I-5 Sights and Stops

Traveling the Roads of the West #1: Interstate 5

Last month I accompanied my high school best friend on a spur-of-the-moment trip to Bakersfield, California. It was a beeline trip to help her sister move, not a sightseeing trip or lazy vacation. But we made the most of it. We had a blast chatting the night away with the lovely sights of southern Oregon and northern California (by the time we were out of the Cascades, it was dark).

I realized something on that trip. I’ve lived all my life in cities on the I-5 Corridor (aside from a couple years in Monmouth and Dallas, Oregon, which are both around a 1/2 hour from it). I now live a mere few blocks from it. And I’ve traveled the entire thing in bits and pieces, to Canada and to Mexico. But I often take this massive freeway, built largely right on historic US Route 99,  for granted.

Interstate 5 (called I-5, or sometimes “The Five”) is not a romantic road in the imagination of our society, at least not in the way that Route 66 or Highway 101  are. But it has a lot to offer a traveler. It is, after all, the only interstate highway to touch both the Mexico and the Canada border, even if that means only going through three states.

So I’ve put together a list of sights to see from I-5 (as well as a few eats and treats located within sight from the interstate). Going from south to north, you’ll see:

1. The San Isidro border crossing- just south of the border is shopping galore. Just don’t try to buy more than one pair of fake Oakleys.

2. Six Flags Magic Mountain- okay, I’m sure there are other sights to see between the Mexico border and Los Angeles. But it’s been over a decade and a half since I’ve driven that section, and I just don’t remember it. It is great fun to see the roller coasters at Magic Mountain, though, and dream of zipping along in the sky way faster than you’re driving right then!

3. In-N-Out Burger- various stops along I-5. A California must for when you get hungry. Not so much for the food, but for the experience. Don’t forget to buy a T-shirt (or at least ask for a paper hat. Just pretend you’re getting it for a kid.)

4. Shasta Lake- you get to drive right over it. Cool!

5. Castle Crags State Park- awesome rock formations high in the hills. I seriously want to go hiking here.

6. Mt. Shasta (and the cute little cinder cone by the freeway, for you fellow geology geeks). You can’t miss seeing this huge conical volcano.

7. Dragon sculpture in the Siskiyous- eye candy for the weary traveler, at least one who likes fantasy stuff, not long before the Oregon border.

8. Table Rocks- huge mesa buttes near Medford. Another place I want to hike.

9. Seven Feathers Casino- a large eagle statue dominates the entrance to this casino in tiny Canyonville (the town I currently work in). There is a Burger King within a block of I-5 here, but a much better little eatery is Ken’s Sidewalk Cafe, with lobster wraps and great burgers (and no, they didn’t pay me to say this).

10. Castle-like house on a cliff over historic bridge, Myrtle Creek- sadly, it’s for sale, but out of my price range.

11. Rice Hill- where every family in Oregon stops on road trips to eat ice cream (Umpqua brand, made in nearby Roseburg) at the old-fashioned drive-in (order at the window) burger joint.

12. Spencer’s Butte- a large hill overlooking the green (in more ways than one) city of Eugene, my hometown, where the locals go hiking on lazy weekend afternoons. I’ve gone there with nearly every important person in my life at some time or another.

13. The white dinosaur statues at the south end of Eugene. Funky!

14. The Enchanted Forest! This place was my Disneyland growing up. I still love catching glimpses of the Ice Mountain Bobsleds coaster as I drive by.

15. The 45th Parallel sign in Salem- letting you know that you’re halfway between the equator and the North Pole (in case you were wondering where in the world you were).

16. Portland- so many things to see as you drive through Oregon’s largest city. The OHSU aerial tram, Mt. Hood, Mt. St. Helens, driving over the Marquam Bridge (which is an experience for us small-town drivers), the Rose Garden arena, the twin towers of the Convention Center, and of course, the bridge over the Columbia River, taking you into Washington state.

17. Krispy Kreme- just off 1-5 in Tacoma. I know it’s not a unique sight or stop, but I just have to include it. I’ve driven I-5 with youth group kids too many times. You can’t not stop here with 13-year-olds in the back of the car who just saw the sign.

18. Mt. Rainier- this hulking volcano dominates the landscape in Washington. Yet another place I really want to go hiking.

19. The Seattle Space Needle- I’m pretty sure you can see this from I-5, if not from a distance. Much cooler up close, though.

20. The grande finale…. the Peace Arch at the border of Canada. Reminding you how lucky you are to live on such a peaceful continent.

Please comment below to tell me what are some of your favorite sights to see (and places to eat, of course!) on I-5.

Mt. Shasta at dusk

Castle-themed house overlooking old Route 99 bridge into Myrtle Creek

In-N-Out Burger, a California road trip tradition