California Touge.Best driving roads in California

Soquel–San Jose Road

A mountain-to-coast connection from Summit Road toward Soquel, with forest curves and residential stretches.

Medium speedDifficulty 2/3 · WindingSanta Cruz Mountains

Road shape

Length
11 mi
Bends
35
Switchbacks
1
Bends per mile
3.2
Turning per mile
318°
Curviest rank
63of 85

Measured from the OpenStreetMap centreline at a 20 m sampling step — road shape only, not a safety or speed judgement. How bends are counted.

Elevation

Low 55 ft11.1 miHigh 1,588 ft
Total climb
1,914ft
Climb per mile
174ft
Highest point
1,589ft
Steepest grade
6.5%

Sampled every 100 m from USGS 10 m elevation data, a public-domain federal dataset. Total climb counts vertical change in both directions, so it does not depend on which way you drive. How elevation is measured.

Speed limits

35–40 mph

Published limits

35 mph near Soquel, then 40 mph toward Summit Road.

County code: 35 mph from Paper Mill Road to 1.4 miles north of Soquel Drive; 40 mph from there to Summit Road.

Speed-limit source ↗

Posted signs always govern. How speed evidence is handled.

Sources

Difficulty 2/3 (Winding) is our editorial rating of width, bends and sightlines; “Medium speed” describes character, not a target speed. Full method. Identified from:

Reviewed 2026-09-08. The trace shows selected road sections, not a navigation route.

Roads nearby

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