California State Route 36

Driving

by Plot Along: Pacific

California Route 36 runs roughly 140 miles across the northern Coast Ranges between US-101 near Fortuna and Red Bluff in the Sacramento Valley. The middle hundred of those miles are a near-continuous run of curves through some of the emptiest mountain country in the state. Driving enthusiasts routinely call it the best driving road in California: thousands of turns, almost no traffic, and stretches where you won't see another car for twenty minutes.

The road climbs from the redwood-edged coast through Bridgeville and Dinsmore, crawls over the long spine of South Fork Mountain, and drops through Platina and the oak foothills toward Red Bluff. There are no big towns and few services across the heart of it, just the road, the forest, and the curves.

Fully paved and open year-round, but remote. Fuel up at the ends, watch for log trucks and the odd patch of gravel in the curves, and don't count on cell service. Snow is possible on the high crossings in winter.

Learn more: en.wikipedia.org

Hydesville
The western gateway just off US-101 near Fortuna, where SR-36 leaves the redwood coast and heads inland. Last reliable services before the long mountain run.
Bridgeville
A tiny Van Duzen River community, famously sold whole on eBay in 2002, where the road starts to tighten into the foothill curves.
Dinsmore
A wide spot in the road on the climb toward the high country, with one of the few fuel stops across the middle of the route.
Forest Glen
A forest community near the crossing of South Fork Mountain, deep in the Trinity backcountry at the high, twisty heart of the drive.
Platina
A remote crossroads hamlet on the eastern descent, where the road comes off the mountains into the oak-and-grass foothills.
Red Bluff
The eastern terminus in the Sacramento Valley, where SR-36 comes off the mountains into Red Bluff near I-5. The route ends on Rio Street at the River Park edge, just off Main Street by the Sacramento River. The valley bookend to a coast-to-valley mountain crossing.

Hydesville

Bridgeville

Dinsmore

Forest Glen

Platina

Red Bluff