Riding from Bay Area to Seattle: Taking a scenic route

After the Painted Hills, couple miles east to 207 and go through the Painted Hills,
Fossil, 19 to Condon, then 206 to Wasco.
Much better than 26 to Portland.

 

I have personally ridden on the stretch of highway from Chinese Camp near Sonora thru Yosemite all the way past Lassen. But not from Lassen to Crater Lake, but I have been to Crater Lake via a different route. As the above poster mentioned, I would not bother doubling back, I would ride through the Painted Hills area and circle back towards Portland maybe through the Columbia Gorge.

Teaser pic inside Mt. Lassen National Park.

 

Make sure to fuel up in Naches before you head for Chinook Pass. That should get you over the mountains without having to pay a premium for fuel. Also, the food at the Woodshed is really good. (I will ride over the mountains just to get one of their cinnamon rolls. )

Depending on your timing, especially if you want to play tourist, you might want to consider going through Mt. Rainier National Park.

https://goo.gl/maps/dTUNl

There is some truly phenomenal countryside, and if you are coming through during the long weekend you are definitely not going to be making any stellar progress anyway.

When you get out of the mountains and back to "civilization" you are going to run into traffic no matter what route you take. 164 through Auburn is two lane and crowded for a good chunk of the way, and when it becomes four lane it goes through the Muckleshoot reservation past the casino, bingo hall, and fireworks stands. Add in a Van Halen concert at the amphitheater on the evening of the 5th, and that road should be avoided at all costs any time after 16:00. If you do opt for the tour through Rainier and up I-5, get all the way to the left as soon as possible when you get on the freeway. It will keep you as far as possible from the merging traffic at SR-16 and the Tacoma Dome and sets you up to grab the HOV lane before you get to the SR-18 cluster.

 

You're doing yourself a huge disfavor if you're not going to ride arguably the best MC road in California: the west portion of CA36 between 101 and Redding. I remember hearing endless remarks about how great it was, and had thought that no road could live up to such hype--until I rode it. Take 101 North to 36 and you won't regret it. Don't bother with the eastern side of it except to pick up that portion of your route above where it intersects with 89 in the Mt. Lassen area.

As to the Oregon/Washington portion, US97 is pretty boring through Oregon. I'd suggest only taking it as far as OR58, go west (NW) to Oakridge/(Westfir, then take National Forest Road 19, AKA South Fork Road or "The Aufderheide" north up to OR126/McKenzie Hwy. Go east a few miles to OR242, the old McKenzie Hwy, which will take you east back to Sisters and about 10 miles east of there you can pick up US97 if you're determined to use that route to get into Washington. The Aufderheide is really fun, especially the northernmost area around Cougar Dam; 242 is EXTREMELY tight & twisty, as technical as it gets. By then, you'll need the relative straightness when you come down into Sisters and beyond for a bit of a rest, so to speak!

 

This looks like an amazing route. I have never ventured into California on a bike, but the possibilities seem limitless, almost overwhelming choices of twisty roads. Have you ever ridden on Historic Hwy 49?
I figure if I ever ride down to California, it will be like stepping inside the gates of Disneyland for the first time as a kid, something amazing in every direction.

 

Since you're going past Mt. St. Helens, be sure to take NF 99 to the lookout. It is not to be missed.