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305. Route 5 is from the international boundary near Tijuana to the
Oregon state line via National City, San Diego, Los Angeles, the
westerly side of the San Joaquin Valley, Sacramento, and Yreka; also
passing near Santa Ana, Glendale, Woodland, and Red Bluff.
Entire route. [CS&HC Sec. 253.1]
Entire route.
From San Diego County to Route 405, it's called the "San Diego Freeway". From Route 405 to
Route 101, it's called the "Santa Ana Freeway". From Route 101 to Route 99 (the southern end), it's
called the "Golden State Freeway". From Route 99 to Sacramento, it's called the "Westside Freeway"
(once again, no gang comments please).
There's no particular name for the route past Sacramento.
From Route 1 to Route 57.
Signed as an Interstate highway.
Route 5 from:
(a) The international boundary near Tijuana to Route 75 near the
south end of San Diego Bay.
(b) San Diego opposite Coronado to Route 74 near San Juan
Capistrano.
(c) Route 210 near Tunnel Station to Route 126 near Castaic.
(d) Route 152 west of Los Banos to Route 580 near Vernalis.
(e) Route 44 near Redding to the Shasta Reservoir.
(f) Route 89 near Mt. Shasta to Route 97 near Weed.
(g) Route 3 near Yreka to the Oregon state line near Hilts. [CS&HC Sec. 263.3]
Border Field State Historic Park is located in the southwest corner of the United
States, with Mexico and the Pacific Ocean as its southern and western boundaries. A
monument made of Italian marble stands to mark the original survey site for the creation
of a border. The park includes nearly two miles of ocean beach for swimming or sunning,
horseback riding (rentals nearby), hiking, fishing, clamming, and bird watching. Nearby
is the Tijuana River Estuary, and important wildlife habitat that is one of the last
remaining of its type in Southern California. Over 170 species of birds can be spotted
here, while fishing for perch, corbina, and halibut is good in both the surf and marsh.
For more information, call (619)575-3613.
Chula Vista Nature Interpretive Center, on E Street, contains information on the
history of the California wetlands.
San Diego is a fascinating place to visit. There, you can visit the Maritime
Museum for the Star of India, which I believe is a clipper, the Gaslamp Quarter, full of
shops, clubs, and theatres, Balboa Park on Pershing Drive, and the San Diego Zoo, just
to name a few. Hotels in the downtown area include the Embassy Suites, Hyatt Regency,
the San Diego Marriott, the Horton Grand Hotel, and the Ramada Inn and Suites, formerly
Hotel St. James. For more information on San Diego lodging, visit the San Diego Hotels
page.
If you wish to take the train to San Diego, take a ride on the Amtrak San Diegan.
Otherwise, the San Diego International Airport is off of Route 5 at Washington Street.
If you want information on how to get around San Diego, visit the San Diego MTS page.
The Quail Botanical Gardens are in Encinitas. Exit on Encinitas Blvd and then
eastward. It looks very nice from what I've seen in photographs, so come and look.
Does the San Onofre Nuclear Power Plant count as a legitimate point of interest?
If you think not, then you can visit nearby San Onofre State Beach, right off Route 5 on
Basilone Road. It consists of three beaches: The main beach, which has been left
undeveloped, San Onofre Surf Beach, popular for surfing, and Trestles Beach, which has no
vehicle access and includes a riparian area, where you can observe plant life and
migratory birds. It also includes an inlet area of bluffs and scenery slated for future
development with campsites and day-use areas. For more information, call the Orange Coast
District at (714)848-1556.
Here's a link to San Juan Capistrano's web page. It's the city that has the mission
with the frequenting sparrows.
You can find a variety of amusement parks for you and your family right on Route 5.
For example, In Anaheim, on the Katella Ave and Harbor Blvd exits, is the supposedly
"Happiest Place on Earth," Disneyland. Knott's Berry Farm is right on Route 39, Beach
Blvd, in Buena Park and then southward. Six Flags Magic Mountain is located at the
Magic Mountain Parkway exit in Valencia, that is, Santa Clarita. The Hilton Garden Inn
is located on the same exit. Route 126 east is at the exit as well. The park and hotel are
located at the west side of the freeway. If you wish, you may also visit Six Flags
Hurricane Harbor, a seasonal water park. On March 21, 1999, Legoland California opened
in Carlsbad. For big boys like me, it's somewhat of a disappointment since it features no
thrill rides. Finally, there's Wild Rivers Water Park in Irvine. To get there, you must
either take Route 405 north or Route 133 south in Irvine and then get off on Irvine Center
Drive and head southward.
As you go through Angeles National Forest, you'll be able to spot several state
parks and recreation areas. The first one will be Castaic Lake State Recreation Area.
Some of the activities you can do there include swimming, boating, and picnicking.
Castaic is a very popular escape from Los Angeles, especially during long weekends
such as Memorial Day. The next park is the Hungry Valley State Vehicular Recreation
Area. Set in the rolling hills of northern Los Angeles and Ventura Counties, Hungry
Valley offers a variety of terrains for all levels of motorcycling. There are trails
for both motorcycles and Four-Wheel Drive vehicles, and use of the trails is unrestricted.
Some undeveloped campsites are also available. For more information, call (805)248-6447.
The last park is Fort Tejon State Historic Park. Ignacio del Valle, owner of the
original Mexican land on which the fort stands, called his land Tejon, which
in Spanish means badger. Construction of the fort began in 1854, and for a small
post, it was very busy. In 1857, camels were imported for the transport of supplies
to small posts such as Fort Tejon. Today, the fort has been restored, and picnic
tables and a museum have been added for the visitor's enjoyment. Summer programs are
also available. All of these parks are right off Route 5.
You can visit Stockton if you like to.
Woodson Bridge State Recreation Area is located on the South Ave exit
between Tehama and Chico and then eastward. The park offers boating and
salmon fishing all year long. Campsites with tables, drinking water, restrooms,
and hot showers, are also prominent in the park. For more information, call
(530)839-2112.
Castle Crag State Park is located in the forested mountains north of the Sacramento
Valley about twenty-five miles north of Lake Shasta on Route 5. The most popular
activities here are swimming and fishing in the park's two miles along the cool,
quick-running Sacramento River, and hiking in the park or the surrounding backcountry.
This park is especially popular for its geological formations such as the Grey
Rocks, a sideway-thrusted slab of metamorphic rock, as well as the glacier-like
crags for which the park is named. You can also see Mount Shasta from here.
There are 64 family campsites, each with a table, stove, and storage locker.
Many of the sites are large enough to accomodate trailers up to 27 feet long,
though there are no hookups. The park can be easily accessed from Route 5.
For more information, call (530)235-2684.
There's an immigration checkpoint near San Clemente. The thing is that they will only question the
old and rusty cars and trucks that come into the checkpoint, as these cars may be carrying immigrants from
Mexico and the so-called "coyotes" that bring them here don't risk losing newer and more expensive cars.
Ironically, the newer and more expensive vehicles are the ones that easily make it through the checkpoint.
Where Routes 5, 22, and 57 meet in Santa Ana is called the Orange Crush. Certain lanes take
you to certain routes, certain streets, certain carpool lanes that take you to freeways other than
these three, and certain truck routes (just kidding!)
From Route 710 to Route 101, the State had the decency to put exit numbers on the exits.
This is the only time such rare phenomenon occurs on Route 5 out of its entirety.
And here's the stuff architects in other states can only dream about. Where Routes 5, 10, 60,
and 101 meet in Los Angeles is called the East L.A. Interchange. If you are caught in traffic here, take the time to visually explore the interchange
and the complexity of it.
In 1997, a certain trucking association deemed the interchange of Routes 5 and 134 as one of the
most dangerous interchanges for truckers last year. This is because when you go from northbound
Route 5 to westbound Route 134, you immediately jump from the right lanes of one freeway to the
left lanes of another. Also, in recent months, there has been a movement to add connectors from
eastbound Route 134 to northbound Route 5 and from southbound Route 5 to westbound Route 134. The
connectors were left out because at the time the freeway was being built, the Department of Highways
predicted that there wouldn't be as many vehicles commuting between Burbank and the lower San
Fernando Valley, and so felt that such connectors wouldn't be necessary. Today, these engineers
have admittedly erred, but fixing the problem, with Caltrans' high standards of freeway building,
will be time-consuming and very costly. Adding the connectors, it has been estimated, would cost
Caltrans some $80 million!
Rest areas never seem to be convenient on Route 5... that is until you get to one. Then
you start blessing the guys at Caltrans in your mind, largely because you wanted to go potty fast.
And doing it next to the road can be humiliating! Rest areas are located: