Skip to main content

Pincushion Peak and Sky Harbour Road


Sky Harbour Road is an approximate six-mile highway in the Sierra Nevada Mountains foothills of northern Fresno County.  Sky Harbour Road begins at Millerton Road at Table Mountain Rancheria.  From Millerton Road, Sky Harbour Road follows the eastern shore of Millerton Lake to the South Finegold Picnic Area.  The San Joaquin River Trail and Pincushion Peak Trail are both accessible from the South Finegold Picnic Area.  


Part 1; the history of Sky Harbour Road

The South Finegold Picnic Area is part of the Millerton Lake State Recreation Area.  The Millerton Lake State Recreation Area was formed as part of the completion of Friant Dam during 1944 along the San Joaquin River.  Millerton Lake flooded over the original Fresno County seat of Millerton but opened up numerous recreational opportunities.  

The Finegold Jeep Trail first appears on the 1965 United States Geological Survey Map of Millerton Lake and 1964 United States Geological Survey Map of Friant.  The Finegold Jeep Trail originated at Table Mountain Rancheria at Millerton Road and connected the trailheads for the San Joaquin River Trail and Pincushion Peak Trail.  




The Finegold Jeep Trail appears on the 1980 United States Geological Survey Maps of Millerton Lake and 1982 United States Geological Survey Map of Fresno as a paved road.  It is unclear when the name Sky Harbour Road was designated but it likely was concurrent with the Finegold Jeep Trail being paved.  





Part 2; a drive on Sky Harbour Road and hike up Pincushion Peak

Sky Harbour Road northbound begins from Millerton Road at Table Mountain Rancheria near the entrance to Table Mountain Casino. 



Northbound Sky Harbour Road begins with a climb through an excavated cut which emerges onto a bluff near the Table Mountain Rancheria tribal office.  






Northbound Sky Harbour Road skirts the edge of the Millerton Lake State Recreation Area and passes by the southern trailhead of the Pincushion Peak Trail. 




















Sky Harbour Road passes through a series of lakeside homes and ends at the gate for the South Finegold Picnic Area.  






















Pincushion Peak is listed as 1.2 miles from the San Joaquin River Trailhead.  




The San Joaquin River Trail gradually climbs to the unmarked north trailhead for the Pincushion Peak Trailhead.  The right branch on the last photo below is the north trailhead towards Pincushion Peak. 






















From the San Joaquin River Trail, the trail up to Pincushion Peak is heavily inclined and gains approximately 500 feet in elevation in less than a half mile.  










From Pincushion Peak there are unobstructed vistas of the San Joaquin River Gorge and Millerton Lake.



Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Former US Route 101 through Sargent

  Sargent is a ghost town and siding of the Southern Pacific Railroad located in southern Santa Clara County.  The original alignment of US Route 101 was aligned through Sargent via what is now known as Old Monterey Road.  Sargent was bypassed gradually due to shifts of the alignment of US Route 101 which occurred during 1941 and 1950.  Pictured as the blog cover is a view on Old Monterey Road which is now no longer accessible to the general public.  Below is a scan of the 1935 Division of Highways Map of Santa Clara County which depicts the original alignment US Route 101 through Sargent.   Part 1; the history of US Route 101 in Sargent Sargent lies on land which was once part of Rancho Juristac.  During 1856 James P. Sargent purchased Rancho Juristac and plotted what was known as Sargent Ranch.  By 1869 the Southern Pacific Railroad coast line reached the relocated town site of Gilroy.  The Southern Pacific Railroad coast line would be constructed through Chittenden Pass by 1871 whic

Tulare Lake returns

During the winter of 2023 California experienced one of the wettest seasons in recent decades.  Enough snow and water were deposited into the Sierra Nevada Mountains that the runoff was enough to partially reform Tulare Lake within San Joaquin Valley.  Tulare Lake was once the largest lake west of the Mississippi River by surface area.  Tulare Lake has been largely dried for the past century due to irrigation divisions and upstream impoundments.  This blog will examine the history of Tulare Lake and its recent return.  Pictured as the blog cover is Tulare Lake from 19th Avenue in Kings County during early May 2023.  Tulare Lake can be seen near its maximum extent below on the 1876 P.Y. Baker Map of Tulare County .   Part 1; the history of Tulare Lake Tulare Lake is the largest remnant of Lake Corcoran.  Lake Corcoran once covered much of the entire Central Valley due to being it being located at a in natural low point from where mountain run-off would accumulate.  Lake Corcoran is thou

US Route 95 in California

US Route 95 within California exists within San Bernardino County and Riverside County.  US Route 95 within California is approximately 130 miles factoring multiplexes along Interstate 10 and Interstate 40.  US Route 95 in California begins at the Arizona state line along the Colorado River near Blythe in Riverside County.  US Route 95 follows the general course of the Colorado River north through the Sonoran Desert to the Mojave Desert towards Needles of San Bernadino County.  US Route 95 enters Nevada north of Interstate 40 and the historic alignment of US Route 66.  US Route 95 was extended to Blythe, California during July 1939.  Upon US Route 95 entering California during 1939 it overlapped and deleted much of the original California State Route 195.  US Route 95 was extended from Blythe into Arizona during June 1960.   Part 1; the history of US Route 95 in California The corridor of modern-day US Route 95 in California first came to prominence during the run-up to the creation of