Yokohl Valley Drive and the Lone Pine-Porterville High Sierra Road

[Max Rockatansky]

Yokohl Valley Drive is an approximately 23-mile-long rural highway located in the Sierra Nevada range of Tulare County.  The corridor originated in the 1860s as an overland trail to the gold strikes of the Coso Mountains near Owens Valley.  Yokohl Valley Drive begins at Balch Park Road (County Route J37) near Milo and extends northwest to California State Route 198. 

Yokohl Valley Drive was the northern Visalia Branch of the so-called Lone Pine-Porterville High Sierra Road.  The initial survey for the route of the High Sierra Road was conducted in 1923 and was to be funded by Tulare County, Kern County, and Inyo County.  Road building input was provided to the aforementioned counties by the California Division of Highways in addition to the Automobile Club of Southern California.  Monetary assistance was provided by the City of Los Angeles which fronted $170,000 to build part of the road eastward from Mulky Pass towards Lone Pine.  Much of the route of the Lone Pine to High Sierra Road was built from Lone Pine westward towards Carroll Creek but never to Mulky Pass (only Horseshoe Meadows).  This section would be adopted by the California Division of Highways in 1933 as part of Legislative Route Number 127 which became California State Route 190 in 1934.

Along the western Sierra Nevade the High Sierra Road would originally be constructed as the highway to Balch Park (now Balch Park Road).  This road annexed Yokohl Valley Drive as a branch to Visalia.  Ultimately the Balch Park corridor was found to be wanting, and the High Sierra Road corridor would shift south to the Middle Fork Tule River.  The Middle Fork segment would also become part of Legislative Route Number 127 and California State Route 190.

https://www.gribblenation.org/2025/03/yokohl-valley-drive-and-lone-pine.html?m=1

[Voyager]

Out of all the possible alignments, it's wild this one almost was built (from Horseshoe Meadows to Mulky Pass seems easy), but then again I suppose North Lake Road by Aspendell was almost built all the way up to Piute Pass, but that one seems like it had way less traction.

[Max Rockatansky]

Out of all the possible alignments, it's wild this one almost was built (from Horseshoe Meadows to Mulky Pass seems easy), but then again I suppose North Lake Road by Aspendell was almost built all the way up to Piute Pass, but that one seems like it had way less traction.

You can even see Mulky Pass from Horseshoe Meadows.  The bigger obstruction west of there would be the Kern River Fault.  Given Sherman Pass Road, Mountain Road 99 and Mountain Road 107 functionally connect both ends of CA 190 what was planned for the Lone Pine-Porterville Highway was certainly possible.