Route information | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Maintained by Caltrans | ||||
Length | 124 mi [1] (200 km) | |||
Existed | 1934–present | |||
Tourist routes | ||||
Restrictions | The segment from Lake Sabrina east to Aspendell in the eastern Sierra is closed most winters due to snow. [2] [3] | |||
Section 1 | ||||
West end | SR 41 / SR 180 in Fresno | |||
East end | Huntington Lake | |||
Section 2 | ||||
West end | Lake Sabrina | |||
Major intersections | US 395 from Bishop to Big Pine | |||
East end | SR 266 at Oasis | |||
Location | ||||
Country | United States | |||
State | California | |||
Counties | Fresno, Inyo, Mono | |||
Highway system | ||||
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State Route 168 (SR 168) is an east-west state highway in the U.S. state of California that is separated into two distinct segments by the Sierra Nevada. The western segment runs from State Routes 41 and 180 in Fresno east to Huntington Lake along the western slope of the Sierra. The eastern segment connects Lake Sabrina in the Eastern Sierra to State Route 266 in the community of Oasis, just to the west of the Nevada border. The eastern segment of SR 168 also forms a concurrency with U.S. Route 395 between Bishop and Big Pine.
This section needs additional citations for verification .(January 2020) |
The western segment of SR 168 begins as the Sierra Freeway in southeast Fresno at its interchange with Highway 180. After reaching Shephard Avenue at the northeast edge of Clovis, it becomes the two-lane Tollhouse Road before it begins its ascent up the Sierra Foothills. Near Humphreys Station, Tollhouse Road branches off and takes a direct route northeast to Tollhouse, while SR 168 bypasses northwest through Prather. SR 168 and Tollhouse Road then merge again north of Tollhouse. In Ockenden, SR 168 changes from Tollhouse Road to Huntington Lake Road.[ disputed – discuss ] The highway then continues east up the Sierra Nevada, passing Shaver Lake before ending at Huntington Lake.
Before the reconstruction of urban Route 168 as a freeway, the route started at SR 41 and Shaw Avenue in Fresno. SR 168 ran along Shaw Avenue, Clovis Avenue, Third Street (Clovis), and Tollhouse Road to the current end of the freeway.
SR 168 cannot be used to cross the Sierra Nevada. The closest crossings of the Sierra Nevada are SR 120 via Tioga Pass to the north and Sherman Pass to the south. Both of these passes are accessible in warmer months only.
The eastern segment of SR 168 has its western terminus at Lake Sabrina on the eastern slope of the Sierra Nevada. This rural mountain road runs east to the town of Bishop, then joins U.S. Route 395 for 14.6 miles, and separates from 395 in Big Pine. SR 168 then climbs into the White Mountains through Westgard Pass, passing the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest. From here it traverses Deep Springs Valley, home of Deep Springs College, before crossing into Fish Lake Valley, where the segment ends at SR 266, just west of the Nevada Border. The segment of the highway from Lake Sabrina east to the community of Aspendell is subject to closure to most vehicles during the winter months, usually not opening until mid- or late-April, due to snow removal. [2] [3] The winter road closure gate is actually located to the southwest of Aspendell. [4]
SR 168 is part of the California Freeway and Expressway System, [5] and in the Fresno and Clovis city limits is part of the National Highway System, [6] a network of highways that are considered essential to the country's economy, defense, and mobility by the Federal Highway Administration. [7] SR 168 is eligible to be included in the State Scenic Highway System, [8] and is officially designated as a scenic highway by the California Department of Transportation from Camp Sabrina to Brockman Lane on the Lone Pine Indian Reservation. [9]
Two portions of SR 168 are designated as National Forest Scenic Byways: the segment between Clovis and Huntington Lake is the Sierra Heritage Scenic Byway, while the segment from Camp Sabrina to Brockman Lane is the Ancient Bristlecone Scenic Byway. [10] [11]
The eastern part of the route, from the eastern over Westgard Pass to the Nevada state line near Lida, Nevada predates the era of numbered highways and dates to the auto trail era as part of the Midland Trail, one of the earliest transcontinental roads in the USA. It was at Big Pine that the Midland trail forked in its westward journey to its eventual western termini, Los Angeles and San Francisco. The western descent from Westgard Pass into the Owens Valley was described as a "Welcome to California" view in the route guides for the Midland trail. [12] Though SR 168 is the original routing of the Midland Trail, the route was realigned numerous times, and signs today mark U.S. Route 6 as the routing of the Midland Trail from California east to Denver, Colorado.[ citation needed ]
When the state of California began conceiving its own route network, modern SR 168 was conceived as a trans-Sierra highway connecting Fresno and Bishop. The proposed route, named the High Sierra Piute Highway, would have taken the highway over the 11,453-foot (3,491 m) Piute Pass. [13] However, the two segments were never connected. The rugged Sierra crest and eastern escarpment would have made construction very difficult and today two congressionally designated wilderness areas block the way: Kings Canyon National Park and the John Muir Wilderness. [14] The traversable route now comprises Kaiser Pass Road from Huntington Lake to Florence Lake, various hiking trails from Florence Lake and through the Piute Pass to North Lake, and North Lake Road to a point along SR 168 east of where the highway connects to Lake Sabrina. [13]
As originally designated SR 168 extended to the Nevada state line. The easternmost section of SR 168 was transferred to California State Route 266 in 1986. [15]
Except where prefixed with a letter, postmiles were measured on the road as it was in 1964, based on the alignment that existed at the time, and do not necessarily reflect current mileage. R reflects a realignment in the route since then, M indicates a second realignment, L refers to an overlap due to a correction or change, and T indicates postmiles classified as temporary ( ). [16] Segments that remain unconstructed or have been relinquished to local control may be omitted. The numbers reset at county lines; the start and end postmiles in each county are given in the county column.
County | Location | Postmile [16] [1] [17] | Exit [18] | Destinations | Notes | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Fresno FRE R0.29-65.84 | Fresno | R0.29 | 1 | SR 41 (Yosemite Freeway) / SR 180 (Sequoia-Kings Canyon Freeway) – Lemoore, Paso Robles, Yosemite, Kings Canyon, Kerman, Mendota | Westbound exit and eastbound entrance; signed as exits 1A (west) and 1B (east); west end of SR 168; SR 41 exit 128A; SR 180 east exit, west exit 60 | ||
R0.99 | 1C | McKinley Avenue | Signed as exit 1 eastbound; serves Fresno Yosemite International Airport | ||||
R2.02 | 2 | Shields Avenue | |||||
R3.04 | 3 | Ashlan Avenue | |||||
R4.26 | 4 | Shaw Avenue | Former SR 168; serves California State University, Fresno | ||||
Clovis | R5.63 | 6 | Bullard Avenue | ||||
R6.87 | 7 | Herndon Avenue | |||||
R8.04 | 8 | Fowler Avenue | |||||
R9.15 | 9 | Temperance Avenue | |||||
R10.59 | Owens Mountain Parkway, Tollhouse Road west | East end of freeway | |||||
R11.85 | Shephard Avenue | ||||||
| 15.47 | Academy Avenue – Sanger, Kingsburg | |||||
| T22.70 | Tollhouse Road east | Connects northeast to Tollhouse | ||||
| T24.70 | Millerton Road – Friant | |||||
Prather | T30.20 | Auberry Road – Millerton Lake | |||||
| R36.18 | Tollhouse Road west | Connects southwest to Tollhouse | ||||
Huntington Lake | 65.84 | Kaiser Pass Road – Mono Hot Springs, Edison Lake, Florence Lake | East end of western section of SR 168 | ||||
Huntington Lake Road – Huntington Lake | Continuation beyond beyond the east end of western section of SR 168 | ||||||
Gap in route | |||||||
Inyo INY R0.00-54.70 | | R0.00 | Lake Sabrina (Lake Sabrina Road) | Continuation beyond the west end of eastern section of SR 168 | |||
| R1.25 | Westbound winter closure gate | |||||
Bishop | 18.31 115.40 [N 1] | US 395 north (Main Street) / East Line Street – Bridgeport, Reno | West end of US 395 overlap; former US 6 north; East Line Street serves Eastern Sierra Regional Airport | ||||
Big Pine | 100.83 [N 1] 18.32 | US 395 south / County Road – Big Pine, Independence, Los Angeles | East end of US 395 overlap; former US 6 south | ||||
| 20.81 | Death Valley Road – Saline Valley, Eureka Valley, Scotty's Castle | |||||
| 32.23 [19] | Westgard Pass, elevation 7,271 feet (2,216 m) [19] | |||||
Mono MNO 0.00-1.45 | Oasis | 1.45 | SR 266 to US 95 – Dyer | East end of SR 168; SR 266 north is former SR 168 east | |||
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi
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State Route 74, part of which forms the Palms to Pines Scenic Byway or Pines to Palms Highway, and the Ortega Highway, is a state highway in the U.S. state of California. It runs from Interstate 5 in San Juan Capistrano in Orange County to the city limits of Palm Desert in Riverside County. Stretching about 111 miles (179 km), it passes through several parks and National Forests between the Pacific coast and the Coachella Valley.
State Route 38 is a mostly rural and scenic state highway in the U.S. state of California, connecting Interstate 10 in Redlands with State Route 18 in the Big Bear Lake area. It is one of the primary routes into the San Bernardino Mountains. Despite the orientation of its alignment, SR 38 is assigned in a west–east direction.
State Route 120 is a state highway in the central part of California, connecting the San Joaquin Valley with the Sierra Nevada, Yosemite National Park, and the Mono Lake area. Its western terminus is at Interstate 5 in Lathrop, and its eastern terminus is at U.S. Route 6 in Benton. While the route is signed as a contiguous route through Yosemite, the portion inside the park is federally maintained and is not included in the state route logs. The portion at Tioga Pass at Yosemite's eastern boundary is the highest paved through road in the California State Route system. This part is not maintained in the winter and is usually closed during the winter season.
State Route 299 is an east–west state highway in the U.S. state of California that runs across the northern part of the state. At 305.777 miles (492.100 km), it is the third longest California state route, after Route 1 and Route 99, and the longest east-west route. Route 299's western terminus is at US 101 at the northern edge of Arcata, and its eastern terminus is at the Nevada state line at a point east of Cedarville. Between Arcata and Redding, Route 299 intersects with State Route 96, and is briefly co-signed with State Route 3. In Redding, it intersects with State Route 273, State Route 44, and Interstate 5. East of Redding, it intersects with State Route 89, and a section is co-signed with State Route 139 before reaching Alturas. It is then co-signed with U.S. Route 395 northeast of Alturas, and then runs east through Cedarville and to the border with Nevada. A ghost town, Vya, Nevada, can be reached via this route, which after the border becomes a dirt road, which was formerly Nevada State Route 8A. The segment of SR 299 between Arcata and Redding is the Trinity Scenic Byway, a National Forest Scenic Byway.
State Route 4 is a state highway in the U.S. state of California, routed from Interstate 80 in the San Francisco Bay Area to State Route 89 in the Sierra Nevada. It roughly parallels the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, a popular area for boating and fishing, with a number of accesses to marinas and other attractions. After crossing the Central Valley, the highway ascends up the Sierra foothills. It passes through Ebbetts Pass and contains the Ebbetts Pass Scenic Byway, a National Scenic Byway.
State Route 41 is a state highway in the U.S. State of California, connecting the Central Coast with the San Joaquin Valley and the Sierra Nevada. Its southern terminus is at the Cabrillo Highway in Morro Bay, and its northern terminus is at SR 140 in Yosemite National Park. It has been constructed as an expressway from near SR 198 in Lemoore north to the south part of Fresno, where the Yosemite Freeway begins, passing along the east side of downtown and extending north into Madera County.
State Route 33 is a north–south state highway in the U.S. state of California. It runs north from U.S. Route 101 in Ventura through the Transverse Ranges and the western side of the San Joaquin Valley to Interstate 5 at a point east of Tracy. SR 33 replaced part of U.S. Route 399 in 1964 during the "great renumbering" of routes. In the unincorporated sections of Kern County it is known as the West Side Highway. In addition, the California Legislature designated the entire Kern County portion as the Petroleum Highway in 2004. The southernmost portion in Ventura is a freeway known as the Ojai Freeway, while it is known as the Maricopa Highway from Ojai to Maricopa.
State Route 20 is a state highway in the northern-central region of the U.S. state of California, running east–west north of Sacramento from the North Coast to the Sierra Nevada. Its west end is at SR 1 in Fort Bragg, from where it heads east past Clear Lake, Colusa, Yuba City, Marysville and Nevada City to I-80 near Emigrant Gap, where eastbound traffic can continue on other routes to Lake Tahoe or Nevada.
State Route 88 (SR 88), also known as the Carson Pass Highway, is a state highway in the U.S. state of California. It travels in an east–west direction from Stockton, in the San Joaquin Valley, to the Nevada state line, where it becomes Nevada State Route 88, eventually terminating at U.S. Route 395 (US 395). The highway is so named as it crests the Sierra Nevada at Carson Pass. The highway corridor predates the era of the automobile; the path over Carson pass was previously used for the California Trail and the Mormon Emigrant Trail. The mountainous portion of the route is included in the State Scenic Highway System.
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State Route 36 is an east–west state highway in the U.S. state of California that is routed from U.S. Route 101 in Humboldt County to U.S. Route 395 just east of Susanville in Lassen County. The highway passes through Red Bluff, the county seat of Tehama County, on the northern edge of the Sacramento Valley. The portion of SR 36 travelling past Lassen Volcanic National Park and Lake Almanor is part of the Volcanic Legacy Scenic Byway, a National Scenic Byway. Also, Route 36 between Alton and Susanville is a designated Blue Star Memorial Highway.
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State Route 180 is a state highway in the U.S. state of California. It runs through the heart of the San Joaquin Valley from State Route 33 in Mendota through Fresno, and then east towards the Sierra Nevada to Kings Canyon National Park.
State Route 147 is a state highway in the U.S. state of California. The route runs along the eastern side of Lake Almanor. It serves as a bypass to connect State Route 89 and State Route 36 on the eastern side of the lake, whereas the two highways already meet on the western side in Chester.
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