California State Route 49

State Route 49 (SR 49) is a north–south state highway in the U.S. state of California that passes through many historic mining communities of the 1849 California gold rush. Highway 49 is numbered after the "49ers", the waves of immigrants who swept into the area looking for gold, and it is known as the Golden Chain Highway. This roadway begins at Oakhurst, Madera County, in the Sierra Nevada, where it diverges from State Route 41. It continues in a generally northwest direction, weaving through the communities of Goldside and Ahwahnee, before crossing into Mariposa County. State Route 49 then continues northward through the counties of Tuolumne, Calaveras, Amador, El Dorado, Placer, Nevada, Yuba, Sierra, and Plumas, where it reaches its northern terminus at State Route 70, in Vinton.

"CA 49" redirects here. For the congressional district, see California's 49th congressional district.

State Route 49
Golden Chain Highway
SR 49 highlighted in red
Route information
Defined by Streets and Highways Code § 349
Maintained by Caltrans
Length295.065 mi[1] (474.861 km)
SR 49 has three route breaks, and the length given above does not include the SR 120, SR 20, and SR 89 overlap mileages.
Existed1934–present
Tourist
routes		 Yuba-Donner Scenic Byway
Major junctions
South end SR 41 at Oakhurst
 
North end SR 70 at Vinton
Location
CountiesMadera, Mariposa, Tuolumne, Calaveras, Amador, El Dorado, Placer, Nevada, Yuba, Sierra, Plumas
Highway system
← US 48→ US 50
State Route 49 crossing the American River North/Middle Fork, as seen from Foresthill Bridge (the SR-49 bridge is not visible)
The South Fork of the Yuba River as it intersects with Hwy 49

Route description

SR 49 starts at an intersection with SR 41 near Oakhurst. The road heads west before turning north before the town of Ahwahnee near the Wassama Roundhouse State Historic Park. SR 49 continues north, passing through Nipinnswassee before entering Mariposa County and the Sierra National Forest. Continuing to the west, SR 49 passes through Mormon Bar before running concurrently with SR 140 briefly through the town of Mariposa. Near the town of Mount Bullion, SR 49 passes by Mariposa-Yosemite Airport before turning northwest and going through Bear Valley and the intersection with CR J16. The highway passes by the southern edge of Lake McClure and intersects SR 132 in Coulterville before passing into Tuolumne County.[2]

SR 49 in Tuolumne County

SR 49 continues north through the town of Moccasin, where SR 120 runs concurrently for several miles to the town of Chinese Camp. SR 49 then turns northeast and runs concurrently with SR 108, intersecting CR E5, into the city of Sonora. SR 49 splits from SR 108 and enters downtown Sonora as Stockton Street, turning north onto Washington Street before leaving the Sonora city limits. SR 49 intersects the north end of CR E5 before passing through Tuttletown and crossing into Calaveras County at the bridge over the Stanislaus River.[2]

SR 49 passes by Robinson's Ferry, a ferry across the Stanislaus River established in 1848. Next is the Birthplace of Archie Stevenot, who helped found the California State Chamber of Commerce and was officially named "Mr. Mother Lode" by the California legislature. SR 49 then enters Carson Hill,[2] where the largest gold nugget in California (195 pounds troy) was found. Passing by New Melones Lake, SR 49 briefly runs concurrently with SR 4 in the city of Angels Camp,[2] which lies in one of the richest quartz mining sections of the Mother Lode and is home of "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County".

North end of Highway 49, at intersection with CA Hwy 70 in Vinton

SR 49 continues through Altaville, which was an important foundry town. Fourth Crossing was an important stagecoach and freighting depot that served the Southern Mines until after the turn of the 20th century. The highway continues into San Andreas, where SR 12 terminates.[2] This is where Charles Bolles, also known as "Black Bart", was tried and sentenced. Chili Gulch is the site of the Chilean War. SR 49 continues into Mokelumne Hill, where it intersects with SR 26;[2] Mokelumne Hill was the richest placer mining section of Calaveras County and one of the principal mining towns of California in its heyday.

SR 49 then passes through Big Bar, which is located on the county line between Amador County and Calaveras County. The Mokelumne River was mined at this point in 1848. Established in 1849, the "Whale Boat Ferry" operated until the first bridge was built, about 1852. The Butte Store is the only structure remaining of Butte City, prosperous mining town of the 1850s. Argonaut and Kennedy Mines were two of the highest-yielding gold mines in the state. SR 49 runs concurrently with SR 88 briefly through the town of Martell before intersecting the eastern terminus of SR 104 and passing near (a bypass around Sutter Creek and Amador City was constructed in 2009 [3])first the city of Sutter Creek and then Drytown.[2] Drytown is the oldest town in Amador County and the first in the county in which gold was discovered.

SR 49 then intersects the eastern end of SR 16 before passing through the city of Plymouth. The highway continues through Enterprise before crossing into El Dorado County and passing through the towns of Nashville, El Dorado, and Diamond Springs (the latter two as Pleasant Valley Road) before entering Placerville. SR 49 traverses downtown on Pacific Street and Main Street before continuing onto Spring Street, where it intersects the US 50 expressway at-grade before continuing north as Georgetown Road.[2]

As it leaves the Placerville city limits, SR 49 intersects the southern terminus of SR 193 before continuing northwest as Coloma Road into the town of Coloma,[2] where gold was first discovered in 1848, sparking the gold rush. It is home of the Marshall Gold Discovery State Historic Park. The highway continues through Lotus before turning north at Pilot Hill and intersecting the northern terminus of SR 193 at Cool. SR 49 continues through the Auburn State Recreation Area before crossing into Placer County and entering the city of Auburn as High Street for a very short distance before turning west on Elm Avenue. SR 49 continues onto I-80 west at an interchange for a very short distance until the interchange at exit 119B where SR 49 departs from I-80. SR 49 then continues almost due north out of the Auburn city limits.[2]

SR 49 continues north, crossing into Nevada County and passing through Higgins Corner and Forest Springs. SR 49 becomes a freeway and enters the city of Grass Valley, where it runs concurrently with SR 20 and interchanges with the northern end of SR 174.[2] Empire Mine in Grass Valley was the richest hard-rock mine in California in its mining history of 106 years (1850–1956). SR 49 and SR 20 continue into Nevada City, where SR 49 exits from the freeway and heads due west out of the Nevada City city limits.[2]

Hwy 49 (north) briefly joins Hwy 89 (south) in Sierra County, an example of a wrong way concurrency.

SR 49 continues through the towns of Sweetland and North San Juan, where it crosses into Yuba County and enters Tahoe National Forest. The route goes through Log Cabin and Camptonville.[2] Camptonville is a gold rush town where the Pelton wheel was invented and is a Historic Civil Engineering Landmark. SR 49 then crosses into Sierra County, where it passes through Goodyears Bar, Downieville, and Sierra City on its forest journey. After passing near Kentucky Mine Historic Park, SR 49 goes through Bassets and Haskell Creek, then shares a wrong-way concurrency with SR 89 briefly through Sattley and Sierraville. SR 49 then leaves the forest as Loyalton Road, passing through the city of Loyalton and intersecting CR A24 before crossing into Plumas County as Vinton Loyalton Road, where SR 49 ends at SR 70 in the town of Vinton.[2]

SR 49 is part of the California Freeway and Expressway System,[4] and from SR 140 to a point north of SR 88 as well as from I-80 to SR 20 is part of the National Highway System,[5] a network of highways that are considered essential to the country's economy, defense, and mobility by the Federal Highway Administration.[6] SR 49 is eligible to be included in the State Scenic Highway System,[7] and from the Sierra-Yuba county line to Yuba Summit is officially designated as a scenic highway by the California Department of Transportation.[8] The segment of SR 49 from SR 20 in Nevada City to SR 89 in Sierraville also forms part of the Yuba-Donner Scenic Byway, a National Forest Scenic Byway.[9]

SR 49 is known as the Golden Chain Highway for the entire route. SR 49 is known as the John C. Begovich Memorial Highway from Jackson to SR 88 (honoring the California legislator and U.S. Marshal), and the Mother Lode Highway from Sonora to Auburn.[10]

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 an overlap due to a correction or change, and T indicates postmiles classified as temporary (for a full list of prefixes, see the list of postmile definitions).[1] 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.

CountyLocationPostmile
[1][11][12]		Exit
[13]		DestinationsNotes
Madera
MAD 0.00-9.28		Oakhurst0.00 SR 41 – Yosemite, FresnoSouth end of SR 49
Mariposa
MPA 0.33-48.84		Mariposa18.50
21.22[N 1]		 SR 140 west – MercedSouth end of SR 140 overlap
22.00[N 1]
18.51		 SR 140 east / Jones Street – YosemiteNorth end of SR 140 overlap
Bear Valley29.45 CR J16 (Bear Valley Road) – Hornitos, Snelling
Coulterville44.67 SR 132 west – La Grange, Modesto
​ CR J132 east (Main Street) – Greeley Hill, Yosemite
Tuolumne
TUO 0.00-R27.52		MoccasinR6.47
R23.90[N 2]		 SR 120 east – YosemiteSouth end of SR 120 overlap
Chinese Camp15.52[N 2]
R8.78		 SR 120 west – OakdaleNorth end of SR 120 overlap
​R11.59 SR 108 west – ModestoSouth end of SR 108 overlap
Jamestown14.74 CR E5 (Rawhide Road) / Humbug Street
Sonora16.48 SR 108 east – PinecrestNorth end of SR 108 overlap; south end of SR 108 Bus. overlap
17.97Washington Street (SR 108 Bus. east) – Sonora Pass, Twain HarteFormer SR 108 east; north end of SR 108 Bus. overlap
​20.40 CR E18 (Parrots Ferry Road) – Columbia
​23.71 CR E5 (Rawhide Road) – Jamestown
Calaveras
CAL R0.00-30.87		Angels Camp7.21
SR 4 Bus. east (Vallecito Road) – Murphys, Arnold, Bear Valley, Markleeville		South end of SR 4 Bus. overlap; former SR 4 east
8.67 SR 4 – Murphys, Copperopolis, Farmington, StocktonNorth end of SR 4 Bus. overlap
San Andreas19.41 SR 49 hist. (Main Street)Former SR 49 north
R20.50 SR 12 west – Valley Springs, Stockton
​R22.21 SR 49 hist. (Gold Strike Road)Former SR 49 south
Mokelumne Hill27.61 SR 26 – Valley Springs, West Point
Amador
AMA 0.00-22.12		Jackson4.03 SR 88 east – Pine Grove, Lake TahoeSouth end of SR 88 overlap
Martell5.93 SR 88 west – StocktonNorth end of SR 88 overlap
Sutter Creek6.98 SR 104 (Ridge Road)Rt 49 bypass was constructed around Sutter creek in 2009.
Central House14.72 SR 16 west – Sacramento
Plymouth17.22 CR E16 (Shenandoah Road) / Main Street – Fiddletown, River Pines
El Dorado
ED 0.00-38.23		Diamond Springs11.24 Missouri Flat Road to US 50
Placerville14.77Main StreetFormer US 50
14.90 US 50 (El Dorado Freeway) – Lake Tahoe, Sacramento
15.69 SR 193 – Georgetown
Coloma22.87Cold Springs Road (SR 153) – Gold Hill
Cool34.47 SR 193 east – Greenwood, GeorgetownSouth end of SR 193 overlap
Placer
PLA 0.00-11.37		Auburn2.36Lincoln Way, Borland AvenueLincoln Highway; Lincoln Way was former US 40 east
​High Street, Elm Avenue eastLincoln Highway; High Street was former US 40 west / SR 49 north
​ I-80 / Elm Avenue west – RenoInterchange; south end of I-80 overlap; I-80 exit 119C
​South end of freeway on I-80
​North end of freeway on I-80
3.21 I-80 (SR 193 west) / Grass Valley Highway (to Lincoln Way) – SacramentoInterchange; north end of I-80 / SR 193 overlap; former SR 49 south; I-80 exit 119B
​6.38 Bell Road to I-80Serves Auburn Municipal Airport
Nevada
NEV 0.00-R32.64		Grass Valley​South end of freeway
R13.66McKnight Way, South Auburn Street
R14.48
R12.30[N 3]		 SR 20 west / Empire Street – MarysvilleSouth end of SR 20 overlap
R12.92[N 3]182A SR 174 – Colfax, Grass Valley
R13.61[N 3]182BIdaho Maryland Road, East Main Street – Grass Valley
R14.80[N 3]183Brunswick Road
Nevada CityR15.92[N 3]185AGold Flat Road, Ridge RoadSigned as exit 185 westbound
R16.74[N 3]185BSacramento Street – Nevada CityNorthbound exit and southbound entrance
R16.99[N 3]–
R17.24[N 3]		186Broad Street, Coyote Street – Nevada City
​North end of freeway
R17.40[N 3]
15.06		 SR 20 east / Uren Street – TruckeeNorth end of SR 20 overlap
Yuba
YUB R0.00-9.37		​3.59 CR E20 (Marysville Road) – Dobbins, Bullards Bar Reservoir
Sierra
SIE 0.00-64.05		​47.44
19.96[N 4]		 SR 89 north – Calpine, Graeagle, Blairsden, QuincySouth end of SR 89 overlap
Sattley​ CR A23 (Westside Road) – Beckwourth, Portola
Sierraville15.06[N 4]
47.45		 SR 89 south (Lincoln Street) – TruckeeNorth end of SR 89 overlap
Loyalton​ CR A24 (3rd Street)
Plumas
PLU 0.00-7.50		Vinton7.50 SR 70 – Beckwourth, Quincy, RenoNorth end of SR 49
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi
  1. Indicates that the postmile represents the distance along SR 140 rather than SR 49.
  2. Indicates that the postmile represents the distance along SR 120 rather than SR 49.
  3. Indicates that the postmile represents the distance along SR 20 rather than SR 49.
  4. Indicates that the postmile represents the distance along SR 89 rather than SR 49.

See also
  •  California Roads portal

References
  1. California Department of Transportation. "State Truck Route List". Sacramento: California Department of Transportation. Archived from the original (XLS file) on June 30, 2015. Retrieved June 30, 2015.
  2. California Road Atlas (Map). Thomas Brothers. 2008.
  3. https://www.mymotherlode.com/news/local/101892/amador-celebrates-new-bypass.html
  4. "Article 2 of Chapter 2 of Division 1". California Streets and Highways Code. Sacramento: California Office of Legislative Counsel. Retrieved February 6, 2019.
  5. Federal Highway Administration (March 25, 2015). National Highway System: California (North) (PDF) (Map). Scale not given. Washington, DC: Federal Highway Administration. Retrieved October 14, 2017.
  6. Natzke, Stefan; Neathery, Mike & Adderly, Kevin (June 20, 2012). "What is the National Highway System?". National Highway System. Washington, DC: Federal Highway Administration. Retrieved July 1, 2012.
  7. "Article 2.5 of Chapter 2 of Division 1". California Streets & Highways Code. Sacramento: California Office of Legislative Counsel. Retrieved February 6, 2019.
  8. California Department of Transportation (August 2019). "Officially Designated State Scenic Highways and Historic Parkways" (XLSX). Sacramento: California Department of Transportation. Retrieved October 14, 2017.
  9. Federal Highway Administration (n.d.). "Yuba-Donner Scenic Byway". America's Byways. Federal Highway Administration. Archived from the original on October 23, 2011. Retrieved October 23, 2011.
  10. California Department of Transportation; California State Transportation Agency (January 2015). 2014 Named Freeways, Highways, Structures and Other Appurtenances in California. Sacramento: California Department of Transportation. pp. 43, 44, 207. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 30, 2015. Retrieved May 30, 2015.
  11. California Department of Transportation (July 2007). "Log of Bridges on State Highways". Sacramento: California Department of Transportation.
  12. California Department of Transportation, All Traffic Volumes on CSHS, 2005 and 2006
  13. California Department of Transportation, California Numbered Exit Uniform System, State Route 20 Freeway Interchanges, Retrieved on 2009-02-05.

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