California State Route 146
Route description
Route 146 is divided into two sections and does not provide a continuous vehicular route through the park. The western part of Route 146 passes from U.S. Route 101 near Soledad along Metz Road and Shirttail Canyon Road to the west area of Pinnacles. The eastern portion runs into the east area of Pinnacles from Route 25 along Pinnacles Road.
Highway 146 has the distinction of following the San Andreas Fault line for much of its length. As it does, it straddles two separate landmasses: the Pacific Plate and the North American Plate.
SR 146 is not part of the National Highway System, a network of highways that are considered essential to the country's economy, defense, and mobility by the Federal Highway Administration. SR 146 is eligible for the State Scenic Highway System, but it is not officially designated as a scenic highway by the California Department of Transportation.
History
According to the National Park Service, Pinnacles has been administered as a wilderness area as long as that unit has been under their jurisdiction, and NPS sources contacted during research cannot recall any time when Route 146 proceeded through the park unbroken.
Major intersections
Except where prefixed with a letter, postmiles were measured on the road as it was in 1964, based on the alignment that existed at the time, and do not necessarily reflect current mileage. R reflects a realignment in the route since then, M indicates a second realignment, L refers to an overlap due to a correction or change, and T indicates postmiles classified as temporary ( ). Segments that remain unconstructed or have been relinquished to local control may be omitted. The numbers reset at county lines; the start and end postmiles in each county are given in the county column.
County | Location | Postmile | Destinations | Notes | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Monterey MON 0.00-10.08 | Soledad | 0.00 | ![]() | Interchange; west end of SR 146; US 101 exit 302 | |||
0.55 | Monterey Street | ||||||
| 3.48 | ![]() | |||||
San Benito SBT 10.08-15.15 | Pinnacles National Park | 10.19 | East end of state maintenance at western park boundary | ||||
| Chaparral Trailhead | East end of western segment of route | |||||
Gap in route; no passable road through park | |||||||
| Old Pinnacles Trailhead | West end of eastern segment of route | |||||
12.71 | West end of state maintenance at eastern park boundary | ||||||
| 15.15 | ![]() | East end of SR 146 | ||||
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi |