CALIFORNIA STATE ROUTE 9 - Big Basin Way/Saratoga-Los Gatos Road

For most of it's journey from the coastal city of Santa Cruz to Saratoga, Highway 9 is a curvy two-lane mountain highway. Residents of Silicon Valley use Hwy 9 to reach Big Basin State Park in the mountains above Saratoga. Hwy 9 can also be used as an alternative to Hwy 17 when it is closed due to accidents or mudslides. Hwy 9 from the Santa Cruz county line to Saratoga is known as Big Basin Way. Between Saratoga and Los Gatos, Hwy 9 is known as Saratoga-Los Gatos Road.

Highway 9 passes through the communities of Los Gatos, Monte Sereno, Saratoga, Boulder Creek, Ben Lomond, Felton and Santa Cruz.

CALIFORNIA STATE ROUTE 25

Highway 25 enters Santa Clara County less than 3 miles from its northern terminus at U.S. 101 south of Gilroy. Hwy 25 runs from U.S. 101 to Highway 198 east of King City and is a heavily used by commuters from Hollister trying to get to Silicon Valley. It is also used as an alternate to Highway 152 as Silicon Valley residents head out of the region to points south. A number of safety improvements were implemented over the past decade to reduce the abnormally high collision rate on this busy highway.

Besides Hollister, Highway 25 also goes to the east gate of the Pinnacles National Monument.

CALIFORNIA STATE ROUTE 35 - Skyline Boulevard

Highway 35/Skyline Blvd begins at the interchange with Highway 17 near the summit of the Santa Cruz Mountains and heads north to San Francisco. Highway 35 officially ends at the intersection of Sloat Blvd and 19th Avenue/Hwy 1. Highway 35 basically runs along the ridgeline of the Santa Cruz Mountains separating Santa Clara and Santa Cruz counties and is very popular among cyclists and motorcyclists because there's not much car traffic and it's very scenic.

CALIFORNIA STATE ROUTE 82 - El Camino Real/Monterey Highway

Highway 82 begins is southward journey at the intersection of Alemany Blvd and San Jose Ave is San Francisco and it almost immediately transitions onto El Camino Real. El Camino heads down the Peninsula all the way to San Jose passing through the cities of Daly City, San Bruno, Millbrae, Burlingame, San Mateo, Belmont, San Carlos, Redwood City, Atherton, Palo Alto, Mountain View, Sunnyvale and Santa Clara. Once in San Jose, Hwy 82 passes through downtown San Jose via The Alameda and transitions onto Monterey Highway which heads south towards Gilroy.

The routing of Highway 82 follows the original routing of U.S. 101 before 101 was moved to the Bayshore Freeway.

CALIFORNIA STATE ROUTE 130 - Alum Rock Avenue/Mt. Hamilton Road

Highway 130 begins at the Alum Rock Avenue/U.S. 101 interchange near downtown San Jose. After leaving the residential areas of east San Jose, Highway 130 makes a right turn onto Mt. Hamilton Road and starts it long, curvy journey to the top of Mount Hamilton and the Lick Observatory. This road is very narrow and does take some nerve to make it to the top. During the winter, Hwy 130 is closed from time to time due to snow on Mt. Hamilton.

There were plans to build a freeway linking San Jose to the central valley community of Patterson that would basically follow Highway 130 over Mount Hamilton. Due to the extreme cost and vehement opposition from environmentalists and residents of east San Jose, the project is all but dead.

CALIFORNIA STATE ROUTE 152 - Pacheco Pass Hwy/Hecker Pass Road

Running between Watsonville and Highway 99 north of Madera, Highway 152 is a major highway connecting Silicon Valley to the southern half of the Central Valley. Between Watsonville and Gilroy, Highway 152 is a narrow two-lane road that traverese the coast range and is not recommended for trucks. East of Gilroy, Hwy 152 is a two lane road until it reaches the junction with Highway 156 coming from Hollister. east of the 152/156 interchange, it becomes a 4-lane expressway. Highway 152 passes through the communities of Watsonville, Gilroy and Los Banos.

There is talk of building an expressway/freeway from U.S. 101 to the 152/156 interchange but a lack of funding will definitely delay any construction. There is also talk of building a freeway bypass around Los Banos in the central valley.

CALIFORNIA STATE ROUTE 156 - Pacheco Highway

Highway 156 enters Santa Clara County less than 1 mile from its northern terminus at the 152/156 interchange. Highway 156 connects the Monterey Peninsula and Hollister to the Central Valley. It's an important route for the farmers in the Central Valley as well as farmers on the Monterey Peninsula and Salinas Valley.

Highway 156 passes through the communities of Castroville, Prunedale, San Juan Bautista and Hollister. For 9 miles between Prunedale and San Juan Bautista, Highway 156 is co-signed with U.S. 101.