State Route 121 (SR 121) 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 ...

. It runs through the

Wine Country Wine Country is the region of California, in the northern San Francisco Bay Area, known worldwide as a premier wine-growing region. The region is famed for its wineries, its cuisine, Michelin star restaurants, boutique hotels, luxury resort ...

region of Sonoma and Napa counties. Its southern terminus is at State Route 37 at

Sears Point Sears Point is a prominent landform that juts into the San Pablo Bay in Sonoma County, California, United States. This hill is the southernmost peak of the Sonoma Mountains and forms the southwestern ridge above Tolay Lake. Starting with Europ ...

, and its northern terminus is at State Route 128 near

Lake Berryessa Lake Berryessa is the largest lake in Napa County, California. This reservoir in the Vaca Mountains was formed following the construction of the Monticello Dam on Putah Creek in the 1950s. Since the early 1960s, this reservoir has provided wate ...

. SR 121 passes through the Carneros region of the southern

Sonoma Valley Sonoma Valley is a valley located in southeastern Sonoma County, California, in the North Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area. Known as the birthplace of the California wine industry, the valley is home to some of the earliest vineyards a ...

and

Napa Valley Napa Valley is an American Viticultural Area (AVA) located in Napa County in California's Wine Country. It was established by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) on January 27, 1981. Napa Valley is considered one of the premier ...

Route description

The route begins at SR 37 in

, and then runs past the

Tolay Lake Tolay Lake is a shallow freshwater lake in southern Sonoma County, California, United States. The lake, nestled within the southern vestiges of the Sonoma Mountains, is the site of significant Native American prehistoric seasonal settlement. In ...

basin and across

Tolay Creek Tolay Creek is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed March 10, 2011 southward-flowing stream in southern Sonoma County, California, United States, which flows through Tolay La ...

near

Infineon Raceway Sonoma Raceway (originally known as Sears Point Raceway from 1967 to 1980 and 1982 to 2002, Golden State International Raceway in 1981 and Infineon Raceway from 2002 to 2012) is a road course and dragstrip located at Sears Point in the southern ...

. As it continues northward through

Sonoma County Sonoma County () is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States Census, its population was 488,863. Its county seat and largest city is Santa Rosa. It is to the north of Marin County and the south of Mendocino ...

, it meets SR 116, where it then veers east. SR 121 then enters Schellville, where it begins a short

overlap Overlap may refer to: * In set theory, an overlap of elements shared between sets is called an intersection, as in a Venn diagram. * In music theory, overlap is a synonym for reinterpretation of a chord at the boundary of two musical phrases * O ...

with SR 12. Upon leaving, it begins another overlap with SR 29, which happens to be a freeway, in

Napa County Napa County () is a county north of San Pablo Bay located in the northern portion of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 138,019. The county seat is the City of Napa. Napa County was one of the original c ...

. When it leaves, it continues northward and meets SR 221 in Napa. As it leaves the city, it continues northward for several miles before reaching its north end at SR 128 near

. SR 121 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 ...

, but is not 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 121 is eligible to be included in the State Scenic Highway System, but it is not 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 ...

. The

California Legislature The California State Legislature is a bicameral state legislature consisting of a lower house, the California State Assembly, with 80 members; and an upper house, the California State Senate, with 40 members. Both houses of the Legislatu ...

named the route Carneros Highway from its southern terminus to its junction with SR 29 in Napa, after the Carneros settlement. The stretch in Sonoma County between SR 37 and SR 116 runs along Arnold Drive, and along Fremont Drive between SR 116 and the Napa County line.

History

The section from SR 37 to SR 29 in Napa remains virtually unchanged since its definition in 1963. The northern section, however, was slightly altered since its definition the same year due to a realignment of various other freeways.

Major intersections

References

External links

{{commonscat
Caltrans: Route 121 highway conditions
State Route 121 State Route 121 121 Napa, California

Route description

History

Major intersections

See also

References

External links