Blue Ridge Road (Tulare County Mountain Road 276)

Started by Max Rockatansky, October 16, 2024, 11:06:42 PM

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Max Rockatansky

I thought this road was interesting enough that it merited mentioning now rather than waiting for something to publish on the GN blog page.  Here is a summary I wrote on the GN Facebook page:


"Pictured is the eastward view into the Sierra Nevada range from the top of Tulare County Mountain Road 276 (Blue Ridge Road).  The terminus of this road is located at the 5,731 foot above sea level peak of Blue Ridge.
 
The road to Blue Ridge was constructed to service the 1930 era Blue Ridge Lookout Site which was jointly used by the U.S. Forest Service and California Department of Forestry & Fire Protection.  Originally access to the lookout site was provided by a road through Grouse Valley.   The lookout was removed in 2010 and Blue Ridge currently the site of a large radio transmitter facility. 

Blue Ridge Road begins at approximately 3,000 feet above sea level at Tulare County Route J37/Balch Park Road and is 8.5 miles long.  The first mile of the highway is a two-lanes but quickly gives way to a one-lane (but paved) grade through Sequoia National Forest.  Much of the final four miles west of Kramer Creek are very steep and winding."

The photo in question:

0 by Max Rockatansky, on Flickr

And the photo album I took:

https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjBMD69


I'm finding this corridor fascinating.  The original road ran west from Blue Ridge through Grouse Valley down to  Yokohl Valley Drive.  It can be seen pretty clear on the 1935 Division of Highways Map of Tulare County in T19S R29E along with a "Grouse Valley Airport."  I cannot for the life of me find what kind of air facility this was:

https://www.davidrumsey.com/luna/servlet/detail/RUMSEY~8~1~247377~5515399:Tulare-County-?sort=Pub_List_No_InitialSort%2CPub_Date%2CPub_List_No%2CSeries_No&qvq=q:tulare%20county%201935;sort:Pub_List_No_InitialSort%2CPub_Date%2CPub_List_No%2CSeries_No;lc:RUMSEY~8~1&mi=0&trs=1

It would seem that the facility on Blue Ridge was modernized by 1952.  I can see modern Blue Ridge Road first appearing the 1958 USGS map of the area.  I'm unclear on the history of the microwave facility and radio transmitters that are still present at the site:

https://californialookouts.weebly.com/blue-ridge1.html




pderocco

There are a fair number of homes all the way up that road, which is atypical for transmitter site service roads.

It looks like the road continues as dirt, with a couple of paths down to CA-198, but it's probably someone's private ranch road.

Max Rockatansky

I've traced to where it once met Yokohl Valley Drive.  The ending segment is behind a fence and almost entirely overgrown.  Grouse Valley itself is something I can't find much information on. The Forest Service has cabins to rent there now. 

Much of Blue Ridge Roads had homes just outside the Forest Service boundary but also a couple in it.  Similarly Balch Park Road had cabins and homes lining the roadway in Forest Service owned lands.



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