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On a cool December morning Timmy and I once again set out from our San Diego mountain campsite, wispy fog still clinging to the hills. Our plan for the day was to explore another of Southern California's historic roads, US 395 from its southern terminus to Cajon Pass in the mountains north of Los Angeles.
Highway 395 was an original 1926 route, but at the outset it only went from Laurier, Wash, on the Canadian border to Spokane, barely over 100 miles. Initially a branch of US 95, hence the 300 numbering, it was extended in 1934 all the way to San Diego. After knitting together eastern Oregon and Washington, US 395 crosses the Modoc Plateau in northeastern California, then winds over to Reno and Carson City before returning to California along the east side of the Sierra Nevada. Today it ends at Hesperia, near the southern edge of the Mojave Desert north of Los Angeles, merging into I-15.
The route's San Diego terminus had been downtown, but I thought that the south end of what is now SR 163, the Cabrillo Freeway, was close enough and a good place to begin. This first leg started out winding through the western extent of Balboa Park; very scenic. But with traffic moving right along, I couldn't really dawdle; besides, we had a long way to go. Soon 163 climbed up onto Claremont Mesa where it widened to a full 8-lane freeway, then merged into I-15. Just beyond we exited at Pomerado Road to follow the original routing.
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| At Pomerado Rd, Poway, CA, by jkbrown |
This next leg curved down through the Scripps Ranch residential area, shaded by tall eucalyptus trees and retaining a very pleasant rural feel. After climbing up to the next mesa, Pomerado drops down again into the Poway area. I remember Poway from 30 years ago as a sleepy place in the back hills, but extensive residential development has sprouted since then. I saw the first brown Historic US 395 road sign here. After passing through another burgeoning residential community, Rancho Bernardo, we merged back onto I-15 again. Two miles later the route followed the Centre City Parkway into the heart of Escondido. One old alignment turned westward here to follow Mission Road to San Marcos and Vista, then north to Bonsall and Fallbrook. I didn't think I had time for that, so we took the later alignment through the Merriam Mountains, closely paralleling I-15. The road here is now Champaigne Boulevard, which I found a little curious until I saw the sign to Lawrence Welk Boulevard.
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| Old Highway 395, by jkbrown |
For the next several miles the route is signed Old Highway 395 and it looks much like it must have years ago, winding through rugged mountains where orange groves occasionally replaced the native chaparral on the slopes above. Back on I-15 we passed the rural farming valley of Rainbow before crossing into Riverside County and dropping down into Temecula in the southernmost portion of greater Los Angeles. We exited at Murrieta to follow the old routing through the communities of Wildomar and Lake Elsinore. This area seemed to be on the verge of losing its rural charm to encroaching development.
According to my information, the route then crossed the hills northeast to Perris, where it followed the route of present day I-215 north to Riverside. This stretch was heavy and slow going on this day after Christmas. Improvements are underway, but it seemed like they were behind the times in upgrading the old 395 lanes and interchanges to accommodate current traffic loads. We didn't take it, but north of Riverside old US 395 had followed La Cadena Drive into Colton before joining Route 66 at Mt. Vernon Ave. in San Bernardino for the ascent to Cajon Pass. We stayed on I-215 as far as Devore, where present day I-15 joins and Cajon Boulevard ends.
We stopped for lunch at Glen Helen Regional Park before turning south again to trace the Mother Road from Cajon Canyon to the beach at Santa Monica. We'll tell that story next time.
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Travels With Charley
Join author John Steinbeck and his poodle Charley
on their 1960s "RV" trip across America. This is a delightful,
inspiring book that will both entertain and charm the RVer and would-be
RVer.
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2006
Mapquest RV & Campsites Guide & Atlas
Finally, a road atlas especially for
RVers. This 2006 Mapquest road atlas and campground directory is the first
publication of its kind. Complete with state and Canadian province road
maps, color photos and 3700 campground listings.
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Guide Book to Highway 66
(1946 reproduction)
Planning to get some RV kicks on Route
66? Learn about the highway as it was 50 years ago, and use it to trace
what remains of the road today.
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