Should i avoid shasta going south? (Los Angeles, Sacramento: live, safety, bars)

[eaglefanor]

Hello, I will be making a trip to mesa, az to visit family leaving from medford, or on dec 20 although i could leave on the 19th. I'm worried about driving through the mt shasta area as weather is looking pretty bad for that day although it could change. Are there any alternate routes I could use? I don't have 4wd but do have chains. A friend actually suggested driving over to crescent city then south to eureka then east to redding. That seems kind of long but just curious what anybody else thinks. thanks so much

[JGC97]

First, I would NOT try to use any alternate route. Use I-5. It's the best one to use if weather is bad. Caltrans keeps the roads clear which is why I suggest you stay on I-5.

If you can, time your drive so you're in the area when the sun is high. Don't drive at night and avoid early morning hours as there may be spots with black ice. You should be okay as the forecast for the 20th shows partly sunny skies. The 19th is forecasting rain/snow. Don't forget to pack your chains.

[Podo944]

Never been up there during winter, (my brother lives in redding)
But I can tell you that the road from Eureka to Redding is sort of long and winding. Not sure I'd want to go through there in bad weather... a little desolate from what I remember if the car should break down.

[DaleK]

No snow is predicted for the areas up here just rain. You should stick with I5. Its much safer during winter and as HereOnMars said Caltrans is very good about keeping the roads clear if it should snow. I've taken several trips to Washington via I5 during winter storms to visit my daughter in much worse conditions and had no problems in my little Toyota.

Enjoy your trip! :-)

[OwlKaMyst]

If going all the way to AZ, and want to use the alternate coastal route due to snow...the road from Eureka to Redding is a VERY BAD idea.
You would be better off going all the way to I80 and cutting over that way.

However, the main roads are kept open most of the time.

[Hawk J]

If the weather should get bad, just pull over in one of the small towns along the way, until there is a break in the weather. Usually the weather will change in a day or two.

Carry extra water,
some food
blankets
warm clothing, socks, hat
warm insulated boots
charged phone, charger
spare tire, jack
fill gas tank

https://tripcheck.com/Pages/RCMap.asp?curRegion=0

California Department of Transportation..

Drive Safely...

[eaglefanor]

Thanks for all the responses and the links, i'm going to stick with i5 and hope i don't need to use my chains, happy holidays

[PNW-type-gal]

Best route would be:
I-5 south to Sacramento,
Hwy 99 south to Bakersfield,
Hwy 58 east (Bakersfield to Tehachapi/Mojave) to I-15 (via 395, don't go all the way out to Barstow),
I-15 south to I-10.

This skips my three least favorite parts of the drive -
1) I5 as it runs on the western edge of the Central Valley (two lanes with slow trucks clogging up things as they try to pass each other plus one of the biggest stockyards in California which stinks for MILES).
2) The Grapevine
3) LA traffic from Santa Clarita on. Last trip we were trying to get out of LA at 4:30 am and STILL hit stop-and-go traffic in two places.

[Surrey Jack]

Take the I-5 all the way down to Los Angeles, easiest route. You could experiment with some shortcuts in Los Angeles but if you drive in the early morning hours or late evening you will cruise right through at a good speed. If snow is in the forecast, I recommend the suggestion posted above about a safety kit although I'm sure you'd already be carrying some of those items regardless.

[NoMoreSnowForMe]

In the last few weeks, I've done the trip from Redding to Eureka via 299, and hated it! Extremely windy - and I'm talking severe, tight switchbacks, and it's really desolate with no cell reception.

The route up I-5 to 199 then down to Crescent City was longer, but WAY better. With cell reception, and plenty of traffic and lots of small towns along the way. It's only really windy right before you get to Crescent City.

It can be a little hairy around Mt. Shasta on I-5. If you take 199 to 101 (Crescent City), I'd continue south on 101 as someone else said, and cut over later on a major highway.