Driving CA-4 End-to-End

[ZLoth]

Anyone drive CA-4 from Hercules to where it meets up with CA-89? From Google Maps, the Sierra portion looks challenging and is closed at the moment, but maybe next summer.....

[oscar]

I drove CA 4 last October from CA 99 to its east end at CA 89.  Not much more "challenging" than the other trans-Sierras crossings.  I've done all the others, so the CA 4 trip was just for a change of pace. 

According to Caltrans' historical chart of mountain pass closures, Ebbetts Pass on CA 4 tends to be among the first to close in the winter (closed 12/9 this winter), and among the last to reopen in the spring.  It's not too far south of Carson Pass (CA 88), which Caltrans tries to keep open year-round but is subject to occasional winter storm closures.

[gonealookin]

CA-4 east of Bear Valley is narrow and winding, but for a "challenging" Sierra crossing go one pass south to CA-108 over 9600' Sonora Pass.  If you like the smell of overheated brakes, the stretch of CA-108 from Kennedy Meadows over to the Marines' Mountain Warfare Center will be right up your alley.

Both Ebbets Pass and Sonora Pass typically open sometime in May, and even in a very snowy year Caltrans makes every effort to have both of them opened by Friday of Memorial Day weekend.

[kkt]

Good old Sonora Pass.  Low gears are your friend.

[sdmichael]

I rode Sonora Pass on my motorcycle last Labor Day. I did enjoy the "26% Grade" sign on a State highway. Rather amusing for all the four lane expressway sections leading to it. State 4 is a lot less traveled and is one lane over a long stretch. Certainly quite a divergence from the freeway on the other end, the delta highway in the middle, and the farm road before the mountains.

[gonealookin]

To add a few more highlights and lowlights specific to CA-4:

1.  A few miles east of I-80, the detour up McEwen Road to the isolated old fishing village of Port Costa on the Carquinez Strait is most worthwhile.  I don't think Port Costa has changed much in 100 years despite its proximity to the Bay Area.  Adult refreshments available at the bar and hotel at the end of the only street in town, down by the railroad tracks.

2.  Martinez to Antioch:  a drab, grimy stretch of industrial suburbs.  Suburban sprawl continues out to Brentwood.

3.  Brentwood to Copperopolis:  Flat agricultural land, interrupted by Stockton which is mostly known for being an epicenter of the housing collapse and for its municipal bankruptcy.  Some of the levee roads and bridges in the Delta west of Stockton may be of interest.

4.  East of Copperopolis:  The scenery improves greatly as you wind through the Sierra foothills, into historic Angels Camp and then on up through the summer homes communities into the Sierra.  Past Lake Alpine the road becomes quite narrow and the scenery opens to the High Sierra.  Just before reaching Ebbets Pass, a detour down a rough but driveable USFS road takes you to Highland Lakes for some nice short hikes.

5.  Once you reach CA-89, even if you plan on going over Monitor Pass down to US-395, head north on 89 to the tiny Alpine County seat, Markleeville.  Yes, that really is all there is to the town (post office, couple of county buildings, a general store and a saloon pretty much sums it up).  You can head west on the county road leading out of "town" to Grover Hot Springs state park for a nice soak in a gorgeous valley. 

[ZLoth]

YouTube Videos:

CA 4 East, Exit 15 In Concord To Exit 23 In Pittsburg
Ebbetts Pass National Scenic Byway - Part 1 Part 2 Part 3