Skip to main content

California State Route 284


California State Route 284 is an eight-mile State Highway located entirely in Plumas County.  California State Route 284 begins at California State Route 70 in Chilcoot and terminates at Frenchman Reservoir.  California State Route 284 is one of many pre-existing roads which were annexed into the State Highway System by way of 1970 Legislative Chapter 1473.  Above as the blog cover photo is a southward view on California State Route 284 (taken by Josh Schmid) as it descends from Frenchman Reservoir on Frenchman Lake Road.  





Part 1; the history of California State Route 284 and unconstructed California State Route 285

California State Route 284 (CA 284) was adopted as part of 1970 Legislative Chapter 1473.  CA 284 was designated as a highway connecting from Route 70 in Chilhoot to Frenchman Reservoir.  Legislative Chapter 1473 defined numerous State Highways during 1970, some of the others include CA 283, CA 281, CA 271, and CA 270.

Notably the Chapter 1473 State Highways appear to have been contingent that an existing roadway be built to State Highway Standards.  To that end Frenchman Lake was completed as a California Department of Water Resources irrigation project by 1961 along Little Last Chance Creek.  The existing Frenchman Lake Road appears to have been improved during the Frenchman Lake project and was adopted as the alignment of CA 284.  Notably modern Frenchman Lake Road appears on the 1935 Division of Highways Map of Plumas County north of Chilhoot.


On the 1975 Caltrans State Highway Map the full 8-mile route of CA 284 appears as a fully functional State Highway.




Chapter 2; a virtual drive on California State Route 284

From CA 70 west in Chilhoot-Vinton traffic is advised that CA 284 can be found on Frenchman Lake Road.



Below is a northward series of photos by Josh Schmid of CA 284 as it climbs from Chilcoot to a terminus at Frenchman Reservoir.  CA 284 northbound terminates at Post Mile PLU 8.302 at the south shore of Frenchman Lake.




Below of series of photos by Josh Schmid depicts southbound CA 284 descending from Frenchman Reservoir to CA 70 in Chilcoot.  











Update history

-  First published on May 24, 2020.
-  First updated on September 12, 2022.  

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Former US Route 50 and the Pioneer Route Lincoln Highway on Johnson's Pass Road

Johnson's Pass Road is one of the oldest highway corridors in California.  Johnson's Pass was part of the Lake Tahoe Wagon Road as it was completed during 1856 over the Sierra Nevada.  The pass would later be incorporated into the Pioneer Branch of the Lincoln Highway in 1913 and US Route 50 in 1926.  Johnson's Pass Road would be bypassed by a new alignment of US Route 50 over Echo Summit in 1938.  A replacement of the Meyers Grade east of Johnson's Pass would be opened to traffic in 1947.   Johnson's Pass Road remains accessible to traffic and is still signed by the Lincoln Highway Association.  Pictured as the blog cover is the view from the top of Johnson's Pass Road overlooking modern US Route 50 and Lake Tahoe.   Part 1; the history of Johnson's Pass Much of the history of what become the Lake Tahoe Wagon Road is discussed in the  September 1950 California Highways & Public Works  during its Centennial Edition.  The or...

Former US Route 50 and the South Lincoln Highway from Folsom east to Placerville

The corridor of Folsom of Sacramento County east to Placerville of El Dorado County has been a long established corridor of overland travel dating back to the California Gold Rush.  The Folsom-Placerville corridor was once part of the path of the Lake Tahoe Wagon Road which became the first California State Highway and later the South Lincoln Highway.  In time the South Lincoln Highway's surface alignment was inherited by US Route 50.  The Folsom-Placerville corridor also includes the communities of; Clarksville, Shingle Springs and El Dorado. Part 1; the history of the Lake Tahoe Wagon Road, South Lincoln Highway and US Route 50 through Folsom-Placerville Folsom is located on the American River/Lake Natoma of eastern Sacramento County.  That lands now occupied by the City of Folsom were part of Rancho Rio de los Americanos prior to the finding of gold at Sutter's Mill during 1848.  During the California Gold Rush the lands of Rancho Rio de los Americanos were p...

Abandoned US Route 40 in the Truckee River Canyon

Within the Truckee River Canyon in the Sierra Nevada range numerous abandoned portions of US Route 40 can be found alongside modern Interstate 80.   This segment of highway was opened during 1926 as a bypass of the Dog Valley Grade which carried the early North Lincoln Highway and Victory Highway. The corridor of the Truckee River Canyon State Highway would be assigned as US Route 40 when the US Route System was commissioned during November 1926. During 1958 the segment of Interstate 80 between Boca, California and the Nevada state line was complete. When Interstate 80 opened east of Boca numerous obsolete portions of US Route 40 were abandoned. Some of these abandoned segments have been incorporated into the Tahoe-Pyramid Trail.  Part 1; the history of US Route 40 in the Truckee River Canyon The Truckee River Canyon for centuries has been an established corridor of travel known to native tribes crossing the Sierra Nevada range.  The first documented wagon crossi...