U.S. Route 101 in California

This article is about the section of U.S. Route 101 in California. For the entire route, see U.S. Route 101.
"Redwood Highway" redirects here. For other uses, see Redwood Highway (disambiguation).

U.S. Route 101 marker
U.S. Route 101
Map
US 101 highlighted in red
Route information
Maintained by Caltrans
Length808.111 mi[1] (1,300.529 km)
Portions of US 101 have been relinquished to or are otherwise maintained by local or other governments, and are not included in the length.
ExistedNovember 11, 1926 (1926-11-11)[2][3]–present
Tourist
routes
RestrictionsSTAA trucks are prohibited through Richardson Grove State Park[6][7]
Major junctions
South end I-5 / I-10 / SR 60 in Los Angeles
Major intersections
North end US 101 at Oregon state line near Brookings, OR
Location
CountryUnited States
StateCalifornia
CountiesLos Angeles, Ventura, Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, Monterey, San Benito, Santa Clara, San Mateo, San Francisco, Marin, Sonoma, Mendocino, Humboldt, Del Norte
Highway system
← SR 100→ SR 103

U.S. Route 101 (US 101) is a major north–south United States Numbered Highway, stretching from Los Angeles, California, to Tumwater, Washington. The California portion of US 101 is one of the last remaining and longest U.S. Routes still active in the state, and the longest highway of any kind in California.[8] US 101 was also one of the original national routes established in 1926. Significant portions of US 101 between the Los Angeles area and the San Francisco Bay Area follow El Camino Real, the commemorative route connecting the former Alta California's 21 missions.

Although the highway has been superseded in overall importance for transportation through the state by Interstate 5 (I-5), US 101 continues to be the major coastal north–south route that links the Greater Los Angeles Area, the Central Coast, the San Francisco Bay Area, and the North Coast (Redwood Empire). Generally referred to as "101" by residents of Northern California, in Southern California it is often called "The 101" (pronounced "the one oh one").[9] The highway has portions designated as the Santa Ana Freeway, the Hollywood Freeway, the Ventura Freeway, South Valley Freeway, and Bayshore Freeway, as well as El Camino Real in many non-freeway segments. The Redwood Highway, the 350-mile-long (560 km) northernmost segment of the highway, begins at the Golden Gate and passes through the world's tallest and only extensive preserves of virgin, old-growth coast redwood trees.

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference trucklist was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ McNichol, Dan (2006). The Roads that Built America: The Incredible Story of the US Interstate System. New York: Sterling. p. 74. ISBN 1-4027-3468-9.
  3. ^ Bureau of Public Roads & American Association of State Highway Officials (November 11, 1926). United States System of Highways Adopted for Uniform Marking by the American Association of State Highway Officials (Map). 1:7,000,000. Washington, DC: United States Geological Survey. OCLC 32889555. Retrieved November 7, 2013 – via Wikimedia Commons.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference KEYT was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference caltransscenic was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference times-standard was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference pressdemocrat was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ Faigin, Daniel P. "Highway Statistics". California Highways. Retrieved July 15, 2011.[self-published source]
  9. ^ Masters, Nathan (November 10, 2015). "Why Southern Californians Love Saying 'the' Before Freeway Numbers". KCET. Retrieved August 4, 2017.