Bitterwater Rd, Temblor Range, CA

Bitterwater Road in California’s Central Coast Range connects Highway 58 with Highway 46 at Cholame. It’s remote, almost always deserted, and wildly scenic in spring. Spanning 32 miles of pavement between Highway 58 in the Carrizo Plain and Highway 46 near Cholame, the road traces the literal edge of the North American and Pacific tectonic plates, running directly atop the San Andreas Fault.

We describe it to our Pashnit Tour participants as “30 awesome miles of nothingness” — no trees, no commercial development, just a few small farms and virtually zero traffic.

In wet springs, the surrounding Temblor Range and rolling hills briefly transform into a utopia of brilliant superbloom of yellow and blue wildflowers.

When ranchers arrived in the 1860s, the water reportedly tasted like aspirin or Epsom salts. The name served as a literal warning: the water was bitter to the taste and often undrinkable for humans or harmful to livestock. Towns never formed here due to the lack of reliable, drinkable water.

That’s exactly why roads like Bitterwater Road remain so empty — and so perfect for riding — today. It was land few could farm or settle, leaving it wide open.

At the northern end of Bitterwater sits the James Dean Memorial at the Jack Ranch Café. We’re headed here at the height of spring green during April for a weekend tour based in Parkfield, CA (population 18).

https://www.pashnittours.com/parkfield