Here's a list of common terms used to reference locations in the Santa Cruz Mountains (alphabetical order)
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Alma Bridge
- While Alma Bridge Road goes around the east side of Lexington Reservoir, this is sometimes a term to mean the overpass at Bear Creak Rd. and Hwy 17.
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Big Moody Curve
- The big U-Shaped turn on 17, just north of Redwood Estates. It is what goes through Moody Gulch.
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The Cats
- A restaurant on the southbound side of 17 0.3 miles from the North Santa Cruz onramp.
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Glenwood Cutoff
- Sometimes mistakenly referred to as "Lower Glenwood" is farther south, about halfway between the restaurants and Scotts Valley.
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Goat Trail
- The last 4 miles of the southern portion of highway 35 (Skyline Blvd) between Black Road and Bear Creek Road.
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Laurel Curve
- An “S” bend between Laurel Drive and Glenwood Cutoff, 3.3 miles south of Summit Rd.
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Loma Prieta Way and Loma Prieta Ave
- Different roads in the mountains. They are connected so people tend to confuse them.
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Lower Glenwood
- All the way down in Scotts Valley, near Granite Creek Drive and doesn't directly intersect 17
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Mountain Charlie
- Old road that is on both sides of Hwy 17. Most only know about the part on the West side of 17, it also goes from Summitteen down to OSCH.
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Old Santa Cruz Highway (OSCH)
- Used to be the old highway before Hwy 17 was built. Parallel to Hwy 17 from near Lexington to past Summit Road.
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SSJ - Soquel San Jose Rd, also "Old San Jose Road", also San Jose Soquel
- Runs from Soquel to Summit Rd
- Also known by old names of San Jose Soquel (SJS) and Old San Jose (OSJ)
- Soda Springs Road (SSR)
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The Summit - often heard from radio announcers discussing traffic, but it is unclear. It can mean:
- The Summit Road overpass.
- The actual Summit of the mountain itself, which is basically where the restaurants are at the top.
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Summiteen
- aka "Low Dirt" is the parking lot next to Hwy 17 at Summit.
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Upper Glenwood
- The intersection of 17 and Glenwood Drive, just south of the restaurants
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Valley Surprise
- The right hand turn, going North on 17, just north of Summit Road. People build up too much speed going north from the restaurants, take the left just after the Summit overpass, and then can't control it in the right hand turn. Look at the center divide there. It is covered with car paint. Often they wind up impacting stopped drivers ahead of them, or over steering and going all the way to the right after the impact with the divider.
