Skip to main content

Bitterwater Road

Back in February after some significant rains had fallen I decided a rural drive was in order and took Bitterwater Road from California State Route 46 south to California State Route 58.


Bitterwater Road is a rural road 32 miles in length in the Temblor Ranges near the San Andreas Fault.  Most of Bitterwater Road is within San Luis Obispo County with a small portion in Kern County.  From CA 46 south the first segment of Bitterwater Road is in San Luis Obispo County.


Most of Bitterwater Road is extremely poorly maintained; especially the northern segment in San Luis Obispo County which is largely open range.  The roadway is wide enough for two vehicles and isn't a difficult drive aside from the local animal population.



Bitterwater Road takes a sudden easterly shift approaching Annette Road where it briefly enters Kern County.  Annette Road more or less takes traffic northward towards Keck's Corner on CA 46.



This photo looking south along the Kern County portion of Bitterwater is one of my personal favorite monochrome road photos.  I really love the conveyance of desolate isolation the fog and narrow roadway adds.


It isn't too long southbound before Bitterwater Road reenters San Luis Obispo County and obtains a center stripe.  This segment is much more well maintained and remains a mostly normal roadway south to CA 58.


Water drainage along Bitterwater Road is virtually non-existent along the entire 32 miles.


There is a brief climb up to a summit which is approximately 2,300 feet above sea level.  The road is bad enough to slow down to about 40 MPH climbing uphill southbound.





The cow population proved an issue for me on the February trip down Bitterwater Road, especially at summit.  After waiting for about five minutes I got a lucky break and trucker scared the bovine obstruction back to their farm.


After passing the cattle ranches the La Panza Range to the southwest came into view covered in clouds.  Bitterwater Road straightens out significantly approaching it's southern terminus at CA 58.





For some reason Bitterwater Road never was part of the Signed County Route program despite being really an ideal for it.  I've generally used Bitterwater Road to get from the Fresno area south to Soda Lake in the Carrizo Plain National Monument in the past.  I don't have any clear maps showing when Bitterwater Road was built but it appears to have been completed some time after the 1930s.


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

US Route 62 and US Route 180 in the Guadalupe Mountains

US Route 62/US Route 180 between El Paso, Texas and Carlsbad, New Mexico passes through the Guadalupe Mountains.  The Guadalupe Mountains comprise the highest peaks of Texas which are largely protected as part Guadalupe Mountains National Park.  The automotive highway through the Guadalupe Mountains was constructed in the late 1920s as part of Texas State Road 54.  US Route 62 was extended from Carlsbad through the Guadalupe Mountains to El Paso during 1932.  US Route 62 was joined in the Guadalupe Mountains by US Route 180 in 1943.  The Guadalupe Mountains comprise a portion of the 130 mile "No Services" zone on US Route 62/US Route 180 between El Paso-Carlsbad. Part 1; the history of US Route 62 and US Route 180 in the Guadalupe Mountains The Guadalupe Mountains lie within the states of Texas and New Mexico.  The Guadalupe Mountains essentially is a southern extension of the larger Rocky Mountains.  The Guadalupe Mountains is the highest range in Texas with the peak elevati

Former California State Route 215

  California State Route 215 was a short-lived state highway which existed in the Los Angeles Metropolitain area after the 1964 State Highway Renumbering.  California State Route 215 was aligned from US Route 60 at 5th Street in Pomona north to US Route 66 near Claremont via Garey Avenue.  California State Route 215 came to be after California State Route 71 was bisected in Pomona due to relinquishment of a portion of Garey Avenue due to the opening of a portion of the Corona Freeway (now Chino Valley Freeway) during 1958.  California State Route 215 was deleted by the Legislature during 1965. The history of California State Route 215 The initial segment of what was to become California State Route 215 was added to the State Highway System as part of the 1909 First State Highway Bond Act.  The First State Highway Bond Act defined what would become  Legislative Route Number 19  (LRN 19) as running from Claremont to Riverside.  The segment of LRN 19 between Claremont and Pomona would in

Paper Highways; unbuilt California State Route 100 in Santa Cruz

This edition of Paper Highways examines the unbuilt California State Route 100 in Santa Cruz. The History of Unbuilt California State Route 100 The route that became CA 100 was added to the State Inventory in 1959 as part of the Freeway & Expressway System as Legislative Route 287 .  According to CAhighways.org the initial definition of LRN 287 had it begin at LRN 5 (CA 17) and was defined over the below alignment to LRN 56 (CA 1) through downtown Santa Cruz. -  Ocean Street -  2nd Street -  Chestnut Street For context the above alignment would required tearing down a large part of the densely populated Santa Cruz.  A modern Google imagine immediately reveals how crazy an alignment following Ocean Street, 2nd Street, and Chestnut Street would have been. LRN 287 first appears on the 1960 Division of Highways State Map . In 1961 the definition of LRN 287 was generalized to; from LRN 5 via the beach area in Santa Cruz to LRN 56 west of the San Lorenzo River.