California State Route 88

Updated on Nov 02, 2023

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West end: SR 99 in Stockton		Length 196.3 km

East end: SR 88 towards Minden, NV

State Route 88 (SR 88), also known as the Carson Pass Highway, is a California State Highway that travels in an east–west direction, from Stockton, crossing the Sierra Nevada at Carson Pass, and ending at the border with Nevada, whereupon it becomes Nevada State Route 88, eventually terminating at U.S. Route 395.

Map of CA-88, California, USA

Unlike other two-lane California highways through the mountains (Routes 4, 108 and 120), Route 88 stays open through winter, except during the worst snowstorms, making it the third major route through the mountains, after Interstate 80 and U.S. Route 50. In fact, Route 88 over the Carson Pass is designated as Alternate U.S. 50, such that it may be used during floods of the American River Canyon.

Route description

SR 88 is part of the California Freeway and Expressway System and is eligible for the State Scenic Highway System. However, it is only a scenic highway as designated by Caltrans from the Dew Drop ranger station to the Nevada state line. The road is kept open all winter but can be subject to restrictions or short-term closure due to snow (including avalanches) or ice; the current road condition is posted online by Caltrans.

SR 88 begins just outside Stockton as Waterloo Road, heading northeast towards Waterloo. The highway turns north at Waterloo, and SR 88 continues north to an intersection with SR 12, where the latter runs concurrently. SR 88 continues through Lockeford and Clements before continuing into Amador County. Continuing northeast, SR 88 intersects the southern terminus of SR 124 and the eastern terminus of SR 104 before passing through the town of Sunnybrook. In the community of Martell, SR 88 turns south, running concurrently with SR 49 for a brief period of time, before turning northeast again and intersecting the eastern terminus of SR 26. The highway continues northeast into Pioneer Station, Buckhorn, Cooks Station, and Ham's Station before entering the state game refuge. SR 88 continues paralleling the county line with El Dorado County in El Dorado National Forest before passing by Silver Lake and Kirkwood, where SR 88 crosses into Alpine County.

In Alpine County, SR 88 continues by Caples Lake before running concurrently with SR 89 until Woodfords. The highway continues through Paynesville before entering Nevada as Nevada State Route 88. Route 88 is one of only three routes to continue with the same route number after crossing into Nevada, the others being Routes 28 and 266.

Historical landmarks

Listed in order from west to east.

The Trail of the 1844 John C. Frémont Expedition, at the northwest corner of the Calaveras River (postmile SJ 6.09)

Clinton, on Clinton Rd., south of the highway, in Pine Grove—Clinton was the center of a placer mining community during the 1850s and of quartz mining as late as the 1880s. This town once decided Amador County elections as its votes were always counted last.

Irishtown, at the intersection of Pine Grove Wieland Rd. in Pine Grove—This was an important stopping place for emigrants on their way to the southern mines. The first white settlers on this spot found it a "city of wigwams," and hundreds of mortars in the rocks testify that this was a favorite Indian camping ground.

Mount Zion State Park, Pine Grove

Indian Grinding Rock State Historic Park, Pine Grove

Eldorado National Forest, Amador Ranger Station, Pioneer

Maiden's Grave, burial place of Rachel Melton (d. 1850), a young girl who died while traveling to California via covered wagon (postmile AMA 61.3)

The Old Emigrant Road was a long loop around the Silver Lake basin, starting from Caples Lake and reaching an elevation of 9,640 feet (2,938 m) at one place. This difficult portion of the road was used by thousands of vehicles from 1848 to 1863, when a better route was blasted out of the face of the cliff at Carson Spur (the present highway route). There are two markers. One is at the intersection of Mud Lake Rd (postmile AMA 63.1). The second marker is at postmile ALP 2.4, at Caples Lake.

Cooks Station, a roadside stop built in 1863 and still in operation, elevation 5,000 feet (1,500 m)

Ham's Station is a roadside stop still in operation as a restaurant and convenience store, located at 38.544406°N 120.377471°W / 38.544406; -120.377471 at an elevation of 6,000 feet (1,800 m). Ham's Station was built by 1879 and originally served as a toll station on the highway. Both Cooks and Ham's stations are routinely used by Caltrans to indicate points where tire chains are required for continued travel during snowstorms, as they are two of the only landmarks between Pioneer and the junction with State Route 89.

Kirkwood Mountain Resort, Kirkwood

Kirkwood's, a resort, stage station, and post office originally built by Zack Kirkwood in 1864. The building straddles the Alpine–Amador county line.

The Kit Carson Marker (CHL #315, postmile ALP 5.2), at the summit of Carson Pass, marks where Carson carved his name into a tree in 1844 while guiding John C. Frémont through the Sierra Nevada. The original can be found at Sutter's Fort, Sacramento.

On some large rocks near Carson Pass, a group of pioneers inscribed their names and the emblem of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows in 1849 (postmile ALP 5.3).

History

A portion of Route 88 (from Antelope Springs to the border) started as the Amador/Nevada Wagon Route, a toll road completed in 1862, which was a major thoroughfare through the mountains, as California sent timber, food, and particularly gold to the east during the Civil War. Completion of the First Transcontinental Railroad in 1869 greatly decreased traffic on the wagon road.

The original highway number was 8 in Amador County. Old CA-8 overlaps present CA-88 from Alpine County to Jackson but continues south to Mokelumne Hill, then to Valley Springs and other points south. Present 88 follows a portion of old US-104 but diverges just south of Ione.

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 an overlap due to a correction or change, and T indicates postmiles classified as temporary (for a full list of prefixes, see the list of postmile definitions). 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.

References

California State Route 88 Wikipedia

(Text) CC BY-SA