# California State Route 299

State Route 299 (SR 299) is an east–west state highway in the U.S. state of California that runs across the northern part of the state. At 305.777 miles (492.100 km), it is the third longest California state route, after Route 1 and Route 99, and the longest east-west route. Route 299's western terminus is at US 101 at the northern edge of Arcata, and its eastern terminus is at the Nevada state line at a point east of Cedarville. Between Arcata and Redding, Route 299 intersects with State Route 96, and is briefly co-signed with State Route 3. In Redding, it intersects with State Route 273, State Route 44, and Interstate 5. East of Redding, it intersects with State Route 89, and a section is co-signed with State Route 139 before reaching Alturas. It is then co-signed with U.S. Route 395 northeast of Alturas, and then runs east through Cedarville and to the border with Nevada. A ghost town, Vya, Nevada, can be reached via this route, which after the border becomes a dirt road, which was formerly Nevada State Route 8A. The segment of SR 299 between Arcata and Redding is the Trinity Scenic Byway, a National Forest Scenic Byway.

## Route description

SR 299 begins in Arcata at a trumpet interchange with US 101 as a freeway. The route has another trumpet interchange with SR 200 after leaving the Arcata city limits and crossing the Mad River. The freeway ends in the city of Blue Lake as SR 299 continues east past the truck scales. SR 299 enters Six Rivers National Forest and intersects SR 96 at Willow Creek. Soon after this, SR 299 crosses into Trinity County and Trinity National Forest. Paralleling the Trinity River, SR 299 passes through Salyer (where there is a rest area), Hawkins Bar, Burnt Ranch, Del Loma, Big Bar, Helena, Junction City, and finally Weaverville.
In Weaverville, SR 299 runs concurrently with SR 3 southbound to Douglas City, where there is a rest area. SR 299 continues east away from the Trinity River into Shasta County, passing by the Whiskeytown-Shasta-Trinity National Recreation Area and through the towns of Tower House and Whiskeytown as well as Whiskeytown Lake. SR 299 continues along Eureka Way through the town of Shasta into the city of Redding. SR 299 then runs concurrently along SR 273 north and Market Street across the Sacramento River before turning east onto its own freeway and intersecting I-5. SR 299 remains a freeway for a few miles before leaving the Redding city limits and passing through the town of Bella Vista and into the foothills of the southern Cascade Range.
SR 299 continues through Ingot, Round Mountain, Montgomery Creek, Hillcrest (after the rest area), Burney, and Johnson Park. The highway intersects with SR 89 before continuing through Fall River Mills and McArthur, where there is an intersection with CR A19. SR 299 then crosses into Lassen County, where it passes through Nubieber and Bieber before intersecting CR A2. The highway crosses into Modoc County and passes through Adin, where it runs concurrently with SR 139 and passes through Modoc National Forest. The concurrency lasts for several miles before SR 299 turns east and enters the city of Alturas. SR 299 runs concurrently with US 395 before turning east again and passing through Cedarville, near the Cedarville Airport. SR 299 ends at the Nevada state line, connecting with the unpaved former Nevada State Route 8A.
SR 299 is part of the California Freeway and Expressway System, and from US 101 to SR 3 and from SR 139 to the eastern junction with US 395 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. Three sections of SR 299 are eligible for inclusion in the State Scenic Highway System: from US 101 to SR 96, from SR 3 to I-5, and from SR 89 to SR 139; however, none are officially designated as a scenic highway by the California Department of Transportation.

## History

State Route 299, from the intersection with US 101 all the way to US 395 in Alturas, was U.S. Route 299 from 1934 to 1964. This was a spur of US 99 running East and West from the junction in Redding, now signed as CA 273 at the intersection of Eureka Way and Market St. The actual road has been realigned many times, mainly to make easier grades and curves through the mountains, but also to make room for the Whiskeytown Lake reservoir. In many places, especially in Trinity County, the old roadway can be seen beside the new road, and there are even several bridges visible from the current 299 that seemingly connect nothing to nothing nowadays, one of which is an arch bridge from 1923. In 1934, 299 was the original State Route 44.

## 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 | Exit | Destinations | Notes |
| Humboldt HUM 0.00-43.04 | Arcata | 0.00 | | US 101 – Arcata, Eureka, Crescent City | Western terminus; US 101 exit 716A |
| Humboldt HUM 0.00-43.04 | Arcata | 0.72 | 1 | Guintoli Lane | Opened 1972 |
| Humboldt HUM 0.00-43.04 | ​ | R1.80 | 2 | SR 200 west (North Bank Road) | Opened 1972 |
| Humboldt HUM 0.00-43.04 | ​ | ​ | 3A | Glendale Drive | Eastbound exit only; opened 1972; connects to Essex Gulch Road |
| Humboldt HUM 0.00-43.04 | Essex | R2.92 | 3B | Essex Lane | Opened 1972 |
| Humboldt HUM 0.00-43.04 | ​ | R4.04 | 4 | Glendale Drive – Business District | Opened 1972 |
| Humboldt HUM 0.00-43.04 | ​ | R5.45 | 5 | Glendale Drive – Blue Lake | Opened 1988; former SR 299; connects to Blue Lake Boulevard |
| Humboldt HUM 0.00-43.04 | ​ | R5.45 | East end of freeway | East end of freeway | East end of freeway |
| Humboldt HUM 0.00-43.04 | Willow Creek | 38.83 | | SR 96 east – Hoopa | |
| South Fork Trinity River | South Fork Trinity River | 43.040.00 | | Hlel-Din Memorial Bridge | Hlel-Din Memorial Bridge |
| Trinity TRI 0.00-72.25 | ​ | 3.60 | | Mathews Rest Area | Mathews Rest Area |
| Trinity TRI 0.00-72.25 | Weaverville | 51.57 | | SR 3 north – Trinity Center, Yreka, Trinity Lake | West end of SR 3 overlap |
| Trinity TRI 0.00-72.25 | ​ | 56.80 | | Moon Lim Lee Rest Area | Moon Lim Lee Rest Area |
| Trinity TRI 0.00-72.25 | Douglas City | R58.11 | | SR 3 south – Hayfork | East end of SR 3 overlap |
| Trinity–Shasta county line | ​ | 72.250.00 | | Buckhorn Summit | Buckhorn Summit |
| Shasta SHA 0.00-99.36 | Redding | 22.23 | | Buenaventura Boulevard to SR 273 south – Anderson | Access to Mercy Medical Center Redding |
| Shasta SHA 0.00-99.36 | Redding | 24.0916.83 | | SR 273 south / SR 44 east (Market Street north / Historic US 99) to I-5 south | West end of SR 273/Hist. US 99 overlap; former SR 299 east |
| Shasta SHA 0.00-99.36 | Redding | 24.0916.83 | | Eureka Way ( SR 44 / SR 273 / Historic US 99) | One-way street, inbound access only where SR 44 west/SR 273 north traffic enters in |
| Shasta SHA 0.00-99.36 | Redding | 18.6224.09 | | SR 273 north (Market Street north / Historic US 99) to I-5 north – Portland | East end of SR 273/Hist. US 99 overlap |
| Shasta SHA 0.00-99.36 | Redding | 18.6224.09 | | Lake Boulevard west (CR A18) | |
| Shasta SHA 0.00-99.36 | Redding | 24.82 | | I-5 – Portland, Sacramento | Interchange; I-5 exit 680 |
| West end of freeway |||
| Shasta SHA 0.00-99.36 | Redding | 25.54 | 141 | Churn Creek Road / Hawley Road | Opened 1974 |
| Shasta SHA 0.00-99.36 | ​ | 27.22 | 143 | Old Oregon Trail | Opened 1974; serves Shasta College |
| Shasta SHA 0.00-99.36 | ​ | 27.22 | East end of freeway | East end of freeway | East end of freeway |
| Shasta SHA 0.00-99.36 | ​ | 60.60 | Hillcrest Rest Area | Hillcrest Rest Area | Hillcrest Rest Area |
| Shasta SHA 0.00-99.36 | ​ | 80.09 | | SR 89 – Burney Falls Park, Lassen Park | |
| Lassen LAS 0.00-25.64 | No major junctions | No major junctions | No major junctions | No major junctions | No major junctions |
| Modoc MOD 0.00-66.63 | Adin | 0.33 | | SR 139 south – Susanville | West end of SR 139 overlap |
| Modoc MOD 0.00-66.63 | Canby | 21.75 | | SR 139 north – Tulelake, Klamath Falls | East end of SR 139 overlap |
| Modoc MOD 0.00-66.63 | Alturas | 40.6322.76 | | US 395 south (Main Street) – Susanville, Reno | West end of US 395 overlap |
| Modoc MOD 0.00-66.63 | ​ | 27.10 | Agricultural Inspection Station (westbound only) | Agricultural Inspection Station (westbound only) | Agricultural Inspection Station (westbound only) |
| Modoc MOD 0.00-66.63 | ​ | 28.2940.64 | | US 395 north – Lakeview | East end of US 395 overlap |
| Modoc MOD 0.00-66.63 | ​ | 66.63 | | Former SR 8A | Continuation into Nevada; road no longer maintained |
| 1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi Concurrency terminus Incomplete access ||||||
* 1 2 Indicates that the postmile represents the distance along SR 273 rather than SR 299.
* 1 2 3 Indicates that the postmile represents the distance along US 395 rather than SR 299.