Patchen Pass
| Patchen Pass | |
|---|---|
| Cuesta de Los Gatos | |
 |
|
| Elevation | 1,808 ft (551 m) |
| Traversed by |
  SR 17 / SR 35
|
| Location | Santa Clara and Santa Cruz Counties, California |
| Range | Santa Cruz Mountains |
| Coordinates | 37°08′39″N 121°59′05″W / 37.14417°N 121.98472°W |
Patchen Pass is a low mountain pass through the Santa Cruz Mountains of California, connecting the Santa Clara Valley to Santa Cruz and the Pacific coast via California State Route 17.
Patchen Pass lies on the border between Santa Clara County to the north of the pass, and Santa Cruz County to the south. It is traversed by California State Route 17, which runs from north to south through the pass, and is the eastern terminus of California State Route 35, which runs along the ridgeline to the west the pass and continues to the east as Summit Road. The nearest municipalities to the pass are Los Gatos, 8 miles (13 km) north, and Scotts Valley, 8 miles (13 km) south. Amenities at the pass include a restaurant on one side of Highway 17, and a convenience store and marijuana dispensary on the other side. The elevation of the pass is marked as 1,800 feet (550 m) but has been variously reported as 1,840 feet (560 m) or 1,808 feet (551 m).
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.
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Wikipedia