El Camino Viejo a Los Ángeles ( en, the Old Road to Los Angeles), also known as El Camino Viejo and the Old Los Angeles Trail, was the oldest north-south trail in the interior of Spanish colonial

Las Californias The Californias (Spanish: ''Las Californias''), occasionally known as The Three Californias or Two Californias, are a region of North America spanning the United States and Mexico, consisting of the U.S. state of California and the Mexican sta ...

(1769–1822) and Mexican Alta California (1822–1848), present day

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

. It became a well established inland route, and an alternative to the coastal El Camino Real trail used since the 1770s in the period. It ran from San Pedro Bay and the

Pueblo de Los Ángeles El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora la Reina de los Ángeles (English: ''The town of Our Lady the Queen of the Angels''), shortened to Pueblo de los Ángeles, was the Spanish civilian ''pueblo'' settled in 1781, which by the 20th century became the ...

, over the

Transverse Ranges The Transverse Ranges are a group of mountain ranges of southern California, in the Pacific Coast Ranges physiographic region in North America. The Transverse Ranges begin at the southern end of the California Coast Ranges and lie within Santa ...

through

Tejon Pass The Tejon Pass , previously known as ''Portezuelo de Cortes'', ''Portezuela de Castac'', and Fort Tejon Pass is a mountain pass between the southwest end of the Tehachapi Mountains and northeastern San Emigdio Mountains, linking Southern Califor ...

and down through the

San Emigdio Mountains The San Emigdio Mountains are a part of the Transverse Ranges in Southern California, extending from Interstate 5 at Lebec and Gorman on the east to Highway 33–166 on the west. They link the Tehachapis and Temblor Range and form the souther ...

to the

San Joaquin Valley The San Joaquin Valley ( ; es, Valle de San Joaquín) is the area of the Central Valley of the U.S. state of California that lies south of the Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta and is drained by the San Joaquin River. It comprises seven ...

, where it followed a route along the eastern slopes of the

Coast Ranges The Pacific Coast Ranges (officially gazetted as the Pacific Mountain System in the United States) are the series of mountain ranges that stretch along the West Coast of North America from Alaska south to Northern and Central Mexico. Although th ...

between '' aguaje'' (watering places) and '' arroyos''. It passed west out of the valley, over the

Diablo Range The Diablo Range is a mountain range in the California Coast Ranges subdivision of the Pacific Coast Ranges in northern California, United States. It stretches from the eastern San Francisco Bay area at its northern end to the Salinas Valley are ...

Corral Hollow Pass Corral Hollow Pass, originally Portezuela de Buenos Ayres (Pass of Good Winds) is a low mountain pass in the Diablo Range southeast of Livermore, in Alameda County, California. This pass, at an elevation of 1600 ft, was the point where El Cami ...

into the

Livermore Valley The Livermore Valley, historically known as the Valle de San José (Valley of San José), is a valley in Alameda County, California, located in the East Bay region. The city of Livermore is located in the valley. Geography The valley is bound ...

, to end at the

Oakland Estuary The Oakland Estuary is the strait in the San Francisco Bay Area, California, separating the cities of Oakland and Alameda and the Alameda Island from the East Bay mainland. On its western end, it connects to San Francisco Bay proper, while it ...

on the eastern San Francisco Bay.

History

The route of El Camino Viejo was well established by the 1820s, and the route was in use by Spanish colonial "carretas" ( ox carts) as early as 1780, as a more direct route than El Camino Real to the recently established Mission Santa Clara de Asís and

Mission San Francisco de Asís Mission San Francisco de Asís ( es, Misión San Francisco de Asís), commonly known as Mission Dolores (as it was founded near the Dolores creek), is a Spanish Californian mission and the oldest surviving structure in San Francisco. Located i ...

. At that time the Bay Area section ran from the mouth of Arroyo Las Positas southwest across the mouth of the Arroyo Mocho and

Arroyo Valle Arroyo Valle or Arroyo Del Valle is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed March 15, 2011 westward-flowing stream that begins in northeastern Santa Clara County, California ...

to Arroyo de la Laguna (later the lands of Rancho Valle de San Jose) and following it south down to its confluence with Arroyo de la Alameda (later location of Sunol). It then crossed the hills to the south via

Mission Pass Mission Pass is a historic mountain pass in the Bridge River-Lillooet Country of the Interior of British Columbia, Canada, around west of Lillooet, towards the west end of Seton Lake Seton Lake is a freshwater fjord draining east via the Seton ...

to the coastal plain and on until it reached Mission Santa Clara and the El Camino Real. The Los Angeles Area section left the El Camino Real in the San Fernando Valley, Later, after the 1797 foundation of the Mission San José, the road was turned northward from there, crossing Arroyo de San Leandro and Arroyo de San Lorenzo to the anchorage in what is now the

. There cargos could be ferried across to the Mission and Presidio of San Francisco or to other places on the bay more quickly and in more quantity than carriage by road. This route along the unsettled frontier of Spanish colonial Las Californias—Alta California (1769–1822) came to be favored by those who wished to avoid the eyes of the Spanish authorities that were along the more settled coastal route of El Camino Real. Settlements like Las Juntas and Rancho Centinela (est. 1810), and later Poso de Chane and others began to grow up along the route of El Camino Viejo. Later Californio vaqueros made "El Camino Viejo" a well-known trail that connected Rancho San Antonio with the

. The vaqueros ran cattle and in the 1840s began establishing inland Mexican land grant ranchos along the route. Californio '' mesteñeros'' (wild horse catchers) also moved into the San Joaquin Valley to catch the '' mesteños'' (mustangs) that now roamed in the thousands, and held them in temporary corrals before herding them to the Bay Area, to

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most populous urban a ...

, or to Sonora and other territories of northern

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

for sale. With the California Gold Rush a shortcut developed at the northern end of El Camino Viejo, as part of the Oakland to Stockton Road used by stagecoaches and teamsters. It ran from Oakland, east through the Castro Valley and Rancho San Ramon, to the San Joaquin Valley and Stockton.

Route of El Camino Viejo

Alameda County Alameda County ( ) is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,682,353, making it the 7th-most populous county in the state and 21st most populous nationally. The county seat is Oakland. Alam ...

** Rancho San Antonio (1820) ***

San Antonio ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , subdivision_t ...

(1850) *** Clinton (1852) ****

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

(1856) * Arroyo de San Leandro **

Rancho San Leandro Rancho San Leandro was a Mexican land grant in present-day Alameda County, California given in 1842 by Governor Juan Alvarado to José Joaquín Estudillo. The grant extended along the east San Francisco Bay from San Leandro Creek south to San L ...

(1842) ***

San Leandro San Leandro (Spanish for " St. Leander") is a city in Alameda County, California, United States. It is located in the East Bay of the San Francisco Bay Area; between Oakland to the northwest, and Ashland, Castro Valley, and Hayward to the sout ...

(1855) * Arroyo de San Lorenzo **

Rancho San Lorenzo Rancho San Lorenzo was a Mexican land grant given in 1841 by Governor Juan Alvarado to Guillermo Castro a career soldier posted to the Pueblo of San José. The land grant included present day Hayward, San Lorenzo, and Castro Valley, including ...

(1841) *** Squattersville (1849) **** San Lorenzo (1854) * Centreville (1855) * Mission San José (1797) ** Rancho Ex-Mission San José (1846) *** Mission San José (1850) *

* Arroyo de la Alameda * Arroyo de la Laguna ** Rancho Valle de San Jose (1839) *

** Rancho Santa Rita (1839) *** Alisal (1844) * Arroyo Mocho * Arroyo Las Positas (The Little Springs Creek) **

Rancho Las Positas Rancho Las Positas was a Mexican land grant in present-day Alameda County, California given in 1839 by governor Juan Alvarado to Robert Livermore and José Noriega. Las Positas means "little watering holes" in Spanish. The rancho included t ...

(1839) *** Livermore's, Livermore Ranch (1851) * Arroyo Seco (Dry Creek) *

Portezuela de Buenos Ayres Corral Hollow Pass, originally Portezuela de Buenos Ayres (Pass of Good Winds) is a low mountain pass in the Diablo Range southeast of Livermore, in Alameda County, California. This pass, at an elevation of 1600 ft, was the point where El Cami ...

San Joaquin County San Joaquin County (; Spanish: ''San Joaquín'', meaning " St. Joachim"), officially the County of San Joaquin, is a county in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 779,233. The county seat is Stockton. San ...

* Arroyo de los Buenos Ayres (Creek of the Good Winds) **

Corral Hollow Corral Hollow, formed by Corral Hollow Creek, is a canyon partially located in Alameda County, with parts in San Joaquin County, southwest of Tracy, California. Corral Hollow Creek, formerly El Arroyo de los Buenos Ayres (The Creek of the Goo ...

(1848) * Rancho Pescadero (Grimes) (1843)

Stanislaus County

* Arroyo del Ospital (Ospital Creek) * Arroyo de La Puerta (Creek of the Door) * Rancho Del Puerto (1844) * Arroyo Salada Grande (Big Salt Creek) * Arroyita Salada (Little Salt Creek) * Arroyo Orestimba (Meetingplace Creek) *

Rancho Orestimba y Las Garzas Rancho Orestimba y Las Garzas (Meetingplace and the Herons) was a Mexican land grant in present-day Stanislaus County and Merced County, California given in 1844 by Governor Manuel Micheltorena to Sebastián Núñez. The grant was originally i ...

(1844)

Merced County Merced County ( ), is a county located in the northern San Joaquin Valley section of the Central Valley, in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 281,202. The county seat is Merced. The county is named after ...

* Arroyo de las Garzas (Creek of the Herons) * Arroyo de Mesteño (Mustang Creek) * Aguaje de Las Berendas (Waterhole of the Pronghorns) * Arroyo de Quinto (Fifth Creek) * Arroyo de Romero (Romero Creek) * Rancho de Centinella (Sentinel Ranch)(1810) * Arroyo de San Luis Gonzaga (Saint Luis Gonzaga Creek) ** Rancho San Luis Gonzaga (1843) * Arroyo de Los Baños (Creek of The Baths) * Rancho Panoche de San Juan y Los Carrisolitos (1844) * Arroyo de Las Ortigalito (Little Nettle Creek)

Fresno County Fresno County (), officially the County of Fresno, is a county located in the central portion of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 1,008,654. The county seat is Fresno, the fifth-most populous city in Cali ...

* Arroyita de Panoche or Arroyo de Pannochita (Little Sugarloaf Creek) * Arroyo de Panoche Grande (Big Sugarloaf Creek) ( northern junction with Eastern Route of El Camino Viejo) * Arroyo de Cantúa (Cantua Creek) ** Murrieta Spring * Aguaje de Pedro Etchegoen (Pedro Etchegoen Watering Place) * Arroyo Pasajero or Arroyo Poso de Chane (Traveler Creek or Chane Pool Creek) ** Poso de Chane (Chane Pool) * Arroyo de Jacelitos (Creek of Little Huts) * Arroyo de Las Polvarduras (Creek of the

Dust Storm A dust storm, also called a sandstorm, is a meteorological phenomenon common in arid and semi-arid regions. Dust storms arise when a gust front or other strong wind blows loose sand and dirt from a dry surface. Fine particles are transp ...

s) * Arroyo de Zapata Chino (Chinese Shoe Creek) * Arroyo de Las Canoas (Creek of the Troughs)

Kings County

* Arroyo de las Garzas (Creek of the Herons)

Kern County Kern County is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 909,235. Its county seat is Bakersfield. Kern County comprises the Bakersfield, California, Metropolitan statistical area. The county sp ...

* Alamo Solo Spring (Lone Cottonwood Spring) ( southern junction with Eastern Route of El Camino Viejo) * Aguaje La Brea (The Tar Watering Place) * Las Tinajas de Los Indios (The Jars of the Indians) * Arroyo de Matarano (Matarano Creek) * Aguaje Del Diablo (Devil's Watering Place) * Aguaje de en Media (Middle Watering Place) * Arroyo de Los Carneros (Creek of the Rams) * Arroyo Chico Martinez (Chico Martinez Creek) ** Aguaje Mesteño (Mustang Watering Place) * Aguaje de Los Temblores (Watering Place of the Earthquakes) * Aguaje de Santa Maria (Watering Place of Saint Mary) * Aguaje de La Brea (Watering Place of the Tar) *

Buena Vista Lake Buena Vista Lake was a fresh-water lake in Kern County, California, in the Tulare Lake Basin in the southern San Joaquin Valley, California. Buena Vista Lake was the second largest of several similar lakes in the Tulare Lake basin, and was fed ...

* Arroyo de Amargosa (Bitter Creek) *

Rancho San Emidio Rancho San Emidio was a Mexican land grant in present-day Kern County, California given in 1842 by Governor Juan Alvarado to José Antonio Dominguez. The grant was located along San Emigdio Creek in the northeastern foothills of the San Emigd ...

(1842) * Arroyo San Emigdio (Saint Emygdius Creek) *

Cuddy Valley Cuddy Valley is a valley in the San Andreas Rift Zone south of the San Emigdio Mountains west of Tejon Pass, part of the Mountain Communities. It lies at an elevation of 5,282 feet 1610 m). History What is now the Cuddy Valley was a water and ...

Cuddy Canyon Cuddy Canyon is a canyon running along the boundary line between Kern County and Ventura County, California. It lies inside the Los Padres National Forest and southern San Emigdio Mountains. The canyon includes the Tejon Pass mountain communitie ...

Tehachapi Mountains The Tehachapi Mountains (; Kawaiisu: ''Tihachipia'', meaning "hard climb") are a mountain range in the Transverse Ranges system of California in the Western United States. The range extends for approximately in southern Kern County and northwe ...

Los Angeles County

Rancho El Tejon Rancho or Ranchos may refer to: Settlements and communities * Rancho, Aruba, former fishing village and neighbourhood of Oranjestad *Ranchos of California, 19th century land grants in Alta California **List of California Ranchos *Ranchos, Buenos A ...

(1843) ** Portezuela de Cortes (Cortes Pass) (1772), Portezuela de Castac (Castac Pass) (1843), Fort Tejon Pass (1854), Tejon Pass. *

Rancho Los Alamos y Agua Caliente Rancho Los Alamos y Agua Caliente was a Mexican land grant in present day Kern County, California given in 1846 by Governor Pio Pico to Francisco Lopes, Luis Jordan and Vicente Botiller. The name means "Cottonwoods and Hot Springs Ranch" in Span ...

(1846) * Kulshra’jek, Rancho la Viuda (1855), Reed's Ranch (1857), Gorman's Station (1867) *

Rancho La Liebre Rancho La Liebre was a Mexican land grant in present-day Kern County, California and Los Angeles County, given in 1846 by Governor Pío Pico to José María Flores. Liebre means "Hare" in Spanish and the rancho was named as such because of the a ...

(1846) * Cow Springs, French John's Station (1858) * Aquaje Lodoso (Muddy Watering Place) * Laguna de Chico Lopez, Elizabeth Lake *

Sierra Pelona Mountains The Sierra Pelona, also known as the Sierra Pelona Ridge or the Sierra Pelona Mountains, is a mountain ridge in the Transverse Ranges in Southern California. Located in northwest Los Angeles County, the ridge is bordered on the north by the San An ...

** San Francisquito Pass **

San Francisquito Creek San Francisquito Creek (Spanish for "Little San Francisco" - the "little" referring to size of the settlement compared to Mission San Francisco de Asís) is a creek that flows into southwest San Francisco Bay in California, United States. Histo ...

* Santa Clara River *

Rancho San Francisco Rancho San Francisco was a land grant in present-day northwestern Los Angeles County and eastern Ventura County, California. It was a grant of by Governor Juan B. Alvarado to Antonio del Valle, a Mexican army officer, in recognition for his ser ...

(1839) * San Gabriel Mountains ** Fremont Pass, San Fernando Pass * San Fernando Valley **

Mission San Fernando Rey de España Mission San Fernando Rey de España is a Spanish mission in the Mission Hills community of Los Angeles, California. The mission was founded on 8 September 1797 at the site of Achooykomenga, and was the seventeenth of the twenty-one Spanish mis ...

(1797-1846) **

Rancho Ex-Mission San Fernando Rancho Ex-Mission San Fernando was a Mexican land grant in present-day Los Angeles County, California, granted in 1846 by Governor Pío Pico to Eulogio F. de Celis. The grant derives its name from the secularized Mission San Fernando Rey de Espa� ...

(1846) **

Rancho Los Encinos Rancho Los Encinos (also Rancho El Encino and Rancho Encino) was a Spanish grazing concession, and later Mexican land granted cattle and sheep rancho and travelers way-station on the El Camino Real in the San Fernando Valley, in present-day En ...

Rancho Providencia Rancho La Providencia was a Mexican land grant in present-day Los Angeles County, California given by governor Juan B. Alvarado in 1843 to Vincente de la Osa. The majority of Rancho Providencia land north of the modern channel of the Los Ange ...

(1843) *

Santa Monica Mountains The Santa Monica Mountains is a coastal mountain range in Southern California, next to the Pacific Ocean. It is part of the Transverse Ranges. Because of its proximity to densely populated regions, it is one of the most visited natural areas in ...

Rancho Cahuenga Rancho Cahuenga was a Mexican land grant in the San Fernando Valley, in present-day Los Angeles County, California given in 1843 by governor Manuel Micheltorena to José Miguel Triunfo. Rancho Cahuenga is now a part of the city of Burbank, w ...

(1843) **

Cahuenga Pass The Cahuenga Pass (, ; Tongva: ''Kawé’nga'') is a low mountain pass through the eastern end of the Santa Monica Mountains in the Hollywood Hills district of the City of Los Angeles, California. It has an elevation of . The Cahuenga Pass connec ...

* Rancho Los Feliz (1792) *

(est. 1781) * Rancho San Pedro (1784) * San Pedro Bay, at the harbor of Los Ángeles

Eastern Route of El Camino Viejo

Fresno County

Arroyo de Panoche Grande ( northern junction of El Camino Viejo with its Eastern Route) * Rancho Laguna de Tache or "25" Ranch (1843) * Pueblo de Las Juntas (1810) * Rancho de Los Californios * La Libertad

Kings County

* Whitmore's Ferry (1854) ** Kingston (1859) * Vaca Adobe (1863) * Laguna de Tache, Tulare Lake * Cox & Clark Trading Post and Steamboat Landing (1870) * Alamo Mocho (Trimmed cottonwood)

Kern County Kern County is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 909,235. Its county seat is Bakersfield. Kern County comprises the Bakersfield, California, Metropolitan statistical area. The county sp ...

* Alamo Solo Spring ( southern junction of El Camino Viejo with its Eastern Route)

References

External links

The Old Road
by Stan Walker. Includes a map of El Camino Viejo from ''El Camino Viejo a Los Ángeles: The Oldest Road of the San Joaquin Valley'' by Frank F. Latta. {{California history Trails and roads in the American Old West Historic trails and roads in California The Californias Mexican California History of California History of Los Angeles County, California History of the San Francisco Bay Area History of the San Joaquin Valley History of the San Fernando Valley 19th century in California

History

Route of El Camino Viejo

Alameda County Alameda County ( ) is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,682,353, making it the 7th-most populous county in the state and 21st most populous nationally. The county seat is Oakland. Alam ...

San Joaquin County San Joaquin County (; Spanish: ''San Joaquín'', meaning " St. Joachim"), officially the County of San Joaquin, is a county in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 779,233. The county seat is Stockton. San ...

Stanislaus County

Merced County Merced County ( ), is a county located in the northern San Joaquin Valley section of the Central Valley, in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 281,202. The county seat is Merced. The county is named after ...

Fresno County Fresno County (), officially the County of Fresno, is a county located in the central portion of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 1,008,654. The county seat is Fresno, the fifth-most populous city in Cali ...

Kings County

Kern County Kern County is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 909,235. Its county seat is Bakersfield. Kern County comprises the Bakersfield, California, Metropolitan statistical area. The county sp ...

Los Angeles County

Eastern Route of El Camino Viejo

Fresno County

Kings County

Kern County Kern County is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 909,235. Its county seat is Bakersfield. Kern County comprises the Bakersfield, California, Metropolitan statistical area. The county sp ...

See also

References

External links