Hwy 101 in Oregon

[Raquel]

We've been working our way down the Oregon Coast, staying in one place a month before moving on. We've had a good time, riding out the hurricane in Garibaldi and some good crabbing in Waldport. Now it's nearly time to move on to our next destination in Coos Bay.

 

I'm a bit nervous. I've driven a car at least 100 times over Cape Perpetua. I've driven our tractor once over Cape Perpetua. We have our truck and a 41ft. 5th wheel. Our GPS says that the limit is 60ft over that area and we are 65ft.+/-. I've checked the Oregon DOT website for restrictions and find none. Big tractor/trailers drive the road, but the GPS has me freaked out. I really don't want to take a 250 mile detour, if I don't need to.

 

Has anyone driven that stretch of road between Waldport, OR and Florence, OR? What can you tell me?

[tyates007]

We drove that stretch 2 summers ago and I do not remember any issues. We are 70'. I also don't remember seeing any restriction signs but that doesn't mean they were not there

[Dollytrolley]

Raquel,

 

We have owned the East side of the Wakonda Beach Airport 3 miles South of Waldorf for ever but......I choose to NOT to tow past to 50 foot personal limit over the cape.....can you cheat.....maybe....but maybe not.....

 

Trust me a wreck on the cape is well beyond your worse nightmare X10?

 

The drive around the cape might be a pain but NOTHING compared to the risk to you and others on to road. 101 is a Stunning drive but don't try to cheat the cape it can be a Stunning Killer......

 

Drive on.....(Even long locals go inland of the ......Cape)

[tyates007]

I would listen to Dollytrolly on this one instead of me as posted earlier. I only came through once and sounds like I had perfect condidtions. Detours are short compared to getting into trouble.

[Dollytrolley]

As Tyates007 says, indeed it is possible to skinny through the cape at 70 ft ....IF you are LUCKY.....but here is the BAD part...even if you are the lucky one, all it takes for a UNLUCKY chap broke down at the lighthouse view point and you are now in for the back-up test of your life and sourounded by soooo many tourists ....also like learning to back up for the first time.... .did I mention that it can take many hours for a wrecker just to the view point due to the mess of no places to get by the stalled traffic.

 

Even the Coast Guard Choppers tend to give the Cape view point a wide berth....they don't want to be blamed for distracting a driver and causing a wreck.

 

A good friend owns a large heavy marine construction consultants in Coos Bay and he tells me that he could easily save +$1,000,000 a year by sending some of the company trucks over the Cape but he allows nothing larger than a pickup over the Cape and NO trailers... he says they simply deem the risk too high to truck over the Cape......

 

The real problem with The Cape is that you have NO reasonable outs when thing start to go wrong.

 

There is a maze of back roads that go around the back side of the cape but you would have to be a fourth generation logger to travel those roads and I would not wish that on anyone....?

 

Drive on.....(be careful....)

[adept99]

We came thru there headed north earlier this year. We're 68+' long, Volvo 770 with a Smart and a 44' toy hauler. Did not have any issues. However, as the warden in Cool Hand Luke put it, "You got to get your mind right". Weekdays are recommended, and don't get in a hurry. You'll do fine.

 

Enjoy the view...

 

Paul & Paula

 

[Pappy Yokum]

Won't "opinion" on the drive.....but too bad "Old Phoneman" is no longer active on this forum.

 

He was the organizer several years ago for the West Coast Rally at Winchester Bay (just South of Florence), and would imagine he drove 101 with his HDT and trlr at least a few times..

 

IIRC - he stored his 610 (and toys) at an airport hangar - maybe the airport DT is talking about.

 

Anyway - depending on your route choices - here's a "heads up" for the Winchester Bay campground!

Spectacular location - and easy to drive on past (you won't see it from 101)

 

The campground has big rig sites, however, as I recall, - some or all of the rally group used the adjoining Salmon Harbor area - no hookups, but the price was "right" and easily accommodated HDTs with long trailers.

 

 

.

[Yarome]

I probably depends on your comfort level under tow. It's quite curvy and certainly narrow, but about the most stunning section of 101, IMO. You want to watch the weather... make sure your rig is in top form... but I wouldn't pass it up.

 

I've been through with a 40'r and have seen plenty of longer and heavier rigs going through.

 

Some things in life are just worth it. What's the worst that can happen? You have to retreat to your 5'er for lunch, a movie and a nap while you wait for road side assistance.. with one the most scenic views along the pacific? I'm not seeing a downside.

[Dollytrolley]

I probably depends on your comfort level under tow. It's quite curvy and certainly narrow, but about the most stunning section of 101, IMO. You want to watch the weather... make sure your rig is in top form... but I wouldn't pass it up.

 

I've been through with a 40'r and have seen plenty of longer and heavier rigs going through.

 

Some things in life are just worth it. What's the worst that can happen? You have to retreat to your 5'er for lunch, a movie and a nap while you wait for road side assistance.. with one the most scenic views along the pacific? I'm not seeing a downside.

Humm Yarome ......maybe take a lot of movies and a couple cases of hootch as well because the Cape is the most unstable strech of pavement ln the U S according to ODOT !!

 

Some years ago a rock fell in the road and it was big... Really BIG about the size of a WalMart store .....it took forever to reopen the Cape and many of the taxpayer s of Oregon wanted the Cape closed forever. Every once in a while a portion of the cape road simply breaks off the cliff and tumbles into the Pacific a few hundred feet below..... you'll need more movie's and more naps while ODOT carves a new highway into the side of the cliff.

 

Now maybe the wife is right on about me being a bit of a grumps in my declining years and so maybe I am a bit jaded about towing over the cape .....but....TWICE over the last +30 years I have had to backup a Looong ways with trailers when Oregon State Police closed the cape in a moment of crisis....they just don't let you watch movies in the cape road....

 

Indeed some commercial drivers ignore the length restriction signs at each ond of the cape but in the last few years OSP has been Revoking CDL's of length offenders and that has given truckers some religion.

 

Maybe me having driven the cape more than everyone on the forum combined has made me lose my nerve....or maybe just maybe I have gained a elevated respect for the cape and I have enough respect for heavy trucks to not push the edge of the envelope....trouble with a HDT can be annoying....trouble with a HDT on the cape is BIG trouble.

 

Now for the disclaimer....please drive the cape......in a car or pickup or maybe a motorcycle in good weather....the view is stunning.....and the sooner the better because ODOT engineers contend it is only a matter of time before the cape will simply tumble off the cliff into the Pacific and then there will no road.....

 

The cliffs are so fractured that no methods exist to stabilize the road.

 

Drive on.....(be VERY careful driving the Cape)

[2gypsies]

We've driven the complete 101 many, many times in both directions with our 40' motorhome pulling the car. We never gave it a thought beforehand because all sizes of RVs drive it and also semi trucks. It's a very popular route. We didn't have any issues.

 

The road isn't any narrower than the rest of 101. The shoulders might be narrower but the road is the same as you've been driving on already if you're coming down the highway. I certainly wouldn't make a big detour just to avoid this.

 

Here's a recent update on a trucker's site of any road issues on 101 and this section isn't mentioned.

 

https://www.oregontruckingonline.com/cf/MCAD/pubMetaEntry/restrictionsList/

 

Here's a YouTube of the drive from Florence to the Cape. You can drive along to see for yourself.

 

[Yarome]

The shoulders might be narrower but the road is the same

 

I meant narrower in the sense of small shoulders on curvy roads.. sometimes with vertical rock faces immediately to follow.. with a long rig.. can feel a little cramped.

[Pat & Pete]

 

I meant narrower in the sense of small shoulders on curvy roads.. sometimes with vertical rock faces immediately to follow.. with a long rig.. can feel a little cramped.

 

When you have to replace the big awning on curb side , you'll know exactly what 'a little cramped' feels like .

 

A fellow camper had that happen last Fall on his way South . That happened in the Appalachians , which might be a bit less daunting than the 101 in that part of the country .

[CrazyCooter]

We drove Florence to Newport in the truck with no trailer last Nov and I don't remember there being anything I wouldn't pull our 40' trailer through other than some lower hanging tree brush. There was some road construction right at Sea Lion Caves and if you look at Google map view......There is a tractor and what looks to be a 45'+ trailer behind it in the parking lot!

 

Obviously if it's illegal, avoid it if possible right?

[2gypsies]

If you're concerned about it being illegal (I don't think it is), check it out with the local police dept.

[Yarome]

I don't know if it's still true, but a few years back I think that stretch of road had been named the "most paved" in the U.S.

 

Still.. I wouldn't miss it. I'm like 2gypsies.. been through countless times and never gave it a thought.

[Raquel]

A great big "THANK YOU" to everyone who weighed in on this topic. I have been unable to find any restrictions for this section of Hwy 101, except for the "restriction" in our GPS. On the morning of the 19th we'll take off for the drive over Cape Perpetua, white knuckles and all. If I have to, I'll put the sucker in 1st gear and crawl over if I have to. Again, thank you to everyone for your help and for your comments.

[Jemstone]

We have taken to spending the summers in Waldport, OR, just 15 miles south of Newport. We have made a number of friends in Newport over the years and they view US 101 as a dangerous road during winter when rains have soaked the slopes, making them heavy and lubricating the fault zones running through the coastal capes and steep slopes. There is one especially nasty area coming south over Cape Foulweather where the fault has caused large numbers of land slips. One took out the road, leaving a 400' tumble into the ocean, which the first car after the slide experienced. The pavement in a couple of areas, where 101 has been rerouted, is close to 4' thick, as slip after slip was fixed by building up the pavement.

 

I have never had a real problem on any section of US 101 in Oregon. Delays, RVs doing 15 mph under the 55 mph speed limit, more frequent use of timed stop signals at construction projects, lots of small towns with low speed limits, but never a problem due to the size of my rig (66'). That being said, there are a few highways connecting the coast with the Willamette Valley that are really lousy choices for big rigs. In particular, the beautiful Alsea Highway has hairpin mountain turns that require your using both lanes on blind corners. This is a road better driven in your Bugatti daily driver. There is one turn so tight you may see your own rear license plate. US 20 is the best option for many miles, north and south, to traverse the coastal range.

[Dollytrolley]

A great big "THANK YOU" to everyone who weighed in on this topic. I have been unable to find any restrictions for this section of Hwy 101, except for the "restriction" in our GPS. On the morning of the 19th we'll take off for the drive over Cape Perpetua, white knuckles and all. If I have to, I'll put the sucker in 1st gear and crawl over if I have to. Again, thank you to everyone for your help and for your comments.

Raquel,

 

Oregon is a somewhat odd State.

 

Presently you likely not find a "Restriction" on the Cape section of Hyw 101.... however this Cape section is ALWAYS LENGTH LIMITED....this is considered in Oregon a highway with PERMANENT LIMITATIONS.

 

ODOT tends to issue RESTRICTIONS for time-limited road damage and or repairs.

 

Here is where you will likely be somewhat led astray.... the only OFFICIAL ODOT Cape LENGTH LIMITATIONS will be the large ODOT LENGTH LIMITATIONS SIGN as you pass over Bridge just South of the Town of Yachts just North of the Cape.

 

What may be listed as a RESTRICTION on your GPS actually is a PERMANENT ODOT LIMITATION that has been in force for DECADES on the Cape section of Hyw 101.

 

Obviously drivers ignore road LIMITATIONS everyday and some folks get LUCKY...some get UNLUCKY....

 

Since I seem to be up on my Cape-safety-soapbox I might ask you to reconsider your statement about a "whiteknuckle-first-gear" trip over the cape....

 

For too many years I was involved in accident investigations and experts in accidents refer to the in concept of the "accident-chain". Each event leading to the accident is a "LINK" in the accident-chain.

 

Part of any real safe machinery operation involves considering potential KNOWN accident-chain-links.....

 

How prepared are you for A. L. O. (Apposing Lane Operations) this is where on sharp BLIND corners on the cape you MUST swing into the Apposing lane and HOPE that another over-length rig in not operating in your lane as well....this is referred to as the known/unknown-link....

 

Do you think ODOT LIMITS the Cape for a reason? Indeed the reason for the ODOT LENGTH-LIMIT on the Cape is that the highway design is substandard AND HISTORY has proven that long rigs are DANGEROUS to ALL vehicles on the Cape.

 

Some folks here contend that the Cape is just like the rest of Hyw 101 that's poppycock pure and simple ......as a local for many years I have seen plenty of headache on the Cape and it is NOT the same as the rest of Hyw 101 Period!

 

Often in a accident investigation we would find highly educated victims that had accumulated many rather high-risk links in their accident-chain....the accident shrinks called this the professional-expectation-bias , where a successful lawyer or doctotor would take needless risks because they expect success in almost everything they do....

 

Can you drive your long rig over the Cape......maybe.....others have....some have had too many links go bad.

 

Think it over ....count the known links....the unknown links are.... unknown....

 

Ok I'll step down from my soapbox....

 

Drive on......(Respect the .....limits)

[Yarome]

Some folks here contend that the Cape is just like the rest of Hyw 101 that's poppycock pure and simple

 

If I gave that impression... I apologize. It's certainly not. It's really not that different than many other byways across the U.S. though. It's curvy, "narrow" and requires more attention than other roads, but it's certainly towable. The views... freaking stunning!! I wouldn't call it a "white knuckle" drive.. but try to hit it in clear weather.. take it slow.. and a "shouldn't miss it" for any RV'r. That's why were out here isn't it?

[VegasFlyer]

I flew several Helicopter Logging jobs in the area, we were based out of Waldport and flew from Waldport to Alsea. Most of our projects were forest reclamation projects where we flew alder trees to a mobile chipper. The chipper would produce about twenty loads per day and that was all hauled to mills to the South and North on 101. Those trucks haul 53' chip trailers.

 

Short answer, no restrictions for rvs.

[Dollytrolley]

I flew several Helicopter Logging jobs in the area, we were based out of Waldport and flew from Waldport to Alsea. Most of our projects were forest reclamation projects where we flew alder trees to a mobile chipper. The chipper would produce about twenty loads per day and that was all hauled to mills to the South and North on 101. Those trucks haul 53' chip trailers.

 

Short answer, no restrictions for rvs.

Shucks there you go folks Vegas knows the score on the Oregon coast.....RV's own to highway 101 and can ignore limitations.

 

As I posted earlier Oregon is a bit odd at times and sometimes when drivers ignore limitations the Oregon department of Justice charge's drivers with felony vehicular assault and sends them to room for five to ten years in the Oregon State Pen.....but maybe RV's are not restricted by these charges.....

 

Come on folks, all I am trying to get across here is that on a bright sunny day at the cape lookout to will often find 20 hogs, 12 Corvette's , 10 bicycle's, 2 5ers , and a motorhome with a toad hanging out in the South NARROW traffic lane. Now if anyone in this throng of scenery-drunk gookers gets injured even Vegas could not find a place to land a med evac chopper in many sections AND with no side road access to the cape emergency vehicles almost never get to the injured folks within the golden hour that doctors talk about.

 

Most locals avoid the Cape on bright sunny days .....it's a zoo of folks looking at the scenery instead of driving.

 

Is driving Whiteknuckle-first-gear in a large RV on a highly compromised route your idea of Recreation then shucks have at it....

 

We drive a lot of back roads out here in the West and I have my own personal limitations and towing large over the Cape is something that I choose not to do because after a a few Hundred-Thousand-Miles logged driving Highway 101 I KNOW better than to push that envelope too far.

 

I've never had a accident on 101 but I have sure seen and waited on a lot of them.

 

I'll say it again ....sure go see the Cape it's stunning just take a decently sized rig for the trip.

 

Drive on.....(Review your ....limits)

[Raquel]

I've sure gotten a lot of traffic out of my "white knuckle crawl" comment, which was intended to be humorous, but I know that sometimes dry humour gets lost.

 

See ya on the other side.

[Dollytrolley]

Hope all goes well...

[Raquel]

Hope all goes well...

 

Whichever way we take?

[Dollytrolley]

 

Whichever way we take?

Indeed I wish you safe trip...

 

Even though I am hanging out East of Death Valley for a while I still have a lot of friends and some family on the Oregon coast so which ever route you take they will keep sharp eye out for you and other traffic as well. Locals have seen he Cape scenery a lot so they tend to watch out for traffic that is distracted by the stunning views.

 

Even though I am out in the middle of open desert with no traffic and views for miles down the road with wide open spaces to pull off...we all have to consider our limits.

 

Big5er contends that someday the RV/HDT will become a extinct animal and ALL HDTs will be DOT compliant units....maybe he is right or maybe he is wrong.....I tend to think that it could be far easier for us RV/HDT folks to be extinct if just a few insurance companies decide to exit our itty-bitty segment of the RV insurance market due to a couple of unfortunate accidents.

 

We might tell ourselves that this could never happen but it can.....I have experienced a aircraft model value drop of several hundred thousand in value as the insurance market died over night....it hurts all owners.....

 

So.....we ALL have a dog in the fight to hedge our safety bets ......we are all in the itty-bitty.....Insurance pool.

 

So whatever route you choose .....be careful and enjoy the ride.

 

Drive on.....(Stay safe....)