The Sierra Vista Scenic Byway is an route through the

Sierra National Forest Sierra National Forest is a U.S. national forest located on the western slope of central Sierra Nevada in Central California and bounded on the northwest by Yosemite National Park and the south by Kings Canyon National Park. The forest is kno ...

in the U.S. state of

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. Many examples of the Sierra’s most distinctive granite domes, meadows and glacial valleys can be seen along the way. The Sierra Vista Scenic Byway begins two miles (3 km) north of the foothill community of North Fork, climbing the western slope of the

Sierra Nevada The Sierra Nevada () is a mountain range in the Western United States, between the Central Valley of California and the Great Basin. The vast majority of the range lies in the state of California, although the Carson Range spur lies primarily ...

mountain range until its crest, and finally dropping back down into the foothills near Oakhurst.

Route description

The byway begins on Forest Service Road 81 (FS 81) and continues north, loosely paralleling the

San Joaquin River The San Joaquin River (; es, Río San Joaquín) is the longest river of Central California. The long river starts in the high Sierra Nevada, and flows through the rich agricultural region of the northern San Joaquin Valley before reaching Suis ...

. The designation continues west on FS 7; the initial part of it is a dirt road. FS 7 eventually becomes paved again; however, the byway continues southwest onto Sky Ranch Road, which is FS 10 and is initially unpaved. The byway ends at SR 41. The route is generally open June through October and takes approximately 5 hours to drive.

History

It was designated a

National Forest Scenic Byway The National Forest Scenic Byways are roads that have been designated by the U.S. Forest Service as scenic byways. Many are also National Scenic Byways (NSB). The program was initiated in 1987. __TOC__ List The following roadways were listed b ...

on July 14, 1989.

Points of interest

Globe Rock

Globe Rock is a large

granodiorite Granodiorite () is a coarse-grained (phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock similar to granite, but containing more plagioclase feldspar than orthoclase feldspar. The term banatite is sometimes used informally for various rocks ranging from gra ...

, semispherical

boulder In geology, a boulder (or rarely bowlder) is a rock fragment with size greater than in diameter. Smaller pieces are called cobbles and pebbles. While a boulder may be small enough to move or roll manually, others are extremely massive. In c ...

resting atop a small granodiorite perch. It once served as a gathering place of the Mono Indians as seen by the many acorn grinding mortars in the surrounding granite.

Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ( ; October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26t ...

was once photographed here. Globe Rock is a corestone that was formed in place by

spheroidal weathering Spheroidal weathering is a form of chemical weathering that affects jointed bedrock and results in the formation of concentric or spherical layers of highly decayed rock within weathered bedrock that is known as '' saprolite.'' When saprolit ...

and later exposed by the erosion of the

saprolite Saprolite is a chemically weathered rock. Saprolites form in the lower zones of soil profiles and represent deep weathering of the bedrock surface. In most outcrops its color comes from ferric compounds. Deeply weathered profiles are widespread o ...

that once enclosed it.

Jones Store

Jones Store Jones Store, located in the Sierra Nevada at an elevation of approximately , is a seasonal country store miles from Bass Lake along Beasore Road. Founded in the early 20th century to supply cowboys on their seasonal herding routes, the store h ...

is a historic, seasonal country store in the Sierra Nevada, located 14 miles from Bass Lake along Beasore Road, at an elevation of approximately 6,800 feet. Established in 1936, the store originated to cater to the needs of cattle drivers during their seasonal migrations between valley and mountain grasslands.

Fresno Dome

Fresno Dome Fresno Dome is a dominant granite dome rising in isolation above the forest of Soquel Meadow in the Sierra National Forest in Madera County, California. The dome as known to the Mono Indians as "the greeting place" ("wah-me-yelo"). John Muir enco ...

is a large

granite dome Granite domes are domical hills composed of granite with bare rock exposed over most of the surface. Generally, domical features such as these are known as bornhardts. Bornhardts can form in any type of plutonic rock but are typically composed o ...

that rises from the forest above Soquel Meadow. It is the last designated landmark on the route.

References

External links

*Th
Grizzly Century Bicycle Rally
is an annual charity event that climbs over 10,000 vertical feet of the Sierra Vista Scenic Byway
USDA Forest Service Guide to the Sierra Vista Scenic Byway
{{Authority control Sierra Nevada (United States) State Scenic Highway System (California) National Forest Scenic Byways Sierra National Forest Roads in Madera County, California Tourist attractions in Madera County, California Named highways in California