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Del Puerto Canyon Road, Diablo Range, California
Photo: brewbooks · CC BY-SA 2.0 · cropped

Drives California The Bay Area

Del Puerto Canyon Road

Del Puerto Canyon Road, CA 130 · Patterson → The Junction

Twisty24 mi55 min3,400 ft climbHigh point ≈ 2,400 ftOne way
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The drive

Del Puerto Canyon Road is the long way into the Diablo Range from the Central Valley. It leaves Patterson just west of I-5 and follows Del Puerto Creek up a dry, rocky canyon. For its first 16 miles it runs on the grade of the old Patterson & Western Railroad, a short-lived narrow-gauge line built in 1916 to haul magnesite from a mine up the canyon, which is why the low part of the drive is mostly easy curves.

At Frank Raines Regional Park, a Stanislaus County park best known for its off-highway vehicle area, the railroad grade ends and the road starts to climb in earnest, narrower and more winding, into Santa Clara County and up to San Antonio Valley. It ends at The Junction, where Mines Road heads north to Livermore and San Antonio Valley Road heads west toward Mount Hamilton. The road over the range opened to through traffic in 1942.

It's driven west from Patterson, so you climb out of the valley and finish high in the ranch country.

Along the way

  1. Patterson (Interstate 5)
  2. Frank Raines Regional Park
  3. The Junction (Mines Road)
Elevation
3,400 ft of climbing · high point ≈ 2,400 ft
PattersonThe Junction
Curves
Mostly moderate, with three twisty stretches
PattersonThe Junction
GentleHairpins

Good to know

  • It's remote, with no services along the way: fill up in Patterson.
  • The upper road west of Frank Raines Park is narrow and winding, with blind bends.
  • Summer temperatures at Frank Raines Park regularly pass 100 degrees.
  • Stanislaus County has approved moving the lowest few miles of the road for a proposed reservoir; check for construction before you go.

Open all year, weather permitting. Roads close for snow, fire, storms and repairs: before you set off, check Stanislaus County Public Works: road closures.

Questions about this drive

How long does Del Puerto Canyon Road take?

Del Puerto Canyon Road from Patterson to The Junction in San Antonio Valley is 24.2 miles and takes about 55 minutes without stops.

Where does Del Puerto Canyon Road go?

Del Puerto Canyon Road runs from Patterson, at I-5, west through the Diablo Range to The Junction, where it meets Mines Road to Livermore and San Antonio Valley Road to Mount Hamilton.

Is there gas on Del Puerto Canyon Road?

No. There are no services on Del Puerto Canyon Road, so fill up in Patterson before you start.

How twisty is Del Puerto Canyon Road?

Del Puerto Canyon Road is mostly moderate curves on the old railroad grade low down, with three twisty stretches, the tightest on the narrow climb west of Frank Raines Park.

What you get in the app

Turn by turn, on this roadSpoken directions along the exact route. Carve never reroutes you onto a faster one.
Preview it in 3DFly the whole drive over satellite and terrain before you go.
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Distance, time, elevation, curves and intensity are from Carve's route. Checked 2026-10-28.

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Map of Del Puerto Canyon Road, from Patterson to The Junction