State Scenic Highway System (California)

The State Scenic Highway System in the U.S. state of California is a list of highways, mainly state highways, that have been designated by the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) as scenic highways. They are marked by the state flower, a California poppy, inside either a rectangle for state-maintained highways or a pentagon for county highways.[1][2]

State Scenic Highway System
State Scenic Highway System signage
Highway names
InterstatesInterstate XX (I-XX)
US HighwaysU.S. Route XX (US XX)
StateState Route XX (SR XX)
System links

The California State Legislature makes state highways eligible for designation as a scenic highway, listing them in the Streets and Highways Code, sections 260-284.[3] For a highway to then be declared scenic by Caltrans, the local government with jurisdiction over abutting land must adopt a "scenic corridor protection program" that limits development, outdoor advertising, and earthmoving, and Caltrans must agree that it meets the criteria. The desire to create such a designation has at times been in conflict with the property rights of abutters, for example on State Route 174.[4][5]

Any county highway that is believed to have outstanding scenic qualities is considered eligible, and the county with jurisdiction must follow Caltrans' same approval process as state highways to be declared scenic.[1]

California Historic Parkways

California Historic Parkways are defined in the Streets and Highways Code, sections 280-284, as a subset of the State Scenic Highway System. Such historic parkways must have been constructed prior to 1945, and have been determined by either Caltrans or the Office of Historic Preservation in the California Department of Parks and Recreation to have historical significance. They must not at time of designation be traversed by more than 40,000 vehicles per day on an annual daily average basis. They also must be "bounded on one or both sides by federal, state, or local parkland, Native American lands or monuments, or other open space, greenbelt areas, natural habitat or wildlife preserves, or similar acreage used for or dedicated to historical or recreational uses".[3]

State Route 110
State Route 163

List of eligible and designated scenic state highways
Sign on SR 1
State Route 1
Entering Angeles National Forest on SR 2 from the south
State Route 2
State Route 3
Subalpine meadow at Ebbetts Pass
State Route 4
Interstate 5
Interstate 8
  • Sunset Cliffs Boulevard in San Diego to SR 98 near Ocotillo
State Route 9
  • SR 1 in Santa Cruz to SR 17 in Los Gatos
    • Saratoga-Los Gatos Road, scenic drive through suburban areas in and near Saratoga at the foot of the Santa Cruz Mountains
      • Designated 1979-10-18 in Santa Clara County: SR 35 at Saratoga Gap to Saratoga Sunnyvale Road in Saratoga
      • Designated 1968-05-02 in Santa Clara County: Saratoga Sunnyvale Road in Saratoga to Los Gatos
Interstate 10
  • SR 38 in Redlands to SR 62 near White Water
State Route 12
  • US 101 in Santa Rosa to SR 121 near Sonoma
    • Valley of the Moon Highway, passes through various wineries and vineyards of Sonoma Valley
      • Designated 1974-12-17 in Sonoma County: Santa Rosa to Agua Caliente
State Route 14
Interstate 15
  • SR 76 near Pala to SR 91 in Corona
  • SR 58 in Barstow to SR 127 at Baker
State Route 16
  • SR 20 near Rumsey to Capay
State Route 17
  • SR 1 in Santa Cruz to SR 9 in Los Gatos
State Route 18
  • SR 138 at Crestline to SR 247 at Lucerne Valley
State Route 20
View of Mount Diablo and SR 24
State Route 24
State Route 25
  • SR 198 near Priest Valley to SR 156 near Hollister
State Route 27
State Route 28
State Route 29
  • SR 37 in Vallejo to SR 221 near Napa
  • Trancas Street in Napa to SR 20 near Upper Lake
View northeast from near Pine Mountain Summit on SR 33
State Route 33
State Route 35
State Route 36
State Route 37
  • SR 251 near Nicasio to SR 29 in Vallejo
State Route 38
State Route 39
Interstate 40
State Route 41
State Route 44
State Route 46
  • SR 1 near Cambria to SR 41 near Cholame
SR 49 through the historic mining community of Downieville.
State Route 49
View from Echo Summit towards Lake Tahoe
U.S. Route 50
State Route 52
State Route 53
  • SR 29 at Lower Lake to SR 20 near Clearlake
State Route 57
  • SR 90 in Brea to SR 60 near Industry
State Route 58
Sign on SR 62
State Route 62
  • I-10 near White Water to Arizona
    • Twentynine Palms Highway, runs through scenic high desert country and Joshua Tree National Monument
SR 68 approaching Monterey
State Route 68
State Route 70
  • SR 149 at Wicks Corner to SR 89 at Blairsden
State Route 71
  • SR 91 near Corona to SR 83 in Chino Hills
State Route 74
State Route 75
  • I-5 in southern San Diego to I-5 near Downtown San Diego
    • Silver Strand Highway, scenic drive along the Silver Strand and across the San Diego-Coronado Bridge
State Route 76
State Route 78
SR 78 in the Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, looking east
State Route 79
Interstate 80
  • I-280 in San Francisco to SR 61 in Oakland
  • SR 20 near Emigrant Gap to Nevada
State Route 84
  • SR 238 in Fremont to I-680 near Sunol
State Route 88
SR 89 through Emerald Bay State Park overlooking Lake Tahoe
State Route 89
State Route 91
  • SR 55 in Anaheim to I-15 in Corona
    • Riverside Freeway, runs along the banks of the Santa Ana River past riparian areas and chaparral vegetation
      • Designated 1971-11-15 in Orange County: SR 55 in Anaheim to Anaheim east limit
State Route 92
State Route 94
State Route 96
  • SR 299 at Willow Creek to I-5 near Yreka
U.S. Route 97
U.S. Route 101
State Route 108
  • SR 49 in Sonora to US 395 near Bridgeport
State Route 111
State Route 116
State Route 118
State Route 120
State Route 121
  • SR 37 near Sears Point to SR 12 near Sonoma
  • SR 221 in Napa to Trancas Street near Napa
State Route 125
State Route 126
  • SR 150 in Santa Paula to I-5 in Santa Clarita
State Route 127
State Route 138
  • SR 2 near Wrightwood to SR 18 at Crestline
State Route 139
State Route 140
State Route 142
  • Brea to Peyton Drive in Chino Hills
State Route 146
State Route 150
  • US 101 in Carpinteria to SR 126 in Santa Paula
State Route 151
State Route 152
Sign on SR 154
State Route 154
State Route 156
  • SR 1 near Castroville to SR 152 near San Felipe
State Route 158
  • US 395 at June Lake Junction to US 395 at Grant Lake Junction
Heading south on SR 160
State Route 160
State Route 161
  • US 97 near Dorris to SR 139 near Tulelake
The Cabrillo Freeway, looking south from the Cabrillo Bridge in Balboa Park
State Route 163
State Route 166
SR 168, heading up Bishop Creek
State Route 168
State Route 173
  • SR 138 in Hesperia to SR 18 near Lake Arrowhead
State Route 174
  • Bear River to Grass Valley
State Route 178
State Route 180
Death Valley and access roads to SR 190 at Hells Gate
State Route 190
State Route 197
State Route 198
U.S. Route 199
State Route 203
State Route 209
  • Point Loma to I-5 in San Diego
Interstate 210/State Route 210
State Route 221
  • SR 29 near Napa to SR 121 in Napa
State Route 236
  • SR 9 at Boulder Creek to SR 9 at Waterman Gap
State Route 239
  • I-580 near Tracy to SR 4 near Brentwood
San Gorgonio Mountain seen from SR 243 near Banning
State Route 243
State Route 247
  • SR 62 in Yucca Valley to I-15 in Barstow
State Route 251
State Route 254
State Route 266
Sign on I-280
Interstate 280
State Route 299
  • US 101 in Arcata to SR 96 at Willow Creek
  • SR 3 at Weaverville to I-5 in Redding
  • SR 89 near Burney to SR 139 near Canby
State Route 330
US 395 descending south into Owens Valley
U.S. Route 395
Interstate 580
Descending from Mission Pass on I-680 northbound
Interstate 680

Designated county highways
County Route A18
  • Lake Boulevard, scenic drive overlooking Shasta Lake
    • Designated 1981 in Shasta County: Whiskeytown-Shasta-Trinity National Recreation Area[8]
County Route G14
County Route G20
County Route N1
Mulholland Highway through Leo Carrillo State Park, with Sandstone Peak in the distance
Mulholland Highway
River Road

See also
  •  California Roads portal

References
  • California Department of Transportation (August 2019). "Officially Designated State Scenic Highways and Historic Parkways" (XLSX). Sacramento: California Department of Transportation. Retrieved October 21, 2017.
  1. California Department of Transportation District 3, Scenic Highway Program, accessed January 2008
  2. "CA MUTCD 2014 Revision 4". California Department of Transportation. Retrieved April 26, 2019.
  3. "Article 2.5 of Chapter 2 of Division 1 of the California Streets and Highways Code". Sacramento: California Office of Legislative Counsel. Retrieved May 3, 2019.
  4. Sacramento Bee, Scenic Highway Concept Spurs Alarm, March 25, 1999, p. N1
  5. Dave Moller, Union of Grass Valley, CABPRO's Urke steps down, August 7, 2004
  6. California Department of Transportation (2017). "List of eligible and officially designated State Scenic Highways". Sacramento: California Department of Transportation. Retrieved May 2, 2019.
  7. Lech, Steve (2012). For Tourism and a Good Night's Sleep: J. Win Wilson, Wilson Howell, and the Beginnings of the Pines-to-Palms Highway. Riverside, CA: Steve Lech. p. 230. ISBN 978-0-9837500-1-7.
  8. California Department of Transportation. "List of Officially Designated County Scenic Highways" (PDF). Sacramento: California Department of Transportation. Retrieved May 2, 2019.
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