In the 18th century, a trail across the pass formed part of the historic El Camino Real connecting Mission Santa Clara de Asís with Mission Santa Cruz, likely along a route followed earlier by Native Americans. Lakes near the summit made the place a popular fishing and swimming spot until the 1906 San Francisco earthquake caused them to dry up. In 1940, State Route 17 replaced the Soquel San Jose Road through the pass; the old alignment still crosses the pass, a short distance to the east of State Route 17, as the Old Santa Cruz Highway. A Southern Pacific passenger train line through the pass, from Los Gatos to Olympia, opened in 1880 but closed again after storms in early 1940 caused mudslides and washouts on the line.