is mainly a rural and mountainous route that travels 35 mi. (56 km) from
CA-1 near
Santa Cruz through
Ben Lomond ,
Boulder Creek and several smaller towns to
Saratoga , where it briefly becomes known as Big Basin Way. It then turns south and becomes Saratoga-Los Gatos Road, passes through
Monte Sereno and finally terminates at
CA-17 in
Los Gatos . Daily traffic is between 3200 and 34,500 cars. The section between the Los Gatos town limit and the intersection with
CA-35 is designated a
California State Scenic Route .
The road is a winding 2 lane road for the majority of its length until it approaches Fruitvale Avenue in Saratoga. There it briefly becomes a 4 lane road with a large center divider. However as the road enters Monte Sereno it again becomes a two lane road. This particular narrowing has caused backups in the past however they have become more infrequent since the completion of
CA-85 . CA-9 resumes being a 4 lane road through Downtown Los Gatos until its terminus at the junction with
CA-17
CA-9 was created from several previously constructed roads. One of these was a toll road built in 1848 by
Martin McCarty .
The segment of Highway 9 between Los Gatos and Boulder Creek was added to the State Highway system in 1913. The segment from Boulder Creek to Santa Cruz was added in 1933. The route was not signed until 1934.
Initially, Highway 9 was signed as continuing north from Saratoga on what is now Saratoga-Sunnyvale Road. This segment was later re-signed as
CA-85 until
1994 , when CA-85 was rerouted. The road is no longer in the State Highway system. The road then continued up Matilda Avenue to present day
CA-237 where it turned east. CA-9 continued east until it reached Gold Street in
Alviso, California . The existing bridge did not exist facilitating the need for CA-9 to use the Gold Street bridge and enter downtown Alviso. CA-9 then joined First Street and continued down that street until it resumed an easterly course along the remainder of present day CA-237. At the interchange with what is now
I-880 , CA-9 turned north and continued along I-880 until it reached present day CA-262 at Mission Blvd. CA-9 followed Mission Blvd east until it reached present day
I-680 where it again turned north until reaching present day
CA-238 . CA-9 then followed CA-238's route to its terminus at what is now
I-580 in Castro Valley.
The southern end of CA-9 terminated at CA-17 in Santa Cruz until it was rerouted in
1981 .
Although CA-9 is mainly rural and mountainous, there are several points of interest along the way. At the summit of the Santa Cruz mountains (the junction with
CA-35 ), there is a vista point offering a (somewhat obstructed) view of the Bay Area. A better view can be obtained at the
Russian Ridge vista point on
CA-35 . After pasing the summit and the descent into Santa Cruz begins, CA-9 passes
Big Basin Redwoods State Park , a popular hiking spot and campground.
California Streets and Highways Code, Chapter 2, Article 3, Section 309
