Skip to main content

Pincushion Peak and Sky Harbour Road

By


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.



Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Crescent City Connection (New Orleans, LA)

By
The Crescent City Connection is a massive dual-span steel truss bridge that spans the lower Mississippi River at downtown New Orleans, about 95 river miles upstream from the mouth of the great river at the Head of Passes Light. If counted as a single bi-directional highway bridge, the parallel spans combine to form the single busiest bridge on the Mississippi River and its importance as a linchpin in the region’s transportation network cannot be overstated. While there have been various schemes over the years to construct bridges downriver from Algiers Point, this bridge has been the southernmost bridge on the Mississippi River since its initial construction in the 1950s. The years immediately following the end of World War II were a transformational period in the history of New Orleans. Already one of the great economic and cultural centers of the American Deep South, it was recognized at this time that major changes and improvements to the city’s transportation infrastructure would b...
Post a Comment
Read more

Old US Route 99 through Tipton, Tulare, and Tagus Ranch

By
This summer I had a look into the alignment history of US Route 99 through the Tulare County communities of Tipton, Tulare, and Tagus Ranch.  While this slab below might seem like much it is one of the few remaining reminders of how US Route 99 was during the 1920s in Tulare County. This blog is part of the larger Gribblenation US Route 99 Page.  For more information pertaining to the other various segments of US Route 99 and it's three-digit child routes check out the link the below. Gribblenation US Route 99 Page Part 1; the history of US Route 99 in Tipton, Tulare, and Tagus Ranch Tipton and Tulare were both founded in 1872 as sidings of the Southern Pacific Railroad.  The Southern Pacific Railroad laid the groundwork for development of southern San Joaquin Valley.  Previous to the Southern Pacific Railroad travel via wagon or foot in Central California tended to avoid San Joaquin Valley in favor of the Stockton-Los Angeles Road.  The Stockton Los Ange...
Post a Comment
Read more

Former US Route 101 and California State Route 41 through Paso Robles

By
Paso Robles is a city located on the Salinas River of San Luis Obispo County, California.  As originally configured the surface alignments of US Route 101 and California State Route 41 converged in downtown Paso Robles.  US Route 101 originally was aligned through Paso Robles via Spring Street.  California State Route 41 entered the City of Paso Robles via Union Road and 13th Street where it intersected US Route 101 at Spring Street.  US Route 101 and California State Route 41 departed Paso Robles southbound via a multiplex which split near Templeton.   Pictured above is the cover of the September/October 1957 California Highways & Public Works which features construction of the Paso Robles Bypass.  Pictured below is the 1935 Division of Highways Map of San Luis Obispo County which depicts US Route 101 and California State Route 41 intersecting in downtown Paso Robles.   Part 1; the history of US Route 101 and California State Route 41 i...
Post a Comment
Read more