California Route 5

[Lynn L]

When driving from Corning Calif to Bakersfield(6 hrs apparently) are there any suggestions for a midway stop?

[Arthur John]

Hello Lynn,

About 150 miles south of Corning is Flag City RV Resort. It's very nice (with a corresponding nightly stay fee of $65). Farther down (approximately 225 miles south of Corning) is Santa Nella RV Park. Their website states $35 per night.

I've stayed at Flag City a couple of times. Haven't stayed at Santa Nella yet.

Art

[John in Santa Cruz]

just an FYI, we Californians pretty much always call it I-5 (Interstate 5), as 'California route X' is assumed to mean a state highway... there are 4 independent sets of highway numbers in the USA, Interstates like I-5, I-80, US Highways (US101, US99), State highways (California Route 1, sometimes written SR1), and county roads (somewhat variable nomenclature).

[Steve Clark]

Originally Posted by Arthur John

Hello Lynn,

About 150 miles south of Corning is Flag City RV Resort. It's very nice (with a corresponding nightly stay fee of $65). Farther down (approximately 225 miles south of Corning) is Santa Nella RV Park. Their website states $35 per night.

I've stayed at Flag City a couple of times. Haven't stayed at Santa Nella yet.

Art

Art is right. If you want or need a full service CG, Santa Nella is your best bet. If you don’t need electricity and something a little rustic, Los Banos Creek Reservoir State Park is just off Hwy. 5 and has water only sites. 236 miles from Corning and rated 4 Star by Allstays. No showers or flush toilets.
31426 Gonzaga Rd.
Gusting, Ca.
209-826-1197

[Ron in BC]

Originally Posted by Lynn L

When driving from Corning Calif to Bakersfield(6 hrs apparently) are there any suggestions for a midway stop?

To clarify, is this for a lunch type stop or overnight?

From Corning, Rolling Hills, we do different things depending on how Sacramento traffic treats us.

Santa Nella is nice, we saw an elk herd there. We usually stop at the Harris Ranch. Free parking and a good steak dinner.

Ron

[John in Santa Cruz]

Originally Posted by Ron in BC

We usually stop at the Harris Ranch. Free parking and a good steak dinner.

Ron

have you been there lately? since granny Harris was run off by her sons I've heard it has gone quite far downhill.

[Ron in BC]

We stopped about this time last year. I guess we'll find out in a few weeks if the restaurant has changed. Really good service last year. As long as there's still free parking I'll be happy.

Ron

[Lynn L]

Any info is appreciated regarding overnight options while travelling from Vancouver BC to Bakersfield Calif. We were hoping to stay in State Parks however it appears they are either closed for the winter to RV’s or too far away from I-5 (appreciate the clarification John).
It was suggested that Tulalip casino for our first night would be a good choice. From there we prefer to only travel about 5 hrs a day.

[h2owmn]

In grants pass OR is Schroeder park. It's a county park, I have stayed there many times. It's right on the rogue river. Just south of there between grants pass and Medford is valley of the rogue state park. Haven't stayed there in a long time as it is not close to the place I visit but it is literally ON I-5 and also on the rogue river. If you stay at either, DO NOT MISS having breakfast at buttercloud bakery in Medford.

[John in Santa Cruz]

Originally Posted by Lynn L

Any info is appreciated regarding overnight options while travelling from Vancouver BC to Bakersfield Calif. We were hoping to stay in State Parks however it appears they are either closed for the winter to RV’s or too far away from I-5 (appreciate the clarification John).
It was suggested that Tulalip casino for our first night would be a good choice. From there we prefer to only travel about 5 hrs a day.

Tulalip Casino is only 2 hours from Vancouver.

is getting there in minimum time on the straightest 'easiest' superfreeway the priority, or is wandering off the interstate and taking secondary highways to see more interesting places en route OK ?

Google Maps suggest its an 18 to 20 hour drive. so most direct route, max 5 hours driving per day, no detours, that would be 4 days, 3 stops.

If you do go the I5 route, once you hit redding, its just hours of grinding flat straight lines through a hazy desolate valley. The worse stretch is south of Stockton.

Frankly, if I'm just driving straight through, I'll park my trailer in a roadside rest and sleep a few hours and be gone by dawn. but in that mode, I'd probably do your drive in two legs, with one overnight rest stop.

ok.... (stretches, cracks both hands, digs up google maps!)

if you want to take a little more time, I'd consider going through Yakima WA, Bend OR, and cut over to US395 all the way down the east Sierra, and 178 back to Bakersfield. That route is 22 hours of driving and way more scnic than the interstates. From Tulalip to Bend OR is 6 hours and there's a lot of RV parks there, Bend is a very cool town to spend an afternoon shopping, dining, bunch of excellent craft breweries if thats your thing. Next, on US 395 just south of Alturas ,CA is Likely, there's a very nice Likely Golf and RV Resourt, a section of which is reserved for dark skies (no outside lighting at night), if *thats* your thing. Bend to Likely is about 4.5 hours via US395. Mammoth Lakes is about 5.5 hours south of Likely on US395, bunch of RV parks there. its a ski resort in the winter, and mountain climbing gateway in the summer. Mammoth Lakes to Bakersfield is 4:15 driving time, easy.

so google route:
https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Vanc...35.3732921!3e0

or https://goo.gl/T6TFtD for short.

note I did NOT chose an RV park in Bend or Mammoth, as I've not camped in either area. Googling Bend RV Parks suggested Scandia might be nice, new, centrally located.

[h2owmn]

If you come that way (bend) there is a nice state park at La Pine south of Bend a bit.

[barry]

When we are heading south into Oregon on I-5 we usually head to Tulalip Casino for free dry camping the first night and pick up provisions for the trip in the area. If you want a 5 hour drive from there that puts you just south of Portland and you could stop at Champoeg State Park which is 6 miles west of the I-5 and a really nice state park which is open year round.
Barry

[dfandrews]

For overnighting on the road, we use the KOA in Mt.Shasta City: cheap and convenient. It's a just off of I-5, has pull-throughs without hookups across from their showers and restrooms, and our usual refueling stop is between it and the interstate.
Bonus: if you're just returning to Calif. with your new Escape, the Mt. Shasta DMV office is THE place to register, and it's in the little shopping center right off I-5.

[caddoster]

Los Banos KOA is right next to I-5 as well (close to Santa Nella RV park)

[Vermilye]

While it is 81 miles & 1:20 minutes from Bakersfield, when ever I make the run along the length of California, I stop at Red Rock Canyon State Park. Dry camping, and the only roofless vault toilets I've found in my travels, but beautiful formations behind your site & great dark skies at night.

Photos of some of my visits:

Site 28:

[Steve Clark]

Originally Posted by Vermilye

While it is 81 miles & 1:20 minutes from Bakersfield, when ever I make the run along the length of California, I stop at Red Rock Canyon State Park. Dry camping, and the only roofless vault toilets I've found in my travels, but beautiful formations behind your site & great dark skies at night.

Photos of some of my visits:

Site 28:

Have never camped there, Jon, but have driven through many times, and you are right! The rock formations put you on another planet!

[Rossue]

Red Rock is cool; no reception FYI. 46 miles north is Fossil Falls BLM campground near Little Lake. It is $5 or you can boondock immediately adjacent. Pretty cool lava flows.

/www.desertusa.com/desert-activity/fossil-falls.html

[caddoster]

We like Red Rock Canyon and Fossil Falls too. Fossil Falls is a little quieter as far as people goes.

[Lynn L]

Such awesome information! This forum and the folks on it are “just the best”!

John, I wrote “leaving from Vanc” just to be efficient however in actuality Victoria is our home and we will be taking a ferry first. BTW have you seen our gorgeous ferries? Beautiful graphics on the exterior and so many conveniences inside! We are spoiled indeed! Now the expense to the province and it’s patrons is a topic for another day lol!

So I am assuming that if we are just stopping for the night we can keep the trailer hitched ready to go in the am? If not then the reason for keeping our travelling time down.

[Vermilye]

Originally Posted by Rossue

Red Rock is cool; no reception FYI. 46 miles north is Fossil Falls BLM campground near Little Lake. It is $5 or you can boondock immediately adjacent. Pretty cool lava flows.

/www.desertusa.com/desert-activity/fossil-falls.html

If you are describing cell coverage, my last visit (late October, 2017) I had no Verizon, usable (with an amplifier) -94dBm AT&T, and, surprisingly, free park provided WiFi at my site. The WiFi was intermittent.