State Scenic Highway 3 3
State Scenic Highway 3 is a National Forest Scenic Byway in California. Within California it covers roughly 130 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 3 with scenic roads turned on, ready to add your own stops.
State Scenic Highway 3 crosses far Northern California's Trinity and Siskiyou counties, linking Hayfork to Montague over Scott Mountain Summit. From Weaverville, a Gold Rush-era town, the route runs north past Trinity Lake and the historic community of Lewiston, then follows the Trinity River through Trinity Center and Coffee Creek before climbing the Pacific Crest Trail crossing at Scott Mountain Summit into the Scott River Valley. The Weaverville-to-Callahan stretch forms part of the Trinity Heritage Scenic Byway, a National Forest Scenic Byway themed around the historic 'Oregon-California Trade Route' once used to move goods between the Trinity River basin and the Oregon Trail. Along the way, the Trinity Alps rise on either side of the highway, and the road remains remote enough that services are sparse between towns. It's one of the least-traveled state highways in California, prized by drivers specifically for the isolation and unbroken mountain scenery that busier Sierra routes no longer offer.
- Hayfork to Montague
- Trinity and Siskiyou counties
- Scott Mountain Summit (PCT crossing)
- Trinity Heritage Scenic Byway (Weaverville-Callahan)
- Weaverville Gold Rush town
- Trinity Alps
Plan a drive on State Scenic Highway 3 →
What is a National Forest Scenic Byway?
National Forest Scenic Byways are routes designated by the U.S. Forest Service that thread through the mountains, canyons and old growth of America's national forests and grasslands.
Where to Stay along State Scenic Highway 3
18 campgrounds and RV parks sit within about 5 miles of State Scenic Highway 3.
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