Route From Eugene Ore., To Yellowstone

[steve@vogel.tzo.com]

I am looking for suggestions on routing from Eugene OR to Yellowstone. Particularly interested in the possbilibty of using Hwy 20 from Corvalis over to I84 to cut off miles looping up north to get on I84. I am driving at 36" class A pulling a tow. Anyone used 20 accross Oregon with a class A?

[tbutler]

I've traveled through some of this country but not on US 20. I plotted it on my GPS program and it shows elevations from about 200 feet above sea level to almost 5000' in several spots along the route. The worst grade looks to be a 1400 foot drop in elevation in 9 miles of road. As you go east from the last high spot near 5000' there are plenty of curves and plenty of hills and valleys which suggest very slow travel. My GPS shows a difference of 64 miles vs. going north to Portland and taking I-84 from there to the junction with US 20. Unless you really want to see something along the way or just want to see the scenery, I wouldn't take US 20. Someone local may be able to give you a better answer about US 20 and I hope we'll hear from someone with better information.

By the way, if I want to go somewhere specific, I'll take my motor home on most any road if I can get information that the route has no low overpasses that would present a physical barrier to travel. We have driven the loop through John Day Fossil Beds in northern Oregon and those were some real curvy steep roads. Hitting 20 miles per hour was a real accomplishment on some of those roads. I will take shorter routes and slower roads if I have the time available. I would likely take US 20 just to see the scenery if I wasn't in a hurry.

[wolfe10]

Steve,

Welcome to the FMCA Forum.

We have driven that route several times on the way to/from the FMCA Conventions in Redmond-- both the section from the west side of the mountains to Redmond and from Redmond on to I84.

You don't give information on your rig or whether you are comfortable with "technical" driving. Kind of hard to give advice when one may have an overloaded gas rig pulling a 5000 pound toad or DP with effective engine brake.

I would classify this as a "moderate" drive. Certainly not for novices with marginal rigs, but easily doable by those with good rigs with some mountain driving experience.

Let us know what rig you have and whether you have done mountain driving and we can give you better advice.

Brett Wolfe

[steve@vogel.tzo.com]

Tthank you for the replies so far. My coach is a 2004 Country Coach Inspire with 350 Cummins. My mountain driving experiece with it to date has been both in the Rapid City Rushmore area as well as out to Washington and Oregon and down 101 on this trip. That said, I feel very comfortable with mountain driving so far. The coach handles it well. I pull a 99 Grand Cherokee also.

Hope this helps. I agree with the the difference in distance versus the interstate driving. I am leaning toward the interstate route all the way.

Thanks again for your help and advice.

Steve Vogel

2004 Country Coach Inspire

[Chickadee]

Hello Steve: Say, I can't speak for the stretch from Corvalis to Bend, BUT, you'll have no problem at all taking Rt. 20 from Bend over to Ontario. Have a great trip. Steve & Lynette

[tbutler]

This is the text I have posted on Destinations. Note that this greatly modifies my recommendations on all posts related to West Yellowstone as a base of operations for visiting Yellowstone National Park. Study this web site carefully and plan your stay accordingly. In light of this information I am not making any recommendation for where to stay while visiting Yellowstone N.P. It all depends on what you want to see.

Several people have asked about routes to Yellowstone NP. I picked up a caution from another website and visited the Yellowstone web site for the official word. The bridge at Gibbon Canyon is being replaced and this road will be completely closed on August 17, 2009. If you are headed to Yellowstone this summer, be sure to check this web site: http://www.nps.gov/yell/travelalert.htm

This road section links the West and South entrances of the park to the North and East entrances. There is no way around within the park, so it essentially cuts the park in two. The road is scheduled to reopen in December. This may affect your decision of where to camp when you visit the park.