United States Highway 101
US Highway 101 runs along the West Coast of the United States, just as its counterpart U.S. Highway 1 runs along the East Coast. It was originally a border-to-border route before the section south of Los Angeles was decommissioned in favor of Interstate 5. It is often referred to as the Pacific Highway, especially in Oregon, and parts of Washington and California.
Route
The southern terminus of Route 101 is now in Los Angeles where it is also known as the Hollywood Freeway. It then runs north through North Hollywood and Encino, where it becomes the Ventura Freeway. North of Ventura, it remains a freeway, traveling north to Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, Salinas, Gilroy, San Jose, Palo Alto, and San Francisco. See also California State Route 1 (Pacific Coast Highway), a state highway that runs along the Pacific coastline, to the west of Highway 101, with a few interruptions, for most of the length of California.
From San Jose to San Francisco, Highway 101 is known as the Bayshore Freeway. Through San Francisco Highway 101 follows city streets, then joins California State Route 1 to cross the Golden Gate Bridge to Marin County. From there to the Oregon border, Highway 101 is in some places a freeway and in others a two-lane road. The most scenic portion of Highway 101 within California is in Humboldt County, where it travels through Humboldt Redwoods State Park and a portion of the highway is known as the Avenue of the Giants for the huge, centuries-old redwood trees that can be found there.
Highway 101 enters Oregon four miles south of Brookings, and is seldom out of sight of the Pacific Ocean until it reaches Astoria. The stretch between Florence and Yachats is considered one of the more attractive segments of this highway, although there are an abundance of Oregon state parks along the Pacific coast. Because Highway 101 forms the main street of almost all of the coastal towns in Oregon (with the exception of Cannon Beach), it is frequently congested and slow. The highway crosses the mouth of the Columbia River at the bridge at Astoria into Washington, and follows the Columbia downstream to Ilwaco.
From Ilwaco, Highway 101 follows the Pacific coastline as far as Raymond, from which it proceeds directly north to Aberdeen, offering access from this city into the Olympic National Park. While the AAA has designated this segment north and east to Port Angeles as a scenic byway, some clear-cut logging in the early 1990s has diminished the scenic value of the highway where it crosses the Quinault Indian Reservation. East of Port Angeles Highway 101 turns southward, leading to its northern terminus in Olympia, the state capital.
Parts of Historic Route 101 can still be found in San Diego and La Jolla under different names, including Interstate 5, Pacific Highway, Camino Del Mar, and Torrey Pines Road. All have been decommissioned, but the roadways still exist and are occasionally signed as Historic 101.
Termini
As of 2004, the highway's "northern" terminus is in Olympia, Washington at an intersection with Interstate 5. However, the section from Olympia to Aberdeen is a large loop around the Olympic Peninsula, and is signed "US 101 North". The direct route between the towns is US 12. Its southern terminus is in Los Angeles, California at the Washington
Related U.S. routes
See also
