Skyline Boulevard (Route 35) 35
Skyline Boulevard (Route 35) is a State Scenic Byway in California. Within California it covers roughly 23 miles. The map below shows its route. Use “Plan a drive” to open it in the Road Sorties route planner — already routing along Skyline Boulevard (Route 35) with scenic roads turned on, ready to add your own stops.
Skyline Boulevard, California Route 35, follows the crest of the Santa Cruz Mountains along the San Francisco Peninsula. It's one of the few spots where San Francisco Bay and the Pacific Ocean are both visible at once, with Silicon Valley spread out below on clear days. The road began life in 1922, when construction crews started at Ocean Beach in San Francisco and worked south in stages, reaching what's now Highway 84 by 1925 and Black Road by 1932. It originally carried the number State Route 5 before being renumbered to Route 35 in 1964, when the new Interstate 5 claimed that number statewide. Only part of the route, from the Santa Cruz-Santa Clara county line to the Route 92 junction, is officially designated a State Scenic Highway, though the rest remains eligible for the same status. The two-lane road hugs the ridgeline for most of its length, threading redwood groves and open grassland with pullouts positioned for the bay-and-ocean views that give the boulevard its name.
- State Route 35
- Lexington Reservoir to Daly City
- originally designated Route 5 (renumbered 1964)
- built in stages 1922-1932
- Bay & Pacific Ocean simultaneous views
- State Scenic Highway (Santa Cruz-Santa Clara line to SR-92)
Plan a drive on Skyline Boulevard (Route 35) →
What is a State Scenic Byway?
State Scenic Byways are roads a state has formally recognized for their scenic, natural, historic or cultural value — each state's own curated collection of drives worth taking slowly.