different states......

 

[WaterGirl]

@mustski and @skibum4ever Oh btw, DH just pointed out that Mammoth got their first dusting -- thanks Hurricane LINDA!

9-14-2015 – 4PM – Hello from Mammoth Mountain. We had our first dusting of snow for the season today.

Looking at the snow study site at the main lodge, we picked up a nice .56 inches of rain and the top of the hill turned white.

Looks like we will get more over the next 24-35 hours.

 

[geargrrl]

I've done portions of that drive in the winter, typically up 5 to Shasta and then turning off at 97. I-5 gets at Shasta gets closed at times in the winter due to weather. It can get really nasty, especially once you hit Oregon. Central OR has it's own beauty but it's very stark. I certainly wouldn't do the drive without snow tires and chains at a minimum, 4x4 with snow tires preferred. I wouldn't plan on a one day drive either, due to potentially stressful winter driving condition.

 

[contesstant]

I personally have done that drive several times from Sacramento or SoCal, and I like it. BUT what geargrrl said above about doing it in the winter. It CAN get bad (we can only hope it's bad, because that's GOOD!) Anyway, I personally think it's a scenic, easy drive in good weather. And where else can you drive through Weed, CA?!

Mammoth is much easier, and Mammoth is FANTASTIC!

 

[surfsnowgirl]

I will also recommend Mammoth. That was my weekend home for quite a while. We had 4 of us girls that would always go up and stayed at the motel 6 in the middle of town. We jokingly called it our timeshare, such a cheap weekend when you cram 4 girls into 2 beds and split the cost 4 ways. Mammoth is a GREAT mountain and the town is awesome too.

 

[Pequenita]

I'd imagine that there's chain control on portions of the route in bad weather. Definitely if you choose to go west on 80 before looping back to 97, and pretty likely if you go east to Reno and then north.

 

[contesstant]

I'd imagine that there's chain control on portions of the route in bad weather. Definitely if you choose to go west on 80 before looping back to 97, and pretty likely if you go east to Reno and then north.

Yes, most definitely in multiple places.

Can also be true for going south toward Mammoth. That's winter for ya, and truly don't we all hope there are many, many days with chain controls?! That area is SO overdue!

 

[geargrrl]

The interstate may have chain restrictions, but I don't think I've ever seen them on two lane highways, which 97 and 395 are.

 

[contesstant]

395 has them, too. It's 4 lane for much of that drive once you get further south.
Of course, it might just be for those wacky non-snow-driving drivers coming up from LA!

 

[Fluffy Kitty]

I assume you will be taking I-5 up and down. You can hit Mt Shasta and Mt Ashland on your way to/from Bend; smaller ski areas, but Mt Shasta is a spectacular mountain that is at least worth a long look from town. (I drive by or fly over Shasta at least twice a year, and my heart skips a beat every time I see it.) Try the Black Bear Diner in Mt Shasta City. Plan on arriving in Bend after 1/1, as it will be much easier to find rooms. The closest motels are 20-30 minutes from Bachelor on a clear day; there are great places to stay in Sunriver as well.

I want to triple-second that California-Oregon border can be really dicey in winter. Siskiyou pass is one of the most hated winter-driving route for commercial truckers in the lower 48 States. You need to carry chains for sure, may need to keep them on for hours. Prepare for the route from Redding to Medford to be slow and hellish, with curtains of solid snow and a parade of jackknifed trucks. It is a beautiful drive, and, if the weather cooperates, or not, there is nothing like it. Lake Shasta. The hills around Ashland. Volcanic peaks jutting up from the flats.

The drive between Redding to Sacramento will be pretty flat, with a very different beauty of the American West. My favorite stop is the Olive Pit in Corning.

There are patches of high desert just north of Mt Shasta and another patch coming into Bend. Another rare view. Oh, the stands of pines!

Detouring through Klamath Falls on Route 97 is breathtakingly beautiful and not as hilly as the Siskiyous, but can be even more harrowing, and scary if your car breaks down. You better like country music, because that's all that the radio stations will play.

In short, not a drive I'd recommend to my children, more of a summer drive, but, if you know what you're getting into and know how to drive in snow, definitely worth it. Just be very flexible with time.

Or, you can fly from Reno to Bend/Redmond (RDM) via Alaska Airlines, with one stop in Portland (PDX), a gem of a city which has Mt Hood, another spectacular gem worth seeing at least from the distance.

 

[Fluffy Kitty]

Oops. I just realized that, for Bend, 97 is the direct route, not the detour. So, you'll see the back side of Shasta. Depending on the weather, I-5 might be preferable, and you can cut across to 97 further north, where it will be less snowy and more rainy.

You can also fly out of Portland to Melbourne (with a stop in Los Angeles, I think), rather than drive all the way back down.

 

[karrie lou]

Thank you so much everyone! I'm getting such great advice for our trip planning. I don't think we have anywhere near enough snow driving experience for what has been described and I'd rather enjoy myself and stay safe than put us at risk just for the driving experience.
I'm now leaning towards flying out of Reno to another area - probably one of the resorts on the Epic Pass since that's what we'll be using. The Epic Pass has an Australian resort too so we'll use it next season here for a trip.

 

[geargrrl]

U

Oops. I just realized that, for Bend, 97 is the direct route, not the detour. So, you'll see the back side of Shasta. Depending on the weather, I-5 might be preferable, and you can cut across to 97 further north, where it will be less snowy and more rainy.

The above is incorrect, about I-5 and cutting over north of 97. If you think you can cut over the southern cascades somewhere else, the reality is that the roads are windy, two lane, slow mountain passes. Some are closed in the winter. They all may be closed with the exception of the road from Eugene to Sisters. At any rate, choosing any but 97, if you can get over the mountains, will add hours of drive time.

 

[geargrrl]

Oh - It snows in the cascades, not just rains.

 

[marzNC]

Thank you so much everyone! I'm getting such great advice for our trip planning. I don't think we have anywhere near enough snow driving experience for what has been described and I'd rather enjoy myself and stay safe than put us at risk just for the driving experience.
I'm now leaning towards flying out of Reno to another area - probably one of the resorts on the Epic Pass since that's what we'll be using. The Epic Pass has an Australian resort too so we'll use it next season here for a trip.

How about heading to SLC for Park City? I realize there are more options in Colorado that also means it's harder to decide where to go. Note that you can get a day bus from Park City to go check out Alta for a day. Otherwise, not much need for a rental car.

 

[mustski]

If you can plan a cheap flight to SLC, then that is an easier option. Either way, great skiing lies ahead!