{{short description|Highway in Mendocino County, California}} {{Use American English|date=March 2025}} {{Use mdy dates|date=January 2025}} {{Infobox road |state=CA |type=SR |route=253 |map_notes=Map of Mendocino County in northwestern California with SR&nbsp;253 highlighted in red |section=553 |maint=Caltrans |length_mi=17.180 |length_round=3 |length_ref=<ref name=trucklist/> |direction_a=West |terminus_a={{jct|state=CA|SR|128}} at Boonville |direction_b=East |terminus_b={{jct|state=CA|US|101}} in Ukiah |counties=Mendocino |previous_type=SR |previous_route=252 |next_type=SR |next_route=254 }} '''State Route 253''' ('''SR 253'''), also known as the '''Ukiah–Boonville Road''', is a state highway in the U.S. state of California that runs between the Anderson and Ukiah valleys in Mendocino County. It crosses the mountains of the Mendocino Range from State Route 128 near Boonville to U.S. Route 101 near Ukiah.

==Route description== The road begins in Boonville at an at-grade intersection with SR 128. The road heads eastward through a forested and mountainous area for approximately fifteen miles before entering the Russian River Basin, an area of numerous farms. The road ends with an interchange with U.S. Route 101 in southern Ukiah.<ref>{{bing maps|url=http://www.bing.com/maps/#JmNwPTM5LjA3OTUwMDg3ODQwMTc0fi0xMjMuMjg2OTc2NjI4MDA1NSZsdmw9MTImZGlyPTAmc3R5PXImcnRwPXBvcy4zOS4wMDc5NTUxMTkwMTM3ODZfLTEyMy4zNjYxMjM1ODY4OTMwOF9Cb29udmlsbGUlMkMlMjBDQV9fX2VffnBvcy4zOS4xNTA5MjQyMzU1ODIzNV8tMTIzLjIwNzgyOTY2OTExNzkzX1VraWFoJTJDJTIwQ0FfX19lXyZtb2RlPUQmcnRvcD0wfjB+MH4=|accessdate=2011-01-12|title=California State Route 253}}</ref>

SR 253 is not part of the National Highway System,<ref name=fhwa-nhs>{{FHWA NHS map|region=californianorth|accessdate=September 4, 2017}}</ref> a network of highways that are considered essential to the country's economy, defense, and mobility by the Federal Highway Administration.<ref name=NHS-FHWA>{{FHWA NHS}}</ref>

==History== This route, under the name of the Ukiah-Boonville Road, has been in use as a road since at least 1897, when it was the scene of the robbery of a stage coach carrying the payrolls for a coastal lumber mill.<ref>{{citation|title=History of Mendocino County, California, comprising its geography, geology, topography, climatography, springs and timber|first=Lyman L.|last=Palmer|publisher=Mendocino County Historical Society|year=1967|page=738}}.</ref> However, it was not until 1963 that it was added to the state highway system. It was given its present number in the 1964 state highway renumbering. {{Clear}}

==Major intersections== {{CAinttop|county=Mendocino|post_ref=<br><ref name=trucklist /><ref name=bridgelog>{{Caltrans bridgelog|date=July 2007}}</ref><ref name=traffic>California Department of Transportation, [http://traffic-counts.dot.ca.gov/2006all.htm All Traffic Volumes on CSHS] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110721033203/http://traffic-counts.dot.ca.gov/2006all.htm |date=July 21, 2011 }}, 2006</ref> }} {{CAint |location=Boonville |postmile=0.00 |road={{jct|state=CA|SR|128|city1=Boonville|city2=Cloverdale}} |notes=West end of SR 253 }} {{CAint |location=Ukiah |lspan=2 |postmile=17.18 |road={{jct|state=CA|US|101|city1=Santa Rosa|city2=Eureka}} |notes=Interchange; east end of SR 253; US 101 exit 546 }} {{CAint |postmile=17.18 |road=State Street – Ukiah |notes=Continuation beyond US 101 }} {{Jctbtm}}

==See also== *{{portal-inline|California Roads}}

==References== {{Reflist|30em}}

==External links== {{Attached KML|display=inline,title}} {{commons category}} {{CASR external links|SR|253}} *[http://www.cahighways.org/249-256.html#253 California Highways: Route 253] *[http://www.aaroads.com/california/ca-253.html California @ AARoads.com - State Route 253] *[http://www.richardkleinberg.com/california View South from Route 253 at Boonville]

253 State Route 253 Category:Ukiah, California