Traversing California (South to North)

While everyone talks about the size of Alaska, California is 3rd after Texas in acreage. Alaska has the acreage, but the limited road system (Anchorage to Fairbanks, Tok, Valdez, and back to Anchorage) really shrinks the feel of Alaska’s breadth. Having isolated cities like Juneau, Bethel, Dillingham, Nome, Kotzebue, Barrow, etc. with only air access (unless you count the Iditarod sled run from Anchorage to Nome (estimate of 1,000 miles)) really makes Alaska feel smaller than either Texas or California.
Coming from Santee, CA to Reno, NV, we take Interstate 15 to the starting point of California 395 about 15 miles south of Adelanto, CA straight up to Reno, NV. You can cross California South to North multiple ways - US 1 along the coast (though not recommended for RVs), CA 101 slightly inland from US 1 (works for RVs), Interstate 5 or CA 99 through the Central Valley or CA 395 on the Eastern side.

We have hauled the rig on each of these routes (except for US 1) as we have traversed California these past few years. We like CA 395 best because of the varied landscapes even though there are a lot of up/down in the valley’s route around the Sierra and Inyo Mountain ranges. We go from sea level to 8,000 feet and then back down to 4,000 in Reno. It makes for extra care of our air beds – need to remove air before we leave or we’ll be sleeping on bricks or burst beds.