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  5. Road trippin'

Road trippin': Up, up and away on SR-Twen-tay

The largely flat land surrounding Yuba City is covered mostly with orchards. Almonds, plums, other nuts and other fruits. The Sierra Nevada, by contrast, especially this spring, is blanketed with thick snow. It's quite the contrast, and one that can be explored in less than two hours by driving eastward on State Route 20 from the Yuba City/Marysville urban area, through the the popular Gold Rush/foothills communities of Grass Valley and Nevada City, all the way up to where SR-20 runs into Interstate 80, at the Yuba Gap. Until you make the drive yourself, ride along with CT News.

Gallery

sr20-01 (Screen shot courtesy of Google Maps)
sr20-02 State Route 20 bisects with State Route 99 in Yuba City. West of there, SR-20 winds its way to Fort Bragg and the coast.
sr20-03 On this eastward stretch of State Route 20, CT News begins its 68-mile journey in commercial Yuba City.
sr20-04 Seamlessly in terms of developed areas, Highway passes through Yuba City to Marysville at the junction of State Route 70.
sr20-05 Caltrans' primary offices for District 3 are located at this intersection off State Route 20 in Marysville.
sr20-06 Slope work is in evidence at this part of State Route 20 as it proceeds through Marysville toward the Grass Valley area.
sr20-07 There has been a lot more rain this season than normal, although this drainage canal off SR-20 seemed to be holding up in February.
sr20-08 In a flashback to the mid-20th century, a geodesic dome appears off the south side of Highway 20.
sr20-09 Animal sculptures are also part of the roadside scene on State Route 20 between Marysville and Grass Valley.
sr20-10 State Route 20's bridge over the Yuba River appears in the distance as the highway heads up into the foothills.
sr20-11 There's room to park and explore a bit under the bridge that spans the Yuba River near the small community of Smartsville.
sr20-12 CT News got its shoes muddy for this photo just west of Penn Valley. The photo's composition does not suggest it was much worth it.
sr20-13 Grass Valley, also accessible via State Route 49, is one of California's quintessential foothills towns.
sr20-14 This overpass looks down on State Route 20 and also serves as the main way to get from SR-20 to charming downtown Nevada City.
sr20-15 Dirty snow and weather-themed road signs come into view as State Route 20 continues east out of Nevada City.
sr20-16 A stockpile of snowplow equipment stands lined up and ready to roll as Highway 20 climbs ever higher into the Sierra Nevada.
sr20-17 These signs describe the northern view off the parking lot of the first of two vista points on the road from Nevada City toward Yuba Pass.
sr20-18 If tent camping's your thing, your thing is going to have to be patient to await the reopening of this snowed-in site along State Route 20.
sr20-19 Here's the second vista point along State Route 20 between Nevada City and its junction with Interstate 80.
sr20-20 The 211-mile-long State Route 20 comes to its easternmost point at Yuba Pass and I-80, about 68 miles from Yuba City.
sr20-21 Looking back toward the west, State Route 20 represents one of the best options to get from the North State to the Pacific Ocean.