In Ventura County, U.S. 101 passes through the major cities of that county, narrowing down to four lanes (two in each direction) for the first time since downtown Los Angeles. Since most north-south, intrastate traffic utilizes Interstate 5 through the Central Valley, most traffic along U.S. 101 is headed for Santa Barbara or the Central Coast (San Luis Obispo). U.S. 101 returns within sight of the coast in the vicinity of Oxnard and Ventura, where it picks up California 1 (the Pacific Coast Highway). For the first time, farms are visible along U.S. 101 at varying intervals, especially just east of Camarillo.
Northbound U.S. 101
Northbound U.S. 101/Ventura Freeway approaching Exit 40, Junction Southbound California 23, Westlake Boulevard, one mile. Photo taken 12/23/01.
Northbound U.S. 101/Ventura Freeway approaching Exit 40, Junction Southbound California 23, Westlake Boulevard, one-quarter of a mile. The next exit is Hampshire Road. Photo taken 12/23/01.
Northbound U.S. 101/Ventura Freeway and California 23 approaching Exit 41, Hampshire Road. Photo taken 12/23/01.
Northbound U.S. 101/Ventura Freeway and California 23 at Exit 41, Hampshire Road (partially cut off in this picture). The next exit is the northbound California 23 freeway. Photo taken 12/23/01.
California 23 takes precedence over U.S. 101 in this shield picture along northbound U.S. 101/Ventura Freeway and California 23 just ahead of Exit 43A, Junction Northbound California 23 Freeway. Photo taken 12/23/01.
Northbound U.S. 101/Ventura Freeway and California 23 approaching Exit 43A, Junction Northbound California 23. Note that the exit utilizes the far right lane as an exit-only lane, and the second lane from the right is an "optional" lane that permits either exit onto the California 23 freeway or remaining on U.S. 101 northbound. Photo taken 12/23/01.
Northbound U.S. 101/Ventura Freeway at Exit 43A, Junction Northbound California 23. Again note the variation in pavement color to differentiate through traffic from exit lanes. Also notice that the entire U.S. 101 through traffic sign has been overlaid with a new shield, control city, and number of lanes for through traffic. Photo taken 12/23/01.
Northbound U.S. 101/Ventura Freeway at Exit 43B, Rancho Road, in Thousand Oaks. Photo taken 12/23/01.
Northbound U.S. 101/Ventura Freeway approaching Exit 45, Lynn Road. Photo taken 12/23/01.
Northbound U.S. 101/Ventura Freeway approaching Exit 47A, Rancho Conejo Boulevard and Borchard Road. Photo taken 12/23/01.
Northbound U.S. 101/Ventura Freeway at Exit 50, Camarillo Springs Road and Newbury Park. Photo taken 12/23/01.
Northbound U.S. 101 descending from the vicinity of Thousand Oaks into Camarillo Valley. This is among the first open space along northbound as the highway leaves the Los Angeles metropolitan area. Photos taken 12/23/01.
Northbound U.S. 101/Ventura Freeway approaching Exit 53A, Flynn Road, three-quarters of a mile. The next exit is California 34, Lewis Road, in Camarillo. Photo taken 12/23/01.
Northbound U.S. 101/Ventura Freeway at Exit 59, Del Norte Boulevard. One feature of the area around Camarillo is the abundance of agriculture, which has been mostly absent for the entire distance from downtown Los Angeles to this point along northbound. Photo taken 12/23/01.
Northbound U.S. 101/Ventura Freeway at Exit 60, Santa Clara Avenue/Rice Avenue. Photo taken 12/23/01.
Northbound U.S. 101/Ventura Freeway at Exit 61, Rose Avenue. The lone skyscraper visible in the distance marks the skyline of the city of Oxnard. Photo taken 12/23/01.
Northbound U.S. 101/Ventura Freeway approaching Exit 62A, Junction California 232, Vineyard Avenue, in Oxnard. Photo taken 12/23/01.
Northbound U.S. 101/Ventura Freeway at Exit 62A, Junction California 232, Vineyard Avenue, in Oxnard. California 232 leads north to meet California 118 and south to meet California 1/Pacific Coast Highway in downtown Oxnard. Both California 232 and California 34 meet their end at California 1 in Oxnard. Photo taken 12/23/01.
Northbound U.S. 101/California 1/Ventura Freeway approaching Exit 62B, Junction Ventura Road, next right. Even though it was not visible to northbound traffic, California 1 merged onto U.S. 101 just after the California 232 interchange. With one exception, California 1 remains silently merged with U.S. 101 from this point north through to after the Gaviota Tunnel. There are occasional reassurance shields here and there, but they are few and far between. Photo taken 12/23/01.
Northbound U.S. 101/California 1/Ventura Freeway at Exit 62B, Junction Ventura Road. Photo taken 12/23/01.
Northbound U.S. 101/California 1/Ventura Freeway approaching Exit 63, Johnson Drive, in Montalvo. This is the first exit along northbound for the city of Ventura (after the Santa Clara River bridge). Photo taken 12/23/01.
Northbound U.S. 101/California 1/Ventura Freeway approaching Exit 63, Johnson Drive, one-quarter mile. Photo taken 12/23/01.
Northbound U.S. 101/California 1 entering the city limits of Ventura near Milepost 64. Photo taken 12/23/01.
Northbound U.S. 101/California 1/Ventura Freeway approaching Exit 64, Victoria Avenue, one mile. Victoria Avenue leads south to Port Hueneme, which has a ferry terminal that provides boat access to the Channel Islands National Park. Photo taken 12/23/01.
Northbound U.S. 101/California 1/Ventura Freeway approaching Exit 64, Victoria Avenue, one-half mile. Photo taken 12/23/01.
Northbound U.S. 101/California 1/Ventura Freeway approaching Exit 65, Telephone Road. This exit leads to the city of Ventura's harbors and ferry terminals as well as McGrath State Beach. Photo taken 12/23/01.
Northbound U.S. 101/California 1/Ventura Freeway at Exit 65, Telephone Road, in Ventura. Photo taken 12/23/01.
Northbound U.S. 101/California 1 at the point where the California 126 freeway merges onto northbound. Note the end shield on the right shoulder. See California 126 for a picture of this shield as seen from the onramp. Photo taken 12/23/01.
Northbound U.S. 101/California 1/Ventura Freeway at Exit 66A, Junction Eastbound California 126 Freeway. Note the use of reflective signs on this overhead assembly. The next exit, Exit 66B, is Business U.S. 101, Main Street. Photo taken 12/23/01.
Northbound U.S. 101/California 1/Ventura Freeway approaching Exit 66B, Business U.S. 101/Main Street, in Ventura. This is one of the few remaining U.S. 101 Freeway/Business signs remaining. Photo taken 12/23/01.
Northbound U.S. 101/California 1/Ventura Freeway at Exit 66B, Business U.S. 101/Main Street, in Ventura. Note the white-on-green U.S. 101 overhead sign. Photo taken 12/23/01.
Northbound U.S. 101/California 1/Ventura Freeway approaching Exit 68, Seaward Avenue, one-half mile. Photo taken 12/23/01.
Northbound U.S. 101/California 1/Ventura Freeway approaching Exit 69, Sanjon Road, three-quarters of one mile. Photo taken 12/23/01.
Northbound U.S. 101/California 1/Ventura Freeway at Exit 70A, California Street, in Ventura. Note the truss railroad bridge crossing the freeway at this point. Photo taken 12/23/01.
Northbound U.S. 101/California 1/Ventura Freeway approaching Exit 70B, Junction Northbound California 33 Freeway. Note that the signs have been replaced; the new signs are shown in the second picture. First photo taken 12/23/01; second photo taken 06/02/02.
Northbound U.S. 101/California 1/Ventura Freeway at Exit 70B, Junction Northbound California 33 Freeway. California 33 leads north from here to Ojai, then crosses the coastal ranges to enter the Central Valley, roughly paralleling Interstate 5 all the way north to Tracy (near Interstate 205). From Ventura north to Taft, California 33 follows Historic U.S. 399. U.S. 399 was decommissioned in 1964 along with many other U.S. routes. It was eliminated primarily because it was an intra-state U.S. route, not because it was supplanted by an Interstate highway. Again note that the signs have been replaced; the new signs are shown in the second picture. First photo taken 12/23/01; second photo taken 06/02/02.
Northbound U.S. 101 and California 1 mileage sign after Exit 70B. Photo taken 12/23/01.
Northbound U.S. 101 and California 1 approaching Exit 72, Northbound California 1/West Pacific Coast Highway/Emma Wood State Beach. California 1 briefly exits the freeway here to follow an older alignment of U.S. 101, but it returns to U.S. 101 rather quickly, at the Seacliff exit. Pphoto taken 12/23/01.
Northbound U.S. 101 and California 1 at Exit 72, Northbound California 1/West Pacific Coast Highway/Emma Wood State Beach. The signage for Exit 72 is inconsistent. Photo taken 12/23/01.
View of the subway carrying northbound California 1 under the U.S. 101 freeway at Exit 72. Photo taken 06/02/02.
Views of north U.S. 101 between Exits 72 and 78. Photos taken 06/02/02.
Northbound U.S. 101 approaching Exit 78, Southbound California 1/Seacliff. Photo taken 12/23/01.
Northbound U.S. 101 at Exit 78, Southbound California 1/Seacliff. Photo taken 12/23/01.
Northbound U.S. 101/California 1 approaching the end of the freeway near Milepost 79. Since Los Angeles, this is the first time along northbound that U.S. 101 reverts to an expressway. There are only a few crossroads ahead before U.S. 101 resumes freeway characteristics again. U.S. 101 motorists are greeted by these kinds of signs frequently between Ventura and San Jose. Along southbound, these are the last crossroads; U.S. 101 is freeway from here south to its terminus in Los Angeles. Photo taken 12/23/01.
Northbound U.S. 101/California 1 at the transition of the freeway into an expressway. The ocean dominates the view to the left (south) of the freeway. Photo taken 06/01/02.
Northbound U.S. 101/California 1 expressway section along the Pacific coast near Milepost 79. Photo taken 06/01/02.
Northbound U.S. 101/California 1 approaching Exit 84, Eastbound California 150, Ojai/Lake Casitas, one mile. Photo taken 12/23/01.
Northbound U.S. 101/California 1 approaching Exit 84, Eastbound California 150, Ojai/Lake Casitas, next right. Photo taken 12/23/01.
Northbound U.S. 101/California 1 at Exit 84, Eastbound California 150, Ojai/Lake Casitas. First photo taken 12/23/01; second photo taken 06/02/02.
Other U.S. 101 Pictures
This relatively new freeway entrance signage for U.S. 101/hidden California 1 is located in Ventura along Seaward Avenue (Exit 68). Photo taken 06/01/02.
Emma Wood State Beach Abandoned Section
Former Southbound U.S. 101 near the entrance to Emma Wood State Beach, which is located just west (north) of the California 33 interchange. Photo taken 06/01/02.
This picture shows the original U.S. 101 in Emma Wood State Beach, which rode on top of a retaining wall in the 1930s. Although portions of the wall have corroded and crumbled, it is still in use today as a parking/camping area for users of the state beach. This view is looking north/west. Photo taken 06/01/02.
The original concrete is visible under the asphalt in this view of the former southbound U.S. 101 in Emma Wood State Beach. Photo taken 06/01/02.
Another view of the seawall and original highway, now in use as a parking lot along northbound U.S. 101 in Emma Wood State Beach. Photo taken 06/01/02.
