Roadtripping from Portland to Phoenix in 5 Days
West Coast Roadtrip: Portland to Phoenix
perfect hits of city + nature in 5 days
It’s been a while since I’ve had blog-worthy adventures to post.
For the last year I’ve really been enjoying my time in Portland, OR - settled into my first apartment, found a group of friends I like, and started to understand the ins and outs of work.
Kai moved in with me for the summer. Because his mom is moving to Phoenix at the end of the year, he ended up driving his mom’s car out to Portland so we could conclude our summer with a week-long road trip down from OR to AZ.
We’ve been anticipating the trip for a while but didn’t plan any stops, restaurants, or sleep sites until the day of. Highly stressful - don’t know if I would recommend - but well worth the unknown.
Where we (planned to) hit:
Portland, Grants Pass, Redwoods, San Francisco, Yosemite, Las Vegas, Grand Canyon, Sedona, Phoenix
Day 1 (Mon) 10:00: Depart Portland, OR. Picked up breakfast burritos. Stopped in Grant for IN-N-Out lunch. Visited Dutch Bros HQ. Arrived at Redwoods at 16:00. Did a mini loop hike. Camped at a private site “Enchanged Forest.”
Day 2 (Tues) 11:00: Depart Redwoods, CA. Did a mini loop hike. Arrive in SF at 18:00. Friends and dinner. AirBnB at Tracy, CA (2 hours east of SF past Oakland). Wine night!
Day 3 (Wed) 11:00: Depart Tracy, CA. Arrive in Yosemite at 15:00. See the see’s. Depart at 18:00, drive through Death Valley to Vegas, NV. Arrive in Vegas at 2:00 (AM). Woop!
Day 4 (Thurs) 16:00: Depart Vegas, NV to Grand Canyon. Arrive at Grand Canyon campsite at 22:00.
Day 5 (Fri) 11:00: Depart campsite. Arrive at Grand Canyon 11:30. See the see’s. Depart at 14:00 to Sedona, AZ. Arrive at 16:00. Depart 19:00 to Phoenix, AZ. Arrive at 21:00.
Day 6-7 (Sat & Sun): Enjoy Phoenix, AZ! Spend time with new friends & family.
It was a really great road trip - my first time seeing what real America is like. Fast food, Wal Marts, and American Flags. Pretty crazy!
DAY 1: PORTLAND TO REDWOODS
Portland - Grants Pass - In-N-Out - Redwoods (Camp)
Day 1 (Mon) Portland - Grants Pass - Redwoods
10:00: Depart Portland, OR taking 1-5S down. Burritos for breakfast! Stopped at Grants Pass because we saw the In-N-Out sign. This is the only In-N-Out spot in Oregon.. and it’s just like the ones in California (maybe even a little cleaner). Also Grants Pass is a super cute town with lots of friendly restaurants and ice cream spots. A great half-way point.
16:00: Arrived at the start of the Redwoods National Forest. Picked up some delicious salmon jerky in a small camper town, and were lucky enough to find a campsite last minute - Emerald Forest Cabins. They have a good mix of RV, cabin, and tent spots.
22:00: Arrived at our campsite. Really enjoyed this spot. We got a medium-sized spot for $35 and nobody was around! It was a very family-friendly campsite with gated ‘parks’, clean bathrooms, and nice wash stations. Beautiful redwoods. Friendly neighbors. Lots of RVs.
TIP:
Reserve in advance. It’s basically impossible to reserve a campsite in any national park during the summer (they sell out almost immediately when the season starts!). There are unreserved spots, but you have to arrive very early in the morning to claim them day-of.
THINGS TO NOTE:
In-N-Out: one of the only ones in Oregon! 124 NE Morgan Ln, Grants Pass, OR 97526
Paul’s Famous Smoked Salmon Jerky: Family owned & run. Delicious salmon jerky with different flavors. Highly recommend the Pepper & Classic. 17635 Hwy 101 S Klamath, CA 95548
DAY 2: REDWOODS TO SAN FRANCISCO
Redwoods Forest - San Francisco - Tracy (AirBnB)
Day 2 (Tues) Redwoods - San Francisco - Tracy
11:00: Depart Redwoods campsite. Continued our drive south to the beginning of the forest, where we stopped to do a short 1.5m loop hike. Crazy trees. No one around. Pretty surreal.
17:00 Arrive in SF. Traffic wasn’t too heavy getting into the city. Saw my dear friend in Soma. Ate northern Vietnamese food (they have thinner, clear broth and don’t use hoisin sauce ;)). Got Salt & Straw for dessert.. hah.
23:00 Left SF to Tracy. Arrived there at 1 AM. Enjoyed a bath and red wine!
TIP:
Beware of crazy driving. Driving on the freeway from SF to Tracy was fucking terrifying. It was 11PM and cars were flying at 100+ MPH and no one was using their turn signal.
THINGS TO NOTE:
Salt & Straw Ice Cream - homemade ice cream that actually originated in Portland! There’s always a line and everyone loves the Zucchini Bread flavor. 2201 Fillmore St, San Francisco, CA 94115
DAY 3: San Francisco to Las Vegas
Tracy - Yosemite - Death Valley - Las Vegas (Hotel)
Day 3 (Wed) Tracy - Yosemite - Death Valley - Las Vegas
11:00: Depart Tracy, CA AirBnB. Drive straight to Yosemite National Park.
14:00: Arrive at Yosemite. See El Capitan, Dawn Wall, and friends. Eat a semi-expensive but yummy vegetarian meal at the hotel. Take a quick dip in the river. Highly recommend getting wet. The water, though cold, was extremely refreshing! So many amazing pockets of beautiful plants and animals. Unfortunately didn’t see any bears or cougars, but maybe next time..
18:00: Depart Yosemite. Stop at the last gas station right before heading to Death Valley. Buy post cards and coffee. This is the last proper gas station for hours, so don’t cheap out because the gas is $.75 over average. (Right when you turn off 120 onto 395 S)
2:00AM: Arrive in Vegas! Stay at whatever cheap casino you can find, and you’ll get free drinks, a pool, and hopefully a comfortable bed. We paid the extra $25 for late checkout.
TIP:
Fuel up. The drive out of Yosemite was a lot longer than expected. There’s only one way out, so plan accordingly. Also FUEL UP! If you’re headed the way we went, there are 0 gas stations.
Stop to take photos. Yosemite is beautiful, but so is everything surrounding it. My favorite part was the stars. No tall trees - just hundreds and thousands of blinking stars!
Beware of forest fires. There was a massive fire happening somewhere along 95. Beware of signs.
THINGS TO NOTE:
Mt. Dana - mountain on the way out of Yosemite
Mobil Gas Station - last gas station for a while when leaving Yosemite. Lots of snacks, food options, and souvenirs. There are a couple tables outside to hang out and feel like you’re close to civilization. 22 Vista Point Dr, Lee Vining, CA 93541
DAY 4: VEGAS TO GRAND CANYON
Las Vegas - Grand Canyon (Camp)
Day 4 (Thurs): Las Vegas - Grand Canyon Camping
11:00: Wake up very late. Do the Vegas thing. Lose money. Go to a pool. Get one of those sweet, sugary alcoholic drinks and drink on the street.
16:00: Depart Vegas towards Grand Canyon… another beautiful drive through the desert!
22:00: Arrive at campsite. We stayed on a private property found on Hip Camp. We had a great experience hanging out with Mike, the owner, and his neighbor friend. Both have compelling stories to share.
TIP:
Don’t gamble.
DAY 5: Grand Canyon to Phoenix
Grand Canyon - Sedona - Phoenix (home!)
Day 5 (Fri): Grand Canyon - Sedona - Phoenix
11:00: Depart campsite for Grand Canyon.
11:30: Arrive at National Park site. Didn’t do any proper hikes, but enjoyed the views from the popular points. So amazing!
14:00: Depart to Sedona, AZ. 1-40E all the way. Between the heat and the roads, it’s a steady drive that might feel longer than it really is. The closer you get to Sedona, the redder your surroundings become.
17:00: Arrive in Sedona, AZ. Go to the Church, it’s the best viewpoint. Lots of quaint shops and cafes. A bomb ice cream shop with homemade pecan pie. An elevated, picturesque town embracing the Wild West! Drove around and did a couple 1mi loop hikes.
20:00: Depart Sedona, arrive in Phoenix!
TIP:
Buy a day pass. There are a bunch of short hikes you can drive to, but you have to pay for all of them. Most, if not all, trailheads have kiosks that dispense passes for $5/daily.
Eat in Sedona. There are so many family-owned eateries and cafes, it would be a shame to eat McDonalds instead of a restaurant with a view.
THINGS TO NOTE:
Chapel of the Holy Cross: Rumored to be the best viewpoint in Sedona! 780 Chapel Rd, Sedona, AZ 86336-7064
Black Cow Cafe: Amazing icecream and dank pecan pie. 229 N State Rte 89A, Sedona, AZ 86336
And we made it! 9 days within 5 days. Got a great taste of a bunch of these places, and now I definitely want to go back. Because we camped a couple nights and cooked a lot of our food, we didn’t spend as much money as we thought.
Probably spent the most $ on gas.
A list of places I want to revisit/highlight:
Sedona, AZ
Grand Canyon, AZ (the overnight backpacking hike)
Yosemite, CA (also want to camp)
Las Vegas, NV (at the right time!)
Hope you enjoyed this post!