Hawkins Road (The Rollercoaster Road of Stanislaus County)

Hawkins Road is an approximately 4.5 mile north/south rural highway located in Stanislaus County. On paper the corridor appears to be mostly straight and uninteresting. This apparent straightness is deceiving as the roadway barrels over extremely hilly and dip filled terrain.

Hawkins Road is known to many Stanislaus County locals at the "Rollercoaster Road." The road is a favorite used by cyclists and distance runners for the purposes of an easy to access training corridor. Property records indicate Hawkins Road was constructed during the early 1950s to serve rural almond farming properties.

An overview and drive along Hawkins Road

Hawkins Road is a relatively modern corridor and was constructed during the early 1950s. Property records indicate of Stanislaus County indicate the homes along the corridor were constructed between 1955 and 1967. Most land parcels along the roadway are comprised of almond farms.

Hawkins Road first appears on the 1953 United States Geological Survey map of Montpelier.

Hawkins Road spans 4.5 miles from Keyes Road (County Route J16) north to Lake Road (formerly La Grange Road). The corridor is almost completely straight which would give one a deceptive impression about what type of roadway it is. Hawkins Road barrels over the hilly terrain through a series of large dips and is known to Stanislaus County locals as the "Rollercoaster Road." The roadway is popular amongst cyclists and distance runners for the purposes of training.

Northbound Hawkins Road begins at County Route J16/Keyes Road.

Below is the view along the extremely hilly northbound drive along Hawkins Road to Lake Road. Most of the hills along the corridor crest at an elevation of 270 feet above sea level.

Comments

New River Gorge National Park & Preserve - Thurmond

New River Gorge National Park and Preserve is best known for whitewater rafting and other forms of adventure tourism. Yet, found in the hollows and isolated valleys are quiet farms and former coal mining towns. Well off the beaten path and isolated from much of its surroundings, Thurmond provides a unique view into Central West Virginia's industrial past. Thurmond began as a railroad town in the late 1800s. Sparked by the arrival of the Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad and the local coal industry, Thurmond quickly grew into a sizeable transportation and coal center. When it incorporated as a town in 1903, Thurmond was a full-fledged community - home to two banks, two hotels, and many other services and stores. A CSX freight train passes the old coaling tower in Thurmond. It was here that many steam locomotives would refill and refuel. Thurmond was home to a C&O railyard which serviced the numerous steam engines passing through the narrow valley. Thu...

The Tale of Tollhouse Road, western California State Route 168 and failed Piute Pass Highway

Western California State Route 168 is entirely located in Fresno County and is linked historically to the Tollhouse Road corridor. Tollhouse Road is one of the oldest highways in the Sierra Nevada range of Fresno County. The corridor presently begins in at Clovis Avenue in downtown Clovis and extends northeast to Huntington Lake. In 1866 the Woods Brothers established mining claims on Pine Ridge. In 1867 Fresno County would grant the brothers a toll franchise to construct a roadway to the desirable logging areas atop Pine Ridge and near Dinkey Creek. The Woods would establish a tollhouse at the start of their franchise road and lumber mill. The lumber mill attracted settlers which led to the establishment of the mountain town of Tollhouse. Fresno County would purchase the Tollhouse Road in 1878 and make it a public highway. The county would remove the tolls and incorporate the corridor into the existing county road network. Prior to the establishment of Clovis in 1...

Old Dunlap Road (former California State Route 180 in Yokuts Valley)

When California State Route 180 was commissioned in August 1934 the alignment in took in Sierra Nevada range was very different than from today. The original highway alignment from Squaw Valley (now Yokuts Valley) to east Grant Grove (then part of General Grant National Park) originally followed what is now Ruth Hill Road, Dunlap Road, Pinehurst Road (modern California State Route 245), Dark Canyon Road (partially now Forest Road 14S45). After funding fell through for the planned Kings Canyon Road the was corridor eventually picked up as a 30-mile-long cooperative project between the Division of Highways and Federal Government. Much of current alignment of California State Route 180 bypassing Squaw Valley (now Yokuts Valley) and Dunlap was complete by 1941. The post-1941 alignment of California State Route 180 in Squaw Valley was shifted onto what was once Dunlap Road in Squaw Valley. This alignment itself was later bypassed by modern California State Route...