Northern California Hiway 101 Charging

Arcata has a free 14-50 and a Chargepoint J1772.
Caltrans in Eureka also has a free J-1772
C st at the waterfront in downtown Eureka has a chargepoint J-1772

Grants Pass SC to Eureka is no problem. need <200 mi range or rated (~170mi) if you keep @ the speed limit the entire way (and I always recommend taking Prairie Creek instead of the bypass just South of Klamath River)

hitting the coast earlier than 199 I am not too sure about. there are RV places but it would take some time. From Eureka to the South SF area takes about 2 -1/2 hr charging because of the hills

Benbow has yummy stuff and the owners are very nice + it is on the eel river-14-50 in the front also RV park with some more across 101 (same owners) but summer it is packed

Hopland has 2 14-50s and they are free @ the solar living center.


and having twin chargers you could stop in San Rafael at service for a bit of a charge bump down that way too

Clos Du Bois has J1772s and free wine tasting to EV owners charging there.

If you wanted to take 1 out to the coast there is supposedly a 14-50 in Fort Brag at the north coast Brewery and some tourist things in Fort Brag around that area but it is a bit of a trip out there on 1 and back on 20 or 128. Also taking 1 out, it is a very windy road. coming back 20 is pretty windy too and if you take 128 you miss the 14-50 in Hopland. there are slow J1772s south of there but 14-50 is much better for your time.

If you wanted to stay in the Humboldt Bay area for a night and take 199 in and 36 out you can use superchargers on I-5 the whole way down except overnight in the Hum area.

SeattleSid said:

Looking at previous threads, most of which are somewhat elderly, I infer there's not a lot of good charging options for those who might venture off I-5 in Northern CA. I note the Benbow Inn has a picture of a Tesla charging; I've emailed them to find if it's possible to reserve a spot along with a room. And there are various Walmart-type places along the way, too. I'm wondering, though, if anyone has done the trip more recently and has any updated suggestions for anxiety-free travel along the scenic route.

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To add to the list by Zextraterrestrial, there's a Super 8 in Ukiah which is listed on Plugshare, with a HPWC. The manager is super EV interested, will not charge money even if you aren't staying overnight.

When I drove BC (before chargers), we charged at motels that had 14-50s (yeah, lots of phone calls) and then just topped up a couple hours on the way the next day at RV parks (google "50 amp RV parks near..."). If not doing freeways, you can get in a lot of miles and tourism.