State Route 26 (SR 26) is a

state highway A state highway, state road, or state route (and the equivalent provincial highway, provincial road, or provincial route) is usually a road that is either Route number, numbered or maintained by a sub-national state or province. A road numbered ...

in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, running from State Route 99 in Stockton in

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

to State Route 88 near

Pioneer Pioneer commonly refers to a person who is among the first at something that is new to a community. A pioneer as a settler is among the first settling at a place that is new to the settler community. A historic example are American pioneers, perso ...

Amador County Amador County () is a County (United States), county located in the U.S. state of California, in the Sierra Nevada. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 40,474. The county seat is Jackson, California, Jackson. Ama ...

. The highway is routed to serve

Mokelumne Hill Mokelumne Hill (''Mokelumne'', Miwok for "People of the Fish Net") is a census-designated place (CDP) in Calaveras County, California, United States. The population was 646 at the 2010 census, down from 774 at the 2000 census. It is commonly refer ...

and

West Point The United States Military Academy (USMA), commonly known as West Point, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York that educates cadets for service as Officer_(armed_forces)#United_States, comm ...

Calaveras County Calaveras County (), officially the County of Calaveras, is a County (United States), county in both the Gold Country and Sierra Nevada, High Sierra regions of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the ...

Route description

The route begins at an interchange with SR 99 in eastern Stockton. SR 26 then exits Stockton after crossing a canal and heads eastward. After crossing Jack Tone Road, the direction of the highway turns slightly more northeasterly. The road then briefly enters the city of Linden, before intersecting Escalon-Bellota Road. Following another intersection with Jenny Lind Road, the route enters the city of Rancho Calaveras. It turns slightly more northeastward as it passes through the area. The highway passes by the New Hogan Lake before entering

Valley Springs Valley Springs may refer to some places in the United States: * Valley Springs, Arkansas, located in Boone County * Valley Springs, California, located in Calaveras County * Valley Springs, South Dakota Valley Springs is a city in Minnehaha Cou ...

. Here, the route makes an abrupt right turn onto SR 12. The route run concurrent and turn back northeastward as they exit Valley Springs. Shortly after exiting the city limit, SR 26 veers away from SR 12 and heads north. East of Paloma, the roadway meets Paloma Road and again turns northeastward. At

, the route intersects SR 49, taking a slightly more winded path. SR 26 enters and exits the city of

before making an extremely long

hairpin turn A hairpin turn (also hairpin bend or hairpin corner) is a bend in a road with a very acute inner angle, making it necessary for an oncoming vehicle to turn about 180° to continue on the road. It is named for its resemblance to a bent metal ha ...

. Heading westward, the route enters

to its terminus at SR 88. SR 26 is part of the

California Freeway and Expressway System The California Freeway and Expressway System is a system of existing or planned freeways and expressways in the U.S. state of California. It encompasses both state highways and federal highways in California. It was defined by Article 2 (comme ...

, and in the Stockton city limits is part of the National Highway System, a network of highways that are considered essential to the country's economy, defense, and mobility by the

Federal Highway Administration The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) is a division of the United States Department of Transportation that specializes in highway transportation. The agency's major activities are grouped into two programs, the Federal-aid Highway Program a ...

. The segment between the community of

and

is named the Stephen P. Teale Highway, after the state senator. The bridge crossing the Middle Fork of the

Mokelumne River The Mokelumne River ( or ; ''Mokelumne'', Miwok for "People of the Fish Net") is a -long river in northern California in the United States. The river flows west from a rugged portion of the central Sierra Nevada (U.S.), Sierra Nevada into the C ...

, near West Point, is named the Tom Taylor Bridge, after a Calaveras County Supervisor.

History

Present-day SR 26 was formerly designated as California State Route 8 between 1934–1964. The original road called State Route 26 ran between

Santa Monica Santa Monica (; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast (California), South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 United Sta ...

Los Angeles County Los Angeles County, officially the County of Los Angeles and sometimes abbreviated as LA County, is the most populous county in the United States, with 9,663,345 residents estimated in 2023. Its population is greater than that of 40 individua ...

and

Buena Park Buena Park (''Buena'', Spanish for "Good") is a city in northern Orange County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census its population was 84,034. It is the location of several tourist attractions, including Knott's Berry Farm. It is ...

in Orange County, from 1937 to 1964. It was deemed redundant by

Interstate 10 Interstate 10 (I-10) is the southernmost transcontinental highway in the Interstate Highway System of the United States. It is the fourth-longest Interstate in the country at , following I-90, I-80, and I-40. It was part of the origina ...

between Santa Monica and

East Los Angeles East Los Angeles (), or East L.A., is an unincorporated community and census designated place (CDP) situated within Los Angeles County, California, United States. According to the United States Census Bureau, East Los Angeles is designated as ...

, and

Interstate 5 Interstate 5 (I-5) is the main north–south Interstate Highway System, Interstate Highway on the West Coast of the United States, running largely parallel to the Pacific coast of the contiguous U.S. from Mexico to Canada. It travels thro ...

between East Los Angeles and Buena Park.

Major intersections

References

External links

{{CASR external links, SR, 26
California Highways: Route 26
State Route 026 State Route 026 State Route 026 026

Route description

History

Major intersections

See also

References

External links