State Route 9 (SR 9) is a rural and mountainous
state highway in the U.S. state of
California
California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
that travels from
SR 1 in
Santa Cruz to
SR 17 in
Los Gatos
Los Gatos (, ; ) is an incorporated town in Santa Clara County, California, United States. The population is 33,529 according to the 2020 census. It is located in the San Francisco Bay Area just southwest of San Jose in the foothills of th ...
, passing through the
San Lorenzo Valley
The San Lorenzo Valley is in the Santa Cruz Mountains in Santa Cruz County, California and was once a logging industry center of California especially during the rebuilding of San Francisco after the 1906 earthquake. Now it is home to over 35,000 ...
and the
Saratoga Gap in the
Santa Cruz Mountains.
Route description
SR 9 begins in the city of
Santa Cruz where River Street intersects with SR 1. It heads north, paralleling the
San Lorenzo River
The San Lorenzo River is a long river whose headwaters originate in Castle Rock State Park in the Santa Cruz Mountains and flow south by southeast through the San Lorenzo Valley before passing through Santa Cruz and emptying into Monterey Ba ...
.
The road is a winding two-lane road for the majority of its length until it approaches Fruitvale Avenue in
Saratoga. SR 9 winds through the mountains north of Santa Cruz, passing through the communities of
Paradise Park,
Felton,
Ben Lomond
Ben Lomond (Scottish Gaelic: Beinn Laomainn, 'Beacon Mountain'), , is a mountain in the Scottish Highlands. Situated on the eastern shore of Loch Lomond, it is the most southerly of the Munros. Ben Lomond lies within the Ben Lomond National Me ...
,
Brookdale, and
Boulder Creek, where
State Route 236 departs from SR 9 to provide access to
Big Basin Redwoods State Park
Big Basin Redwoods State Park is a state park in the U.S. state of California, located in Santa Cruz County, about northwest of Santa Cruz. The park contains almost all of the Waddell Creek watershed, which was formed by the seismic uplift ...
. SR 236 later rejoins SR 9 near
Castle Rock State Park.
At the summit of the Santa Cruz mountains (the junction with
SR 35 and after a steep climb), there is a vista point offering a (somewhat obstructed) view of the Bay Area. The vista point is the route's highest point at around . At this junction, SR 9 passes into
Santa Clara County
Santa Clara County, officially the County of Santa Clara, is the sixth-most populous county in the U.S. state of California, with a population of 1,936,259, as of the 2020 census. Santa Clara County and neighboring San Benito County together f ...
.
SR 9 descends from the mountains heading east into
Saratoga as Congress Springs Road.
In Saratoga, SR 9 turns southeast and becomes ''Saratoga-Los Gatos Road''.
At Fruitvale Avenue in Saratoga, SR 9 briefly becomes a four-lane highway with a large center divider. However, as the road enters
Monte Sereno, it again becomes a two-lane road. This particular narrowing has caused backups in the past; however, they have become more infrequent since the completion of
SR 85. SR 9 resumes being a four-lane road through downtown Los Gatos until its terminus at the junction with
SR 17 (a distance of about four city blocks).
Usage
SR 9 is particularly popular for recreational motorcycling with motorcyclists from all over Northern California and beyond flocking to it at weekends. In summer months the short section between SR 35, Skyline Boulevard and SR 236, Big Basin Road becomes a popular destination for a variety of motorcycle types, and impromptu gatherings of riders in the parking lot at intersection of SR 35 and SR 9.
SR 9 is also popular with bicyclists. The section from Saratoga Village to the Saratoga Gap is notable for the number of bicycles climbing the hill on weekend mornings. Since 1978, the highway between downtown Saratoga and downtown Los Gatos is the route for the popular "Great Race," when over 1,000 participants run between the two towns near the end of April.
Classification
A small portion of SR 9 towards the northern terminus is part of the
National Highway System,
a network of highways that are considered essential to the country's economy, defense, and mobility by the
Federal Highway Administration
The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) is a division of the United States Department of Transportation that specializes in highway transportation. The agency's major activities are grouped into two programs, the Federal-aid Highway Program ...
.
SR 9 is eligible to be included in the
State Scenic Highway System,
and, between the
Los Gatos
Los Gatos (, ; ) is an incorporated town in Santa Clara County, California, United States. The population is 33,529 according to the 2020 census. It is located in the San Francisco Bay Area just southwest of San Jose in the foothills of th ...
town limit and the intersection with
SR 35, is officially a
scenic highway
A scenic route, tourist road, tourist route, tourist drive, holiday route, theme route, or scenic byway is a specially designated road or waterway that travels through an area of natural or cultural beauty. It often passes by scenic viewpoint ...
,
meaning that it is a substantial section of highway passing through a "memorable landscape" with no "visual intrusions", where the potential designation has gained popular favor with the community.
History
SR 9 was created from several previously constructed roads. One of these was a toll road built in 1848 by
Martin McCarty.
In 1913, the road from
Saratoga Gap southwest to
Big Basin Redwoods State Park
Big Basin Redwoods State Park is a state park in the U.S. state of California, located in Santa Cruz County, about northwest of Santa Cruz. The park contains almost all of the Waddell Creek watershed, which was formed by the seismic uplift ...
via the present SR 9 and
SR 236 was added to the state highway system; it became
Route 42 (an unsigned designation) in 1917. Although this highway connected to
Route 44, the remainder of present SR 236, the only connection to the continuous state highway system was with the
Skyline Boulevard
A skyline is the outline or shape viewed near the horizon. It can be created by a city’s overall structure, or by human intervention in a rural setting, or in nature that is formed where the sky meets buildings or the land.
City skyline ...
(
Route 55, now
SR 35) at Saratoga Gap. This changed in 1933, when Route 42 was extended east from the gap to
Route 5 (
SR 17) in
Los Gatos
Los Gatos (, ; ) is an incorporated town in Santa Clara County, California, United States. The population is 33,529 according to the 2020 census. It is located in the San Francisco Bay Area just southwest of San Jose in the foothills of th ...
, and a new Route 116 was created, running south from Route 42 at
Waterman Gap (about halfway between Saratoga Gap and the park) to
Santa Cruz, intersecting the end of Route 44 at
Boulder Creek.
Sign Route 9 was marked in 1934; however, it did not entirely follow the present SR 9. Initially it connected Santa Cruz with
Milpitas
Milpitas (Spanish for "little milpas") is a city in Santa Clara County, California, in Silicon Valley. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 80,273. The city's origins lie in Rancho Milpitas, granted to Californio ranchero José Marí ...
, following Routes 116 and 42 to
Saratoga,
Route 114 (Saratoga Sunnyvale Road and Mathilda Avenue) north through
Sunnyvale, and
Route 113 (
SR 237) east to
Route 5 (Main Street, then
U.S. Route 101E and
Sign Route 13) in Milpitas. When the
San Jose-
Oakland US 101E designation was dropped in the mid-1930s, Route 5 between
Mission San Jose (where the new
SR 21 turned northeast) and
Hayward did not retain a signed designation. Later SR 9 was extended north along
SR 17 (which had replaced SR 13) from Milpitas to
Warm Springs, SR 21 to Mission San Jose, and the independent section of former US 101E—all part of Route 5—to
US 50
U.S. Route 50 or U.S. Highway 50 (US 50) is a major east–west route of the U.S. Highway system, stretching from Interstate 80 (I-80) in West Sacramento, California, to Maryland Route 528 (MD 528) in Ocean City, Maryland, on the Atlantic ...
(also Route 5, which included a branch to Oakland) near Hayward. Except for a short realignment in the mid-1950s onto
Route 69 (now
I-880 and
SR 262) between Milpitas and Warm Springs, this alignment remained until the
1964 renumbering.
In 1964, SR 9 was moved to its present alignment, taking over the previously unsigned Route 42 from Saratoga to Los Gatos. The route that had been signed as SR 9 became
SR 85 through Sunnyvale,
SR 237 to Milpitas (including previously unsigned extensions of Route 113 at each end), part of
SR 17 through Warm Springs,
SR 262 through Warm Springs, part of
I-680 to Mission San Jose, and
SR 238 from Mission San Jose to Hayward (SR 21 was already renumbered I-680 by then).
SR 85's original designation was deleted in 1994 and has since moved to a
freeway
A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway and expressway. Other similar terms ...
and SR 17 in Warm Springs was renumbered I-880 a decade prior. However, the SR 237 freeway was built in the same location, and both SR 238 and most of SR 262 remain as surface roads.
Major intersections
See also
*
References
External links
{{commonscat
California @ AARoads.com – State Route 9Caltrans: Route 9 highway conditions
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State Route 009
State Route 009
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Santa Cruz, California
Saratoga, California
Los Gatos, California