Redinger Lake Road (Road 235)

This past month I drove the entirety of Redinger Lake Road located in Madera County along the horseshoe bend region of the San Joaquin River.

Redinger Lake Road carries the designation of "Road 235" and is a 8.6 mile road which begins at Powerhouse Road (Road 222) at Kerckhoff Lake in Sierra National Forest and ends to the east at Italian Bar Road (Road 225) along Redinger Lake.

Redinger Lake Road was completed by 1950 and was used as a haul road during the construction of Redinger Dam. Redinger Dam was completed by 1951 and is part of the Big Creek Hydroelectric Project. Internally Redinger Dam is also known as Big Creek Dam #7. Redinger Dam is a 250 foot high concrete gravity dam which impounds the San Joaquin River. Redinger Dam has a maximum capacity of 35,000 acre feet of water.

My approach to Redinger Lake Road was from Powerhouse Road northbound on the shore of Kerckhoff Lake. From Powerhouse Road I turned east onto Redinger Lake Road.

Redinger Lake Road quickly enters the horseshoe bend of the San Joaquin River. Less than half a mile from Powerhouse Road there is a trailhead for Horseshoe Bend Trail.

Redinger Lake Road quickly ascends to the top of the Horseshoe Bend where it has a view of Kerckhoff Lake.

Redinger Lake ascends to a bluff above the Horseshoe Bend and continues eastward towards Willow Creek.

Redinger Lake Road makes a sharp descent through a series of hairpins to the 1950 Willow Creek Bridge in the Redinger Lake Recreation Area.

Redinger Lake Road makes a brief climb from Willow Creek to Redinger Dam.

Redinger Lake Road passes through the Redinger Campground and Marina before continuing several miles to an eastern terminus at Italian Bar Road.

From the eastern terminus of Redinger Lake Road the upstream waters of the San Joaquin River near the Italian Bar Bridge can be seen below.

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Onion Valley Road; former California State Route 180 to Kearsarge Pass

This summer I had an opportunity to drive one of the lesser known great roads of California; Onion Valley Road from Independence west to Onion Valley near Kearsarge Pass. Aside from being massive climb into the Eastern Sierra Nevada Mountains the path of Onion Valley Road was once signed as California State Route 180 and was intended to be part of a Trans-Sierra Highway.

Onion Valley Road is located west of Independence of Inyo County and is 12.9 miles in length. According to pjammcycling.com Onion Valley Road begins at an elevation of 3,946 feet above sea level in Independence and terminates at 9,219 feet above sea level at Onion Valley. Pjammcycling rates Onion Valley Road with an average gradient of 7.8% and lists it as the 6th most difficult cycling climb in the United States. Onion Valley Road also includes ten switchbacks which largely follow the course of Independence Creek. Anyway you look at it the route of Onion Valley Road is no joke and is definitely a test of driving…

Horseshoe Meadows Road; former California State Route 190 and the legacy of the Lone Pine-Porterville HIgh Sierra Road

This summer I had an opportunity to drive one of the lesser known great roads of California; Horseshoe Meadows Road from Whitney Portal Road westward into Horseshoe Meadows of the Eastern Sierra Nevada Mountains. Aside from being massive climb into the Eastern Sierra Nevada Mountains the path of Horseshoe Meadows Road was once part of California State Route 190 and was intended to be part of a Trans-Sierra Highway known as the Lone Pine-Porterville High Sierra Road.

Horseshoe Meadows Road is located west of Lone Pine of Inyo County and is 19.7 miles in length. Horseshoe Meadows Road begins at an approximate elevation of 4,500 feet above sea level at Whitney Portal Road in the Alabama Hills and ends at an elevation of 10,072 feet above sea level in Horseshoe Meadows. Horseshoe Meadows Road is the second highest paved road in California only behind Rock Creek Road near Tom's Place. Pjammcycling rates Horseshoe Meadows Road with an average gradient of 6.2% and lists it as th…

US Route 199

I was planning on driving US Route 199 for the third time this weekend. However "external factors" have pushed my visit to US Route 199 back for the time being. While I can't do a driving log for US Route 199 at the moment I can still write about it's history.

This blog will be slightly different from the usual flair for Gribblenation. Generally I have a stockpile of my own road photos from which to draw from. In the case of US Route 199 I was far more focused on hiking photos during my first two visits in 2014 and 2016 than the actual highway. At some point I will add a series of modern driving log photos but for the time being I will draw from numerous other sources to illustrate US Route 199.

Part 1; the History of US Route 199

Present US Route 199 is a 80.05 mile highway which connects US Route 101 in Crescent City of Del Norte, California northeast to Interstate 5 in Grants Pass of Josephine County, Oregon. US Route 199 is one of the original US Routes and …

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