State Route 154 (SR 154) (also known as the

Chumash Chumash may refer to: *Chumash (Judaism), a Hebrew word for the Pentateuch, used in Judaism *Chumash people, a Native American people of southern California *Chumashan languages, indigenous languages of California See also *Chumash traditional n ...

Highway or unofficially as San Marcos Pass Road after the signage) is a state highway in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

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 runs from Los Olivos to Santa Barbara, crossing the

San Marcos Pass San Marcos Pass (Chumash: ''Mistaxiwax'') is a mountain pass in the Santa Ynez Mountains in southern California. It is traversed by State Route 154. The pass crosses the Santa Ynez through a southwestern portion of Los Padres National Forest, ...

in the

Santa Ynez Mountains The Santa Ynez Mountains are a portion of the Transverse Ranges, part of the Pacific Coast Ranges of the west coast of North America. It is the westernmost range in the Transverse Ranges. The range is a large fault block of Cenozoic age create ...

. Before U.S. Route 101 was built through the

Gaviota Pass The Gaviota Tunnel (officially known as the Gaviota Gorge Tunnel) is a tunnel on U.S. Route 101 and California State Route 1 completed in 1953 in the center of Gaviota State Park, northwest of Santa Barbara, California on the Gaviota C ...

, SR 154 was the main throughway to Santa Barbara and the tri city area including use as a stagecoach route in early years. After being replaced by US 101 as the primary route between the

Santa Ynez Valley The Santa Ynez Valley is located in Santa Barbara County, California, between the Santa Ynez Mountains to the south and the San Rafael Mountains to the north. The Santa Ynez River flows through the valley from east to west. The Santa Ynez Val ...

and Santa Barbara, SR 154 now serves as a scenic bypass.

Route description

It is a 2 lane road with some passing lanes, with the highest altitude being 2000 ft. It rivals US 101 for traffic, but it goes through the

Los Padres National Forest Los Padres National Forest is a United States national forest in southern and central California. Administered by the United States Forest Service, Los Padres includes most of the mountainous land along the California coast from Ventura to Mo ...

and the

. It starts in Los Olivos as a

spur A spur is a metal tool designed to be worn in pairs on the heels of riding boots for the purpose of directing a horse or other animal to move forward or laterally while riding. It is usually used to refine the riding aids (commands) and to ba ...

from US 101, goes through the town, and then the end of SR 246 at

Santa Ynez Santa Ynez (; Spanish for "St. Agnes") is a census-designated place (CDP) in the Santa Ynez Valley of Santa Barbara County, California. The town of Santa Ynez is one of the communities of the Santa Ynez Valley. It features the Santa Ynez Airport ...

. It then reaches

Lake Cachuma Cachuma Lake is a reservoir in the Santa Ynez Valley of central Santa Barbara County, California on the Santa Ynez River adjoining the north side of California State Route 154. The artificial lake was created by the construction of Bradbury Dam, ...

and passes through the Los Padres National Forest, and across the

Cold Spring Canyon Arch Bridge The Cold Spring Canyon Arch Bridge in the Santa Ynez Mountains links Santa Barbara, California with Santa Ynez, California. The bridge is signed as part of State Route 154. It is currently the highest arch bridge in the U.S. state of California ...

, where Cold Spring Tavern is on Stagecoach Road which passes below the bridge. Nearby it crosses Camino Cielo Road to the East and West, then the intersection of Painted Cave Road and Old San Marcos Road before descending to Santa Barbara. It then briefly becomes four lanes and passes an offramp for SR 192 (named Foothill Road to the East and Cathedral Oaks Road to the West of SR 154), before stopping at Calle Real and a Southbound onramp to

US 101 U.S. Route 101, or U.S. Highway 101 (US 101), is a north–south United States Numbered Highway that runs through the states of California, Oregon, and Washington, on the West Coast of the United States. It is also known as (The Royal Roa ...

and ending at the point where State Street to the East becomes Hollister Avenue to the West. SR 154 is part of the

California Freeway and Expressway System The California Freeway and Expressway System is a system of existing or planned freeways and expressways in the U.S. state of California. It encompasses both State highways and federal highways in California. It is defined by Article 2 (comme ...

, and a portion in Santa Barbara 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 154 is eligible for the State Scenic Highway System, and is officially designated as a scenic highway by the

California Department of Transportation The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) is an executive department of the U.S. state of California. The department is part of the cabinet-level California State Transportation Agency (CalSTA). Caltrans is headquartered in Sacr ...

, 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

The highway from Santa Barbara through San Marcos Pass to what was Route 2 was added to the state highway system in 1931. The route renumbered to SR 154 by the 1964 state highway renumbering.

Major intersections

References

External links

{{commonscat
Caltrans: Route 154 - Scenic HighwayCaltrans: Route 154 highway conditions
154 State Route 154 154 154 Historic trails and roads in California Los Padres National Forest Santa Ynez Mountains Santa Barbara, California