{{short description|Highway in California}} {{Use American English|date=March 2025}} {{Use mdy dates|date=January 2025}} {{Infobox road |state=CA |type=SR |route=9 |section=309 |maint=[[California Department of Transportation|Caltrans]] |map_notes=SR 9 highlighted in red |length_mi=38.497 |length_round=3 |length_ref=<ref name=trucklist/> |established=1934<ref name="cah 9">{{cite web|url=http://www.cahighways.org/009-016.html#009 |title=California Highways: State Route 9 |publisher=Cahighways.org |access-date=2011-11-28}}{{self-published inline|certain=y|date=April 2019}}</ref> |tourist=[[File:California Scenic State.svg|20px|alt=|link=]] Saratoga–Los Gatos Road<ref>{{Caltrans scenic|accessdate=March 27, 2019}}</ref> |direction_a=South |terminus_a={{jct|state=CA|SR|1}} in [[Santa Cruz, California|Santa Cruz]] |junction={{plainlist |*{{jct|state=CA|SR|236}} at [[Boulder Creek, California|Boulder Creek]] *{{jct|state=CA|SR|35}} at [[Saratoga Gap]] }} |direction_b=North |terminus_b={{jct|state=CA|SR|17|CR|G10}} in [[Los Gatos, California|Los Gatos]] |counties=[[Santa Cruz County, California|Santa Cruz]], [[San Mateo County, California|San Mateo]],<ref>[https://postmile.dot.ca.gov/PMQT/PostmileQueryTool.html Postmile Services (37.249172 -122.157190)]. [[California Department of Transportation]]</ref> [[Santa Clara County, California|Santa Clara]] |previous_type=I |previous_route=8 |next_type=I |next_route=10 }} [[Image:IMG 8321.JPG|250px|thumb|California State Route 9]] '''State Route 9''' ('''SR 9''') is a rural and mountainous [[state highway]] in the U.S. state of [[California]] that travels {{convert|35|mi|km}} from [[California State Route 1|SR 1]] in [[Santa Cruz, California|Santa Cruz]] to [[California State Route 17|SR 17]] in [[Los Gatos, California|Los Gatos]], passing through the [[San Lorenzo Valley]] and the [[Saratoga Gap]] in the [[Santa Cruz Mountains]].
==Route description== SR 9 begins in the city of [[Santa Cruz, California|Santa Cruz]] where River Street intersects with SR 1. It heads north, paralleling the [[San Lorenzo River]].<ref name="tg">{{Cite map | publisher=Thomas Brothers | title=California Road Atlas and Driver's Guide | year=2000 | page=169, P, N}}</ref> The road is a winding two-lane road for the majority of its length until it approaches Fruitvale Avenue in [[Saratoga, California|Saratoga]]. SR 9 winds through the mountains north of Santa Cruz, passing through the communities of [[Paradise Park, California|Paradise Park]], [[Felton, California|Felton]], [[Ben Lomond, California|Ben Lomond]], [[Brookdale, California|Brookdale]], and [[Boulder Creek, California|Boulder Creek]], where [[State Route 236 (California)|State Route 236]] departs from SR 9 to provide access to [[Big Basin Redwoods State Park]]. SR 236 later rejoins SR 9 near [[Castle Rock State Park (California)|Castle Rock State Park]].
At the summit of the Santa Cruz mountains (the junction with [[California State Route 35|SR 35]] and after a steep climb), there is a vista point offering a (somewhat obstructed) view of the Bay Area. The vista point is the route's highest point at around {{convert|2,608|ft|m}}.<ref>USGS benchmark, quad located at http://www.topozone.com/map.asp?lon=-122.1207961&lat=37.2582767&datum=nad83</ref>{{Citation needed|date=December 2007}} At this junction, SR 9 passes into [[Santa Clara County, California|Santa Clara County]].<ref name="tg" />
SR 9 descends from the mountains heading east into [[Saratoga, California|Saratoga]] as Congress Springs Road.<ref name="tg" /> In Saratoga, SR 9 turns southeast and becomes ''Saratoga-Los Gatos Road''.<ref name="tg" /> At Fruitvale Avenue in Saratoga, SR 9 briefly becomes a four-lane highway with a large center divider. However, as the road enters [[Monte Sereno, California|Monte Sereno]], it again becomes a two-lane road. This particular narrowing has caused backups in the past; however, they have become more infrequent since the completion of [[California State Route 85|SR 85]]. SR 9 resumes being a four-lane road through downtown Los Gatos until its terminus at the junction with [[California State Route 17|SR 17]] (a distance of about four city blocks).
=== Usage === The highway is particularly popular for recreational motorcycling. In summer months the short section between SR 35, Skyline Boulevard and SR 236, Big Basin Road becomes a popular destination for a variety of motorcycle types, and impromptu gatherings of riders in the parking lot at intersection of SR 35 and SR 9.
SR 9 is also popular with bicyclists. The {{convert|7|mi|km|adj=on|spell=in}} section from Saratoga Village to the Saratoga Gap is notable for the number of bicycles climbing the hill on weekend mornings. Since 1978, the highway between downtown Saratoga and downtown Los Gatos is the route for the popular "Great Race", when over 1,000 participants run between the two towns near the end of April.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://losgatosrotary.org/stories/the-great-race |title = Rotary Club of Los Gatos Great Race {{!}} Rotary Club of Los Gatos}}</ref>
=== Classification === A small portion of SR 9 towards the northern terminus is part of the [[National Highway System (United States)|National Highway System]],<ref name="fhwa-nhs">{{FHWA NHS map|region=santacruz|accessdate=October 20, 2017}}<br />{{FHWA NHS map|region=sanjose|accessdate=October 20, 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> SR 9 is eligible to be included in the [[State Scenic Highway System (California)|State Scenic Highway System]],<ref name="scenic">{{CA scenic}}</ref> and, between the [[Los Gatos, California|Los Gatos]] town limit and the intersection with [[California State Route 35|SR 35]], is officially a [[scenic highway]],<ref name="caltransscenic">{{Caltrans scenic|accessdate=October 20, 2017}}</ref> meaning that it is a substantial section of highway passing through a "memorable landscape" with no "visual intrusions", where the potential designation has gained popular favor with the community.<ref>{{Caltrans scenic info}}</ref>
==History== [[File:2025-08-10 10 19 47 View north along California State Route 9 (Central Avenue) just north of Lomond Street in Boulder Creek, Santa Cruz County, California.jpg|thumb|Northbound CA 9 through [[Boulder Creek, California|Boulder Creek]]]] SR 9 was created from several previously constructed roads. One of these was a toll road built in 1848 by [[Martin McCarty]], from near the Santa Cruz Mountains summit to Saratoga. The section from Santa Cruz to Felton also operated as a toll road, from its construction in 1860 to 1872. The Toll House, built in 1867, remains next to the highway.<ref>{{cite book |last= Clark |first= Donald Thomas |date= 2008 |title= Santa Cruz County Place Names |url= https://search.worldcat.org/title/277250705|location= Scotts Valley, California |publisher= Kestrel Press |page= 353 |isbn= 1-880478-02-1 |access-date= August 16, 2025}}</ref>
In 1913, the road from [[Saratoga Gap, California|Saratoga Gap]] southwest to [[Big Basin Redwoods State Park]] via the present SR 9 and [[California State Route 236|SR 236]] was added to the state highway system;<ref>{{cite CAstat|year=1913|ch=398|p=855}}</ref> it became [[Legislative Route 42 (California pre-1964)|Route 42]] (an unsigned designation) in 1917.<ref>Ben Blow, California Highways: A Descriptive Record of Road Development by the State and by Such Counties as Have Paved Highways, 1920 ([https://archive.org/details/californiahighwa00blowrich Archive.org] or [https://archive.org/details/californiahighw00blowgoog Internet Archive]), p. 114</ref> Although this highway connected to [[Legislative Route 44 (California pre-1964)|Route 44]], the remainder of present SR 236, the only connection to the continuous state highway system was with the [[Skyline Boulevard]] ([[Legislative Route 55 (California pre-1964)|Route 55]], now [[California State Route 35|SR 35]]) at Saratoga Gap. This changed in 1933, when Route 42 was extended east from the gap to [[Legislative Route 5 (California pre-1964)|Route 5]] ([[California State Route 17|SR 17]]) in [[Los Gatos, California|Los Gatos]], and a new '''Route 116''' was created, running south from Route 42 at [[Waterman Gap, California|Waterman Gap]] (about halfway between Saratoga Gap and the park) to [[Santa Cruz, California|Santa Cruz]], intersecting the end of Route 44 at [[Boulder Creek, California|Boulder Creek]].<ref>{{cite CAstat|year=1933|ch=767|p=2037}}: "State Highway Route 55 near Saratoga Gap to State Highway Route 5 near Los Gatos." "Santa Cruz to State Highway Route 42 near Waterman Gap."</ref><ref>{{cite CAstat|year=1935|ch=29|p=278, 283}}: "Route 42 is from Route 5 near Los Gatos to Governor's Camp in California Redwood Park via Saratoga Gap and along the ridge between the San Lorenzo and Pescadero creeks." "Route 116 is from Santa Cruz to Route 42 near Waterman Gap."</ref>
'''Sign Route 9''' was marked in 1934; however, it did not entirely follow the present SR 9. Initially it connected Santa Cruz with [[Milpitas, California|Milpitas]], following Routes 116 and 42 to [[Saratoga, California|Saratoga]], [[Legislative Route 114 (California pre-1964)|Route 114]] (Saratoga Sunnyvale Road and Mathilda Avenue) north through [[Sunnyvale, California|Sunnyvale]], and [[Legislative Route 113 (California pre-1964)|Route 113]] ([[California State Route 237|SR 237]]) east to [[Legislative Route 5 (California pre-1964)|Route 5]] (Main Street, then [[U.S. Route 101E (Oakland, California)|U.S. Route 101E]] and [[California State Route 13 (1934)|Sign Route 13]]) in Milpitas.<ref>{{cite journal |first = T.H. |last = Dennis |date = August 1934 |url = https://archive.org/details/californiahighwa193436calirich/page/n275/mode/2up/ |title = State Routes Will Be Numbered and Marked with Distinctive Bear Signs |journal = [[California Highways and Public Works]] |volume = 11 |issue = 8 |pages = 20–21, 32 |issn = 0008-1159 |via = [[Archive.org]] }}</ref> When the [[San Jose, California|San Jose]]-[[Oakland, California|Oakland]] US 101E designation was dropped in the mid-1930s,{{Citation needed|date=December 2007}} Route 5 between [[Mission San Jose, Fremont, California|Mission San Jose]] (where the new [[California State Route 21|SR 21]] turned northeast) and [[Hayward, California|Hayward]] did not retain a signed designation.<ref>[[H.M. Gousha Company]], [http://members.cox.net/mkpl5/hist2/sfbay-1941.jpg San Francisco and Vicinity] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080625112327/http://members.cox.net/mkpl5/hist2/sfbay-1941.jpg |date=2008-06-25 }}, 1941</ref> Later SR 9 was extended north along [[California State Route 17|SR 17]] (which had replaced SR 13) from Milpitas to [[Warm Springs, California|Warm Springs]], SR 21 to Mission San Jose, and the independent section of former US 101E—all part of Route 5—to [[U.S. Route 50 in California|US 50]] (also Route 5, which included a branch to Oakland) near Hayward.<ref>[[H.M. Gousha Company]], [http://www.davidrumsey.com/luna/servlet/detail/RUMSEY~8~1~25834~1020097?id=1-1-25834-1020097&name=San+Francisco+and+vicinity. San Francisco Street and Vicinity Maps], [[Standard Oil Company of California]], 1953</ref> Except for a short realignment in the mid-1950s onto [[Legislative Route 69 (California pre-1964)|Route 69]] (now [[Interstate 880 (California)|I-880]] and [[California State Route 262|SR 262]]) between Milpitas and Warm Springs,<ref>[[H.M. Gousha Company]], [http://members.cox.net/mkpl2/hist/map-ca1955-sf.jpg Enlarged Map of the San Francisco District] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071231012444/http://members.cox.net/mkpl2/hist/map-ca1955-sf.jpg |date=2007-12-31 }}, 1955</ref> this alignment remained until the [[1964 renumbering (California)|1964 renumbering]].<ref>[[Department of Public Works (California)|Department of Public Works]], [http://www.cahighways.org/maps/1963sfbay.jpg San Francisco Bay Area], 1963</ref>
In 1964, SR 9 was moved to its present alignment, taking over the previously unsigned Route 42 from Saratoga to Los Gatos. The route that had been signed as SR 9 became [[California State Route 85|SR 85]] through Sunnyvale, [[California State Route 237|SR 237]] to Milpitas (including previously unsigned extensions of Route 113 at each end), part of [[California State Route 17|SR 17]] through Warm Springs, [[California State Route 262|SR 262]] through Warm Springs, part of [[Interstate 680 (California)|I-680]] to Mission San Jose, and [[California State Route 238|SR 238]] from Mission San Jose to Hayward (SR 21 was already renumbered I-680 by then).<ref>{{cite CAstat|year=1963|ch=385|p=1172, 1178, 1187}}</ref> SR 85's original designation was deleted in 1994 and has since moved to a [[freeway]] and SR 17 in Warm Springs was renumbered I-880 a decade prior. However, the SR 237 freeway was built in the same location, and both SR 238 and most of SR 262 remain as surface roads.
==Major intersections== {{CAinttop|post_ref=<br><ref name=trucklist /><ref name=bridgelog>{{Caltrans bridgelog|date=July 2007}}</ref><ref>[[California Department of Transportation]], [http://traffic-counts.dot.ca.gov/ All Traffic Volumes on CSHS], 2005 and 2006</ref> }} {{CAint |county=Santa Cruz |cspan=6 |county_note=SCR 0.46-27.09 |location=Santa Cruz |lspan=2 |postmile=0.05 |pmspan=2 |road=River Street |notes=Continuation beyond SR 1 }} {{CAint |mile=none |road={{Jct|state=CA|SR|1|city1=Half Moon Bay|city2=Watsonville}} |notes=South end of SR 9 }} {{CAint |location=Felton |postmile=6.46 |road=Graham Hill Road, Felton Empire Road – [[Mount Hermon, California|Mount Hermon]], [[Los Gatos, California|Los Gatos]], [[Bonny Doon, California|Bonny Doon]] |notes= }} {{CAint |location=Boulder Creek |postmile=13.04 |road={{Jct|state=CA|SR|236|dir1=north|name1=Big Basin Way|city1=Big Basin}} |notes= }} {{Jctint |location_special=[[Waterman Gap]] |postmile=20.83 |road={{Jct|state=CA|SR|236|dir1=south|city1=Big Basin}} |notes= }} {{Jctint |location_special=[[Saratoga Gap]] |postmile=27.09 |road={{Jct|state=CA|SR|35|name1=Skyline Boulevard|city1=San Francisco}} |notes= }} {{CAint |county=Santa Clara |cspan=4 |county_note=SCL 0.00-11.45 |location=Saratoga |postmile=7.40 |road={{Jct|state=CA|road|Saratoga-Sunnyvale Road, Saratoga Avenue|SR|85|to2=1}} |notes=Saratoga-Sunnyvale Road is former [[California State Route 85|SR 85]] north }} {{CAint |location=Los Gatos |lspan=3 |postmile=11.06 |road=Santa Cruz Avenue |notes=Former [[California State Route 17|SR 17]] }} {{CAint |postmile=11.45 |pmspan=2 |road={{Jct|state=CA|SR|17|city1=San Jose|city2=Santa Cruz}} |notes=Interchange; north end of SR 9; SR 17 exits 20A-B }} {{CAint |mile=none |road={{Jct|state=CA|CR|G10|county1=Santa Clara|name1=Los Gatos-Saratoga Road}} |notes=Continuation beyond SR 17 }} {{Jctbtm}}
==See also== * {{portal-inline|California Roads}} * {{portal-inline|Monterey Bay Area}} * {{portal-inline|San Francisco Bay Area}}
==References== {{Reflist|30em}}
==External links== {{Attached KML|display=inline,title}} {{commons category}} {{CASR external links|SR|9}} *[http://www.aaroads.com/california/ca-009.html California @ AARoads.com – State Route 9] *[http://www.cahighways.org/009-016.html#009 California Highways: Route 9]
[[Category:State highways in California|009]] [[Category:Roads in Santa Cruz County, California|State Route 009]] [[Category:Roads in San Mateo County, California|State Route 009]] [[Category:Roads in Santa Clara County, California|State Route 009]] [[Category:State Scenic Highway System (California)|009]] [[Category:Santa Cruz, California]] [[Category:Saratoga, California]] [[Category:Los Gatos, California]]