What is the best route to go to Las Vegas?

We will be leaving from Eugene Oregon and would like the best scenic route from there to Las Vegas. Would prefer a route that is fairly direct. Anybody got suggestions?

Thank you

How bout I-5 down to Sacramento. Jog over to Placerville on Hwy 50. Head south again on the 49er Hwy to Sonora. Cut thru Yosemite to Hwy 395 and follow that south to Hwy 190 at Lone Pine. Cut across Death Valley to Hwy 95 and follow that on into Lost Wages. You'll see just about everything taking that route.

TC

I'll give you the direct route that is easy to drive and avoids a lot of California.

I-5 south to around Mount Shasta exit to Hwy 89 (McCloud). Continue to Susanville and head south on Hwy 395 toward Reno. Stop in Reno, stimulate the economy. Continue south to Minden, wave, I might see you. (this is the route I took when I picked up the WC up there). Continue south to Bishop and take Hwy 6 toward Tonopah and head down Hwy 95 directly to Vegas. Or head across to Hwy 95 at 190 as TC suggested.

In lieu of driving down 395 past Reno, you can head east on I-80 toward Fernley and then shoot south to Fallon and down Hwy 95.

Or, take Hwy 395 south of Gardnerville/Minden until Holbrook Junction at Hwy 208, then head east through Smith Valley till you hit Hwy 95 in Yerington. That's the way I would go living here.

I agree with Jetskier. Having grown up in Nevada I'm partial to driving there on the uncrowded highways. I'd avoid California if for no other reason, FUEL PRICES ARE OUTRAGEOUS!

Not the fastest/shortest/cheapest. Take I-5 south and cut-over to Bakersfield (this actually will be a dual-purpose drive because you'll never again want to drive I-5), then take CA-58 over to Barstow. Just before you arrive in Barstow you get to drive through Hinkley. Slow down and wave at Erin Brockovich 'http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erin_Brockovich_(film)'. From there you can take I-15 on up to Las Vegas.

Cardinal_Bill wrote:Not the fastest/shortest/cheapest. Take I-5 south and cut-over to Bakersfield (this actually will be a dual-purpose drive because you'll never again want to drive I-5), then take CA-58 over to Barstow. Just before you arrive in Barstow you get to drive through Hinkley. Slow down and wave at Erin Brockovich 'http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erin_Brockovich_(film)'. From there you can take I-15 on up to Las Vegas.

I-5 south of Sacramento is riddled with pot holes and horrible scenery. Going through Barstow has good roads, but still terrible scenery. I have traveled to Las Vegas hundreds of times, and TC has the best route from where you are. Jetskiers route is a close second.
Going down hwy 395 from Bridgeport through Bishop is a beautiful drive.

YahBut...I thought I'd mention a third of my favorite California town. Barstow, Needles, and Blythe. We actually winter just about 38 miles from Needles, in Lake Havasu City AZ. So we drive through Needles on our way to Bullhead City, there's different shopping there, more than a couple of times a year.

You know that I-5...we're driven it 3 times (pretty much the entire length from San Diego to where it crosses into Canada) and never made it over "The Grapevine". Always been closed by snow and strangely it seemed we drove straight into the wind all 3 times.

Maxtor wrote:Going down hwy 395 from Bridgeport through Bishop is a beautiful drive.

You are SO right!!

We have land just south of Bridgeport. That side of the Sierras is breathtaking!! It takes a special breed to live there though; sheep ranchers and those making a living off of tourism mostly.

IMO, everybody needs to drive 395 from Tahoe clear through to Bishop just once in their lives. Preferably in the summer to avoid avalanches.

TC

TC wrote:IMO, everybody needs to drive 395 from Tahoe clear through to Bishop just once in their lives. Preferably in the summer to avoid avalanches.

I didn't know 395 went through Tahoe.

TC wrote:...Cut thru Yosemite to Hwy 395...

Highway 140 into Yosemite is closed to vehicles in excess of 45 feet due to a slide that took out a section of the highway a few years back. There are temporary bridges that cross the Merced River that are one-way (you may have to sit at a traffic light for 10 or 115 minutes waiting for traffic to clear the other way) and there is no way anything longer than that would be able to make that turn onto the narrow bridge.

Highway 120 through Tuolumne Meadows is closed every year from the first snow in October until sometime in June and it may be closed even later this year from the ample snow that we got here in California. 120 is a steep climb, but you are going uphill so not to worry about overheating the brakes.

Driving through Yosemite and then down 395 is a beautiful drive, just don't be in too much of a hurry.

Bummer about 140.

TC

Hwy 140 is one of three ways into Yosemite (Hwy 41 & 140 dead end in the valley, the only east-west route is 120 and it misses the valley. I don't count Hetch Hetchy Road as it only goes to the reservoir and don't get me started on that!

If you want to see the slide and the road from Google maps satellite view, it's zoomed out so you can see where it is in relation to the valley (upper right), just zoom in on the green arrow to see the temporary bypass.

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Thanks for the link Mark, that's quite a slide.

TC