State Scenic Highway 17 17
State Scenic Highway 17 is a scenic drive in California. Within California it covers roughly 40 miles. The map below shows its route. Use “Plan a drive” to open it in the Road Sorties route planner — already routing along State Scenic Highway 17 with scenic roads turned on, ready to add your own stops.
State Scenic Highway 17 runs between Santa Cruz and San Jose over Patchen Pass, known locally simply as "the Summit." The winding four-lane highway carries heavy commuter and weekend beach traffic through the redwood-forested Santa Cruz Mountains, flanked on both ends by stretches classified as Landscaped Freeway, from near Santa Cruz to Scotts Valley and again from Los Gatos to San Jose, where Caltrans maintains formal landscaping along the corridor. Despite the dense tree cover and mountain scenery that make the drive memorable, and its inclusion on the state's list of highways eligible for scenic designation, Route 17 has not received the official scenic-highway status itself, which would require a local corridor protection program along a route that already carries significant development pressure. The road is notorious for its curves and traffic volume, particularly on summer weekends when Bay Area residents head to Santa Cruz beaches.
- Santa Cruz to San Jose over Patchen Pass ("the Summit")
- Santa Cruz Mountains redwood forest
- Landscaped Freeway segments
- heavy commuter & beach traffic
- eligible for scenic highway status
Plan a drive on State Scenic Highway 17 →
About this drive
This is a scenic drive — a road worth taking for the views and the journey itself rather than the quickest line between two points.
Where to Stay along State Scenic Highway 17
2 campgrounds and RV parks sit within about 5 miles of State Scenic Highway 17.
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