CA 246
State Route 246 (SR 246) is a state highway in the U.S. state of California. It runs from Lompoc east to Santa Ynez, cutting through the Santa Barbara Wine Country.
Most of the road is two lanes wide, with the exception of the route through the cities of Lompoc and Buellton. This is the primary route from U.S. Route 101 to Solvang, one of the Santa Ynez Valley's biggest tourist attractions. It follows the Santa Ynez River for most of its length. The portion of the route through Solvang is called Mission Drive, while through Lompoc—where is co-signed with State Route 1—it is called Ocean Avenue. SR 246 was defined all the way to Surf, but in 1984, it was truncated to SR 1 (known as H Street in Lompoc.) SR 246 then leads northeast out of Lompoc along a relatively flat two-lane road until reaching Buellton, where it widens upon its intersection with US 101. It narrows once again to two lanes through Solvang and Santa Ynez before reaching its eastern terminus at the junction with State Route 154. This is the main alternate route from Northern Santa Barbara County to the South Coast, and it is a pleasant drive for those who want to avoid the heavy truck traffic on US 101. It is also notable for passing two of Santa Barbara County's three Spanish-era missions, Santa Inés (in Solvang) and La PurÃsima Concepción (near Lompoc).
In 1933, this was part of State Route 150, and in 1963, it was part of State Route 154.
Except where prefixed with a letter, postmiles were measured on the road as it was in 1964, and do not necessarily reflect current mileage. The entire route is in Santa Barbara County.
