It was originally designated State Route 5 (SR 5), but this had to be changed with the creation of Interstate 5 (I-5) in 1964 to avoid confusion between the two roads.
Skyline Boulevard stretches through the Santa Cruz Mountains, here near Palo AltoSR 35 briefly becomes a divided highway west of Daly City.
Route description
The highway begins at the junction of Summit Road and State Route 17, at Patchen Pass. While SR 17 traverses the pass outright, SR 35 primarily is on the ridgeline. The portion of SR 35 from SR 17 to Bear Creek Road is called Summit Road. The highway then merges with Bear Creek Road for a few miles before becoming Skyline Boulevard. It bears the name Skyline Boulevard for a majority of its route along the ridge of the Santa Cruz Mountains to the west of Silicon Valley, passing by cities such as San Jose, Saratoga, and Palo Alto. The southern portion of the road, starting at Highway 17 and ending at Black Road, is mostly a narrow and winding country road without a double-yellow line. However, the road has been upgraded to 2 lanes beginning at Black Road, and remains in this configuration until it merges with Interstate 280 north of California State Route 92. The road reaches its highest elevation near Sanborn Skyline County Park at about 3,000 ft (914 m). The road passes through the small community of Sky Londa where it intersects State Route 84. The ridge that the road follows forms the border between Santa Cruz and Santa Clara counties. However, the boundary is so irregular that the road weaves in and out of the two counties.
The ridgetop portion of the route ends at the junction with State Route 92,[4] because this northern area of the Santa Cruz Mountains is a protected watershed owned by the San Francisco Water Department. Highway 35 is co-routed with SR 92 for 2 miles (3 km) east, descending towards Crystal Springs Reservoir, which it crosses on a causeway, and then joins Interstate 280 northbound for 6 miles (10 km). However, on the southbound side, Route 35 exists as a separate road to the west of the freeway between Bunker Hill Dr. and Route 92, as there is no connector road between 280 South and 92 West.
It crosses State Route 1 in Daly City and in San Francisco, Skyline Boulevard ends and the highway briefly continues along Sloat Boulevard until it reaches its terminus when it intersects Highway 1 again at 19th Avenue.
Because of its scenic views and winding roadway, Skyline Boulevard and surrounding roads see substantial recreational motoring and bicycling use. Many sports cars and motorcycles can be found congregating near the intersections with State Route 9 and State Route 84, particularly on weekends. Mountain bikers are also commonly found at the many trailheads along the road.
Whenever there is snow on the road's higher elevations, many people take their families up to see and play in the snow, and therefore, many of the parking lots at regional parks are packed with cars.
The original road called State Route 35 was located in southern California and ran north to south from State Route 22 to U.S. 99, first along Los Alamitos Blvd. going north which turns into Norwalk Blvd. The highway continued west on Centralia Road and then north along Pioneer Blvd. until hitting San Antonio drive at Rosecrans Ave. San Antonio Dr. would turn back into Norwalk Blvd. and continue with that street name until turning into Old Mill Road at Beverly Blvd. Route 35 would wind through Rose Hills and Avocado Heights as Workman Mill Rd. and would then turn into Puente Ave. at Valley Blvd. where it would continue to its end at U.S. 99 at the border of Baldwin Park and West Covina.
The current State Route 35, Skyline Boulevard, was originally designated State Route 5. The number was changed in the 1964 renumbering in California. On February 10, 2017, a huge washout washed away a 220-foot stretch of SR 35 about five miles south of the junction with State Route 9. Repairs were completed and the section of road re-opened January 9, 2018.[11]
Major intersections
Except where prefixed with a letter, postmiles were measured on the road as it was in 1964, based on the alignment that existed at the time, and do not necessarily reflect current mileage. R reflects a realignment in the route since then, M indicates a second realignment, L refers to an overlap due to a correction or change, and T indicates postmiles classified as temporary (for a full list of prefixes, see California postmile § Official postmile definitions).[1] Segments that remain unconstructed or have been relinquished to local control may be omitted. The numbers reset at county lines; the start and end postmiles in each county are given in the county column.
^ abcCalifornia Department of Transportation. "State Truck Route List". Sacramento: California Department of Transportation. Archived from the original(XLS file) on June 30, 2015. Retrieved June 30, 2015.
^This route is broken into pieces, and the length does not reflect the overlaps that would be required to make the route continuous.
^"Article 2 of Chapter 2 of Division 1". California Streets and Highways Code. Sacramento: California Office of Legislative Counsel. Retrieved February 6, 2019.
^Federal Highway Administration (March 25, 2015). National Highway System: California (North)(PDF) (Map). Scale not given. Washington, DC: Federal Highway Administration. Retrieved October 15, 2017.
^Natzke, Stefan; Neathery, Mike & Adderly, Kevin (June 20, 2012). "What is the National Highway System?". National Highway System. Washington, DC: Federal Highway Administration. Retrieved July 1, 2012.
^California Department of Transportation (2012). Scenic Highway Guidelines(PDF). Sacramento: California Department of Transportation. p. 5. Retrieved June 8, 2017.
Skyline Boulevard from the Santa Cruz–Santa Clara County line to SR 92[3]
SR 17 near Redwood Estates
SR 1 in San Francisco
