Driving from Portland to Redmond in early February; is AWD recommended?

We'll be in Redmond next month for USAC Bouldering Nationals. We're flying into Portland and renting a car to drive to the Bend/Redmond area, and I'm trying to determine if we need to upgrade to an SUV. Is that drive typically manageable in a standard FWD car, or would AWD be recommended?

Andrew Krajnik wrote: We'll be in Redmond next month for USAC Bouldering Nationals. We're flying into Portland and renting a car to drive to the Bend/Redmond area, and I'm trying to determine if we need to upgrade to an SUV. Is that drive typically manageable in a standard FWD car, or would AWD be recommended?

You should be good in any vehicle. There's rarely snow on the west side below 1000 feet and I-5 and 405 are generally clear even when it does snow or accumulate ice. 

Kyle Elliott wrote:

You should be good in any vehicle. There's rarely snow on the west side below 1000 feet and I-5 and 405 are generally clear even when it does snow or accumulate ice. 

This is bad advice. You do have to go over a pass going from Portland to Redmond and bad conditions aren't uncommon at this time of year. Also worth noting that chains or traction tires are required (legally) at this time of year. You can check current conditions on tripcheck.com

If Mt Hood is snowy, it's possible to go east to the Dalles and then head south. Much less snow and less elevation change. However it can get icy in the gorge at times, so make sure to check that as well.

Wow I completely misread the OP. We have a redmond in WA as well. Forget what i said. 

One of the problems with renting a car in Portland is the tires. It may not have "all season" tires. Nor will they supply you with chains. So to get descent tires you may need to rent an SUV.

Getting from Portland to Bend/Redmond has multiple options. Head south, then east or head east, then south, or go southeast. All can have issues. The first means going over Santiam Pass (snow), the second Columbia River Gorge (ice), and the third Mt. Hood and Bennett Pass (snow). There will be snow in the Bend/Redmond area. Me I would take the first or second options. BTW if your luck is bad and the Portland area gets hit with an ice storm yer screwed.

Paul Bishop wrote: If Mt Hood is snowy, it's possible to go east to the Dalles and then head south.

^^^ This, just go around, rather than over, the mountain if the weather is bad or it's a mess up there.

Flights in and out of Redmond aren't that expensive.  I've had to book a separate flight before just for the Portland->Redmond part because sometimes the prices they show you for the combined flight is unreasonably expensive.  It can be cheaper to buy them separate.

It's probably not worth it to drive;  it's a 3.5 hour drive in good weather, and if you have to do it through a snowstorm it can be a nightmare.

Gavin Towey wrote: It's probably not worth it to drive;  it's a 3.5 hour drive in good weather, and if you have to do it through a snowstorm it can be a nightmare.

For Oregonians even the sight of snow constitutes a driving nightmare. Fortunately the OP is from Northern Illinois and an Oregonian's snow driving nightmare is a nice day in Plainfield.

Thanks for the feedback, everyone. We did opt for anSUV on the rental, and verified that it will have AWD/4WD.

So the car rental agencies in Portland don't have chains available? It looks like just about every major highway out of Portland is under a general "carry chains or traction tires" this time of year... :/

I did look into the flights from Portland to Redmond, but they're about $200 per person, and there are 4 of us going. To keep costs down, we figured we'd just rent, since winter driving is something we're fairly familiar with (though the chain laws are new to us).

You can buy cheap chains at Walmart, then if not used return them, or if used leave them in the vehicle when you return it and think about how much fun your visit was instead of worrying about the ~$50..

Don't the rental agencies prohibit you from putting chains on their vehicles, though? Although, if I'm reading the ODOT page correctly, the law only requires you have them in the vehicle if you have AWD/4WD. (i.e., if you have AWD/4WD, you're exempt from actually having to mount them in a chain zone, as long as you have them in the vehicle.)

Do the zip-tie style "chains" count? (Like these.)

Per ODOT web page:
734-017-0005
(b) “Chains” — Link chains, cable chains or another device that attaches to the wheel, vehicle or outside of the tire that is specifically designed to augment the traction of a vehicle under ice or snow conditions.

Those are sweet..never seen them before (but for more than an emergency, I doubt they would last or work that well).

Don't know about rental car policies...

Logged in to edit my comment above; you can return them because it's highly unlikely you would have to install them. -you will have AWD and that is plenty to get you over the pass.

ODOT requires that all vehicles carry chains or have traction tires during winter in the passes.

Healyje wrote: For Oregonians even the sight of snow constitutes a driving nightmare. Fortunately the OP is from Northern Illinois and an Oregonian's snow driving nightmare is a nice day in Plainfield.

Here let me fix that for you: For Oregonians who live west of the Cascade Mtns especially those in the Willamette Valley even the sight of snow constitutes a driving nightmare.

Out of curiosity, has anyone ever seen ODOT checking for chains / traction tires when the roads are halfway decent?

I've driven over Santiam and Mt. Hood passes numerous times in winter without chains and never had any trouble, but the weather was pretty good in all of those cases.  It's worth noting that if there is a storm (fairly likely this time of year) there is often a certain elevation where it transitions from rain to snow that can be especially treacherous.  The one time I drove over the pass in a bad storm it was so icy it was hard to walk, but the snow tires on the car worked like a charm.

I think it would be a good idea to buy chains if the forecast is at all iffy, and to try to pick the route with the best weather.  Drive carefully and you should be fine; have fun!

Ryan Dirks wrote: Out of curiosity, has anyone ever seen ODOT checking for chains / traction tires when the roads are halfway decent?

I have not, only when the road conditions suck. That said, it would not be UDOT doing the checking but the Highway Patrol or Sheriff.

I grew up (and learned to drive) in WI, and live in northern IL, so I'm no stranger to driving in winter conditions. If there's a storm, we'll avoid the mountain passes and go through the Dalles, but even that route is listed as "carry chains", so I wanted to make sure I'm compliant. I'll just grab some of the cheap ones off Amazon, and have them in the rental, just in case.

On a side note, that tripcheck site is pretty sweet. Thanks for that link, Andrew Child!

This is a bit entertaining (I'm also from WI, live in Portland). You'll be fine. Maybe go through the Dalles, but Hood is usually fine.

^agreed it's no big deal to drive in winter conditions around here and the HWY by Hood is really nice; almost straight and almost flat.

Never seen anyone checking for chains but the signs are up. I carry chains with the intent of never using them.

Ryan Dirks wrote: Out of curiosity, has anyone ever seen ODOT checking for chains / traction tires when the roads are halfway decent?

I've driven over Santiam and Mt. Hood passes numerous times in winter without chains and never had any trouble, but the weather was pretty good in all of those cases.  It's worth noting that if there is a storm (fairly likely this time of year) there is often a certain elevation where it transitions from rain to snow that can be especially treacherous.  The one time I drove over the pass in a bad storm it was so icy it was hard to walk, but the snow tires on the car worked like a charm.

I think it would be a good idea to buy chains if the forecast is at all iffy, and to try to pick the route with the best weather.  Drive carefully and you should be fine; have fun!

I know people who've been ticketed for not having appropriate traction devices on the passes.

Again, just go by way of Gorge/The Dalles if it's bad and you don't have to worry about the chains business regardless of what's ODOT says. The only thing to watch out for in the Gorge is hydroplaning when its raining heavily - 84 has been recently repaved so it's not a big problem, just don't drive in the ruts/tracks if there are any and watch the left side for standing water from clogged drains.