California State Route 127

State Route 127 (SR 127) is a state highway in the U.S. state of California that connects Interstate 15 in Baker to Nevada State Route 373 at the Nevada state line, passing near the eastern boundary of Death Valley National Park. The entire length of the highway closely follows the central portion of the former Tonopah and Tidewater Railroad and loosely follows the Amargosa River.

State Route 127
Map of eastern California with SR 127 highlighted in red
Route information
Maintained by Caltrans
Length	91.033 mi[1] (146.503 km)
Major junctions
South end	I-15 at Baker
Major intersections	SR 178 at Shoshone SR 190 at Death Valley Junction
North end	SR 373 at Nevada state line south of Amargosa Valley, NV
Location
Country	United States
State	California
Counties	San Bernardino, Inyo
Highway system
State highways in California Interstate US State Scenic History Pre‑1964 Unconstructed Deleted Freeways
← SR 126 → SR 128

Route description

SR 127 in Baker, looking in Death Valley direction

Looking north along SR 127 about halfway between Baker and Shoshone.

The highway begins at I-15 in the community of Baker, the last town travelers from the Greater Los Angeles area or the Las Vegas Valley see before making their trek across Death Valley. SR 127 travels through the town of Baker as Death Valley Road before turning slightly northwest and traveling along the edge of Silver Lake, a dry lake. The road parallels Salt Creek and Silurian Lake as it crosses the Valjean Valley. SR 127 soon runs along the southeastern edge of Death Valley National Park and cuts through the mountains at Ibex Pass as it is entering Inyo County.^[2]

After passing by the turnoff for Tecopa Hot Springs, SR 127 runs concurrently with SR 178 through the community of Shoshone. SR 127 continues along the eastern edge of Death Valley National Park, passing by Eagle Mountain and the Amargosa River before intersecting SR 190 at Death Valley Junction. The road ends at the California-Nevada border, where Nevada State Route 373 begins.^[3] It is the "Lost Highway" featured in David Lynch's film Lost Highway.

SR 127 is part of the California Freeway and Expressway System,^[4] and near I-15 is part of the National Highway System,^[5] a network of highways that are considered essential to the country's economy, defense, and mobility by the Federal Highway Administration.^[6] SR 127 is eligible to be included in the State Scenic Highway System,^[7] but it is not officially designated as a scenic highway by the California Department of Transportation.^[8]

History

In 1933, Route 127 was added to the state highway system, and went from Baker to Death Valley Junction; Route 128 went from there to the Nevada state line.^[9] In the 1964 state highway renumbering, SR 127 was defined from I-15 to the Nevada state line.^[10] The route has remained the same since its definition.

Major intersections

Except where prefixed with a letter, postmiles were measured on the road as it was in 1964, based on the alignment that existed at the time, and do not necessarily reflect current mileage. R reflects a realignment in the route since then, M indicates a second realignment, L refers to an overlap due to a correction or change, and T indicates postmiles classified as temporary (for a full list of prefixes, see California postmile § Official postmile definitions).^[1] Segments that remain unconstructed or have been relinquished to local control may be omitted. The numbers reset at county lines; the start and end postmiles in each county are given in the county column.

County	Location	Postmile [1][11][12]	Destinations	Notes
San Bernardino SBD L0.00-41.47	Baker	L0.00	Kelbaker Road	Continuation beyond I-15
		L0.00	I-15 (Mojave Freeway) – Las Vegas, Barstow	Interchange; south end of SR 127; I-15 exit 246
		0.00	Baker Boulevard (I-15 Bus.) – Las Vegas, Barstow	Former US 91 / US 466
San Bernardino–Inyo county line	​	41.47 0.00	Ibex Pass, elevation 2,072 feet (632 m)[13]
Inyo INY 0.00-49.42	​	6.51	Old Spanish Trail Highway – Tecopa, Hot Springs
	Shoshone	14.75	SR 178 east – Pahrump, Las Vegas	South end of SR 178 overlap
	​	16.25	SR 178 west – Badwater	North end of SR 178 overlap
	Death Valley Junction	42.15	SR 190 – Death Valley National Park
	​	49.42	SR 373 to US 95 – Amargosa Valley, Las Vegas	Continuation beyond the Nevada state line; north end of SR 127
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Concurrency terminus

See also

• California Roads portal