This is a very well cared for rest stop. I have stopped here many times and it is my preferred stop…read morewhen passing through the area. It is very well maintained from the grass, to the cleanliness of the restrooms, to the garbage being emptied on a regular basis. It feels safe to a woman traveling alone and I have even been known to rest my eyes here for a bit on long drives because it feels comfortable to do that here. There are lots of friendly seagulls that are obviously used to being fed by visitors and clean tables with some shade if you want to enjoy a bite to eat or just sit and relax outside a bit. I like the way the trucks are separate from the cars so you don't have to listen to the noise from the engines or deal with the smells. There is also a well maintained pet relief area here as well. If you need the restroom or just a respite, this is a good place.

*** 2025 review #42 ***…read more CLEAN rest stop on the road! -00- So nice when it's kept in good conditions.

We arrived here in the morning while they were having an event for their volunteers and we were…read morehelped by a lovely 88 year old volunteer and her son. We had our dog with us outside and they were so sweet to her. Our dog wasn't allowed in the building but I was able to go in during the meeting and still find some good info for our trip. The facility is nice with plenty of parking and even though we came on a busy day we still felt welcomed and appreciated. I definitely recommend this stop to anyone heading to the area.

This welcome center has information organized by Oregon region ... very easy to navigate and I…read morecan't imagine needing anything more. The lady at the desk was very gracious, helping us navigate the center and providing helpful information about the differences between areas of Oregon. I'm so glad we stopped in!

The bathrooms are very clean which is saying a lot for such a popular restaurant stop. It's sunny…read morebut they have shaded areas and walkways for walking around, and you can go down near the river to look at it. There's a gift shop / tourism thing I'm pretty sure but it's never open when I'm there.

Large rest stop that looks more like a park. Lots of green area for humans but if you are a pup,…read moreyou get the woody bark area and NOT welcome in the grass. Our dog was excited thinking he could walk in the grass but tail went down when we lead him to the pet (second class citizen) area. So many workers attending to the green area, even scrubbing the tables and benches.

Everything was so clean here including the bathrooms. The…read morechipmunks come up to you which was cute. Love how they have a memorial for the cal trans workers. Highly recommend this rest area

great location for a rest zone. Getting out of the car and stretching legs is a good idea in order…read moreto feel comfy in the car for a long ride down the highway. The view is beautiful and is meant to be enjoyed. The parking area was clean and not any papers were littering the ground. It is nice to see the effort made to keep the place looking nice for everyone.

Nice scenic spot to rest. Restrooms are good. There is a nice little trail to take a walk and…read morestretch your legs.

This is a beautiful rest area! I spent the night in an RV with my 2 small dogs. Was so quiet, we…read moregot great sleep. There were a few trains in the middle of the night but I like trains so no biggie. Bathrooms were very clean

We are over 10 days into a road trip through California and this is the first rest stop that we…read morehave passed in our entire trip that wasn't CLOSED!!! Dozens of rest stops that we have passed. Have had closed signs on them and cones out everywhere... It's terrible. This rest stop has clean restrooms, picnic tables, plenty of parking and a pet area so you can relieve yourself as well as your animals. There are also stocked vending machines if you need a snack. Please please please leave these spaces open for travelers who desperately need them! Rest stops save lives!

I have rude words for Caltrans and their annoying habit of closing rest areas. If they could put up…read morea sign that said "Next rest area closed" so that I wouldn't arrive here tired and ready for a rest, that would be super helpful. Yes, the Lakehead Rest Area (southbound) was closed when I was here. Thankfully, I was ready for disappointment. I was able to see through the trees and the O'Brien Rest Area (northbound) was open with vehicles in there. I drove to the next exit, turned north and was there in 15 minutes. [Review 20962 overall - 492 in California - 1947 of 2023.]

October 12 2023. I was prepared for the Lakehead Rest Area to be closed so when I was driving…read moresouth, I peeked over the side and saw that the O'Brien Rest Area had vehicles in it. Hooray! I continued south to the next exit and looped back, pulling into this northbound rest area only about 15 minutes later. Yes, it feels like about half of the rest areas along I-5 in NorCal are closed. I parked as far down the parking lot as I could as I wanted to be away from the truckers using engine brakes to decelerate into the lot. And so it was a mostly quiet night in my Sprinter van. You can't beat the spot for scenery and the (very low) arm of Lake Shasta to the rear. The rest area also has restrooms (hooray!) and vending machines. There is a sign indicating that parking is limited to 8 hours. I arrived at 6pm and departed at 5am (11 hours) and was not hassled by the CHP. [Review 20963 overall - 493 in California - 1948 of 2023.]

The workers there are rude . No grass every single bathroom was dirty tiny parking lotread more

Vista point is a small rest stop/ view point off the southbound I- 5-fwy. There are no restrooms or…read morevending machines here as this is a place to take a break from the unnecessarily dramatic and often crowded Freeway and simply soak in the breathtaking view of the Pacific Ocean. A good place for birding and if you're here at the right time with your binoculars you may catch a glimpse of some migratory whales or a group of dolphins. The Vista point turnout is located a few miles south of San Clemente State Beach and just north of Oceanside.

This was closed so sad but I am sure it's going to look good when it's done repaving and looking…read moregood

The closest city to this rest area along I-5 is actually Firebaugh. The full name of this place is…read morethe "John Erreca Safety Roadside Rest Area", named after a former Director of Public Works who also served without pay as mayor of the city of Los Banos for 17 years. What? A hard-working public official not in it for the money? You won't find many of those today! There are two separate rest areas here on opposite sides of the highway - it was probably cheaper to do that than build an overpass! This review is for the one on the southbound side; the one on the northbound side is probably identical. The brick and wood buildings are showing their age, but the restrooms are still relatively clean, and there are double restrooms (two for men, two for women)! You'll also find covered picnic tables, a pet area, water fountains, payphones (there are probably only a handful left in California, three of which are here), and vending machines including two that have gourmet coffee. Classy! There are separate parking lots for cars and for bigrigs, and they both accommodate a lot of vehicles, so this place should be able to handle even holiday traffic decently. Which is necessary, since I-5 gets bad during the holidays, and all those people stuck on the road need somewhere to use the bathroom! Double restrooms: http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/safety-roadside-rest-area-merced-county?select=6jk1HhL73Zy8XVnpdnnd5w#HYrVaK6i9HttZ0PiWgeICg Covered picnic table: http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/safety-roadside-rest-area-merced-county?select=6jk1HhL73Zy8XVnpdnnd5w#y0TcV9kaoyEmPLTXL0cYYA Pet area: http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/safety-roadside-rest-area-merced-county?select=6jk1HhL73Zy8XVnpdnnd5w#brM9JunNuYIkdL9RHoOBug Ice cream vending machine: http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/safety-roadside-rest-area-merced-county?select=6jk1HhL73Zy8XVnpdnnd5w#Y-emz0HiWNzwEf0y6c4OHg One of the coffee vending machines: http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/safety-roadside-rest-area-merced-county?select=6jk1HhL73Zy8XVnpdnnd5w#Z4X4STZqQrNyPmI36PcxjA

I don't usually give more than three stars for hotels unless there was something unusual about them…read morefor the price. I am used to staying in relatively cheap hotels and this one fits the bill for price. The rooms, were above average. It was huge with a table a couple chairs and the desk. The people at the front were super nice and the breakfast was great! Don't expect gourmet, but it was the usual breakfast that comes with an inexpensive hotel. There were some eggs, sausage, bacon, waffles, and assorted fruits and bakery stuff.

Seemed clean enough to stay, but the whole place was in desperate need of updates top to bottom…read more The bathroom sink/vanity in the bedroom right across from the beds. Ugh, I was in the shower before I noticed the towels were under the vanity in the other room. Breakfast was not very good...eggs tasted like instant and meats microwaved. We grabbed a toasted bagel Easy to park. Seemed safe.