Historical Marker · No. 662
Old Emigrant Road
Kirkwood, Amador County · California
Erected by the California State Park Commission in cooperation with the Silver Lake Campers Association, 1959
The landmark is a crossing point rather than a place. From 1848 the emigrant road swung in a long loop around the Silver Lake basin, and the bronze says that loop took it to 9,640 feet at one place. Thousands of vehicles ground over that stretch for fifteen years before a straighter line took the traffic away in 1863. The highway that followed now runs across the course of the old road instead of along it.
What the plaque says
OLD EMIGRANT ROAD AT THIS PLACE THE HIGHWAY CROSSES THE SITE OF THE OLD EMIGRANT ROAD WHICH HERE BEGAN A LONG LOOP AROUND THE SILVER LAKE BASIN, TAKING IT TO AN ELEVATION OF 9,640 FEET AT ONE PLACE. THIS DIFFICULT PORTION OF THE ROAD WAS USED BY THOUSANDS OF VEHICLES FROM 1848 TO 1863, WHEN IT WAS SUPERSEDED BY A ROUTE APPROXIMATING THE PRESENT HIGHWAY. CALIFORNIA REGISTERED HISTORICAL LANDMARK NO. 662 PLAQUE PLACED BY THE CALIFORNIA STATE PARK COMMISSION IN COOPERATION WITH THE SILVER LAKE CAMPERS ASSOCIATION, JULY 11, 1959.
Where it stands
38.63739, -120.14221 · Directions
Worth the stop nearby
- Emerald Bay State Park — 22 miA glacial fjord on Tahoe's west shore with the lake's only island and a Scandinavian house at the water.
More markers nearby
- Maiden's Grave — 1.6 mi
- Kirkwood's — 5.9 mi
- Old Emigrant Road — 7.3 mi
- Memorial to Pioneer Odd Fellows — 9.2 mi