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John Cletheroe's
USA and Canada Holiday Hints |
The original El Camino Real ran from the Mexican border at San Diego to San Francisco (or possibly slightly further north to Sonoma). Parts of present-day I-280, Ca 82, US101, I-5 and Ca 72 follow the same route. One map marks US101, or roads adjacent to it, as El Camino Real between Prunedale (north of Salinas) and just north of San Luis Obispo.
California State Highway 82 between southern San Jose and the southern outskirts of San Francisco is also known as El Camino Real.
This section of El Camino Real/California State Highway 82 forms a varied, interesting and pleasant alternative to US101 and I-280 between San Jose and San Francisco. However, it is very, very much slower than the freeways and should only be taken if you have plenty of time available.
The road passes through the centre of San Jose and in the downtown area it involves a number of turns. The signposting here is generally good but we did slip up once near the San Jose Arena and had to double back to find the road again. We found the centre of the San Jose quite pleasant and traffic levels surprisingly light.
Once north of San Jose the road passes through a number of typical American affluent suburb-like towns in Silicon Valley. There are numerous road junctions and traffic lights along the way but few turns required, so the route is much easier to follow here.
North of San Mateo there is one poorly signposted Y-junction where we luckily chose the correct (left) fork by chance. We then shortly took the right turn to San Francisco International Airport's Rental Car Centre but El Camino Real continues to the southern outskirts of San Francisco itself.
The journey from south of San Jose to the airport took between two and three hours.
There is another El Camino Real historic trail in Colorado and New Mexico.
Conventional Road Alternatives To Interstates And Freeways
Historic and Named Roads and Trails
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Most recently modified 26-Jun-02