State Route 29 (SR 29) 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 ...

that travels from

Interstate 80 Interstate 80 (I-80) is an east–west transcontinental freeway that crosses the United States from San Francisco, California, to Teaneck, New Jersey, in the New York metropolitan area. The highway was designated in 1956 as one of the ori ...

in Vallejo north to

State Route 20 Route 20, or Highway 20, may refer to: International * European route E20 Australia * Sturt Highway (NSW/VIC/SA) * Yarra Bank Highway Brazil * BR-020 Canada * Alberta Highway 20 * British Columbia Highway 20 * Manitoba Highway 20 *New Br ...

in Upper Lake. It serves as the primary road through the

Napa Valley Napa Valley is an American Viticultural Area (AVA) in Napa County, California. The area was established by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) on February 27, 1981, after a 1978 petition submitted by the Napa Valley Vin ...

, providing access to the Lake County region to the north and the rest of the

San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a List of regions of California, region of California surrounding and including San Francisco Bay, and anchored by the cities of Oakland, San Francisco, and San Jose, California, S ...

to the south.

Route description

A crowd watches the 4th of July parade in Vallejo in 2016

SR 29 begins at

(I-80) in Vallejo just north of the

Carquinez Bridge The Carquinez Bridge is a pair of parallel bridges spanning the Carquinez Strait at the northeastern end of San Francisco Bay. They form the part of Interstate 80 between Crockett and Vallejo, California, United States. The name Carquinez B ...

. After running through downtown Vallejo, it travels as a four-lane expressway (on some segments, five) through

American Canyon American Canyon (previously known as Napa Junction) is a city located in southern Napa County, California, United States, northeast of San Francisco, part of the San Francisco Bay Area. The 2020 United States census, 2020 census reported the c ...

to Napa. It then briefly becomes a freeway as it passes through Napa. The expressway continues through the southern Napa Valley before terminating in

Yountville Yountville ( or ) is an incorporated town in Napa County, in the Wine Country of California, United States. Located in the North Bay region of the Bay Area, the population was 3,436 at the 2020 census. Almost a third of the town's population l ...

. SR 29 continues as a 2-lane road through the Napa Valley cities of Oakville, Rutherford,

St. Helena Saint Helena (, ) is one of the three constituent parts of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha, a remote British overseas territory. Saint Helena is a volcanic and tropical island, located in the South Atlantic Ocean, some 1,874 km ...

, and

Calistoga Calistoga may refer to: * Calistoga, California * Calistoga AVA, an American Viticultural Area that partly overlaps the town of Calistoga * Calistoga Water Company, bottled water brand sourced in Calistoga, California * Calistoga, code name for ...

, while also passing many of the region's notable vineyards and wineries. This portion of the highway is often heavily congested with tourists in spring and summer. North of Calistoga, SR 29 climbs

Mount Saint Helena Mount Saint Helena (Wappo: Kanamota, "Human Mountain") is a peak in the Mayacamas Mountains with flanks in Napa, Sonoma, and Lake counties of California. Composed of uplifted volcanic rocks from the Clear Lake Volcanic Field, it is one of the ...

, an extinct volcano, at the border between

Napa County Napa County () is a County (United States), county north of San Pablo Bay located in the Northern California, northern portion of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 138,019. The county seat i ...

and Lake County. The road then heads north to Middletown and Lower Lake before going around the southern and western sides of Clear Lake, the largest natural freshwater lake completely within California. In Lakeport, SR 29 becomes a freeway as it bypasses the city. It then reverts as a two-lane highway before it terminates at Route 20 in Upper Lake. Points of interest along Route 29 include Bothe-Napa Valley State Park, Bale Grist Mill State Historic Park,

Robert Louis Stevenson State Park Robert Louis Stevenson State Park is a California state park, located in Sonoma, Lake and Napa counties. The park offers a hike to the summit of Mount Saint Helena from which much of the Bay Area can be seen. On clear days it is possible to ...

, the St. Helena Toll Road and Bull Trail, the Stone House, and the Lower Lake Stone Jail. SR 29 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 ...

south of the intersection of Oak Knoll Avenue (approximately 1 mile north of the Napa city limits), and south of Yountville and north of SR 53 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 ...

. SR 29 is eligible for inclusion in the State Scenic Highway System, but it is not officially designated as a scenic highway by the

California Department of Transportation The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) is an Executive (government), executive department of the U.S. state of California. The department is part of the Government of California#State agencies, cabinet-level California State Tran ...

History

Historically, the route between the Napa Valley and Middletown was served by the Old Bull Trail Road, built by volunteers in the 1850s, that had grades of up to 35 percent. In 1868, this was replaced by the St. Helena Toll Road, which had more manageable inclines of up to 12 percent. The State of California purchased the toll road in 1925.

Major intersections

References

External links

{{CASR external links, SR, 29
California @ AARoads - State Route 29
029 029 029 State Route 029 State Route 029 State Route 029 Lower Lake, California

Route description

History

Major intersections

See also

References

External links