# California State Route 146

State Route 146 (SR 146) is a state highway in the U.S. state of California in Monterey and San Benito Counties. The route serves as an entryway to Pinnacles National Park, located in the Gabilan Mountains, from both U.S. Route 101 in the Salinas Valley on the west and State Route 25 near Paicines on the east. The route is broken into two sections and cannot be used to completely pass through Pinnacles National Park.

## Route description

Route 146 is divided into two sections and does not provide a continuous vehicular route through the park. The western part of Route 146 passes from U.S. Route 101 near Soledad along Metz Road and Shirttail Canyon Road to the west area of Pinnacles. The eastern portion runs into the east area of Pinnacles from Route 25 along Pinnacles Road.
SR 146 is not 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. SR 146 is eligible for the State Scenic Highway System, but it is not officially designated as a scenic highway by the California Department of Transportation.

## History

According to the National Park Service, Pinnacles has been administered as a wilderness area as long as that unit has been under their jurisdiction, and NPS sources contacted during research cannot recall any time when Route 146 proceeded through the park unbroken.

## Major intersections

Except where prefixed with a letter, postmiles were measured on the road as it was in 1964, based on the alignment that existed at the time, and do not necessarily reflect current mileage. R reflects a realignment in the route since then, M indicates a second realignment, L refers to an overlap due to a correction or change, and T indicates postmiles classified as temporary (for a full list of prefixes, see California postmile § Official postmile definitions). Segments that remain unconstructed or have been relinquished to local control may be omitted. The numbers reset at county lines; the start and end postmiles in each county are given in the county column.
| County | Location | Postmile | Destinations | Notes |
| Monterey MON 0.00-10.08 | Soledad | 0.00 | US 101 – San Francisco, Los Angeles | Interchange; west end of SR 146; US 101 exit 302 |
| Monterey MON 0.00-10.08 | Soledad | 0.55 | Monterey Street | |
| Monterey MON 0.00-10.08 | ​ | 3.48 | CR G15 (Metz Road) – King City | |
| San Benito SBT 10.08-15.15 | Pinnacles National Park | 10.19 | East end of state maintenance at western park boundary | East end of state maintenance at western park boundary |
| San Benito SBT 10.08-15.15 | Pinnacles National Park | ​ | Chaparral Trailhead | East end of western segment of route |
| Gap in route; no passable road through park |||||
| San Benito SBT 10.08-15.15 | Pinnacles National Park | ​ | Old Pinnacles Trailhead | West end of eastern segment of route |
| San Benito SBT 10.08-15.15 | Pinnacles National Park | 12.71 | West end of state maintenance at eastern park boundary | West end of state maintenance at eastern park boundary |
| San Benito SBT 10.08-15.15 | ​ | 15.15 | SR 25 – Hollister, King City, Coalinga | East end of SR 146 |
| 1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi |||||