Grapevine Canyon, California
| Grapevine | |
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| Unincorporated community | |
The Grapevine, looking south
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 Grapevine
Grapevine
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| Coordinates: 34°56′30″N 118°55′48″W / 34.94167°N 118.93000°WCoordinates: 34°56′30″N 118°55′48″W / 34.94167°N 118.93000°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | California |
| County | Kern County |
| Elevation | 1,499 ft (457 m) |
| ZIP code | 93203 |
| Area code(s) | 661 |
| Official name | Top of Grapevine Pass |
| Reference no. | 283 |
Grapevine is an unincorporated community in Kern County, California, at the southern end of the San Joaquin Valley. The village consists mainly of roadside services.
At an elevation of 1,499 feet (457 m), the community is located at the foot of a grade known as The Grapevine that starts at the mouth of Grapevine Canyon, immediately south of the community, and ascends the canyon to the Tejon Pass in the Tehachapi Mountains via Interstate 5 (formerly U.S. Route 99). The village and grade are named, not for the once-winding road known as the Grapevine that used to climb the steep mountain canyon, but for the canyon it passed through with its wild grapes that still grow along the original road. Its Spanish name was La Cañada de las Uvas, i.e. Grapevine ravine.
The Grapevine was infamous for its high accident rate before the road was straightened and widened during 1933–34 by the three-lane Ridge Route Alternate (US 99). There are escape ramps branching off both sides of the downward part of the road for heavy trucks whose brakes fail on this very long, 6% steep and now straight grade. The road is still occasionally closed due to heavy snowfall during winter storms. It has also been closed for fire and, in October and December, 2015, mudslide. As the Grapevine is the major route between Central and Southern California, any closure is a major disruption to traffic along the West Coast.
The top of the Grapevine is registered as California Historical Landmark #283, where Don Pedro Fages passed through in 1772 during his explorations through California.
In 1955, Charlie Ryan wrote and performed a popular song known as "Hot Rod Lincoln", about a teenager who races his souped-up Lincoln against a Cadillac up the Grapevine hill. While Ryan never drove up the Grapevine, this song was inspired by his own experience racing a friend between Coeur d'Alene and Lewiston, Idaho. The song was an answer to the 1951 song "Hot Rod Race" by Arkie Shibley, referring to the same stretch of road in central California.
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