Interstate 5 near Woodland.
US Interstate 5 (or I-5 for short) runs north-south all the way through California to Washington and is the only interstate that connects to both Mexico and Canada. It's also the quickest route to get to Southern California.
Though it's known through much of its length as I-5, the Southland has given this freeway several other names. The generation that grew up during the opening of the Interstate knew it as the Santa Ana Freeway, since it ran through Orange County. However, the majority of people who are acquainted with the named freeways of SoCal may still refer to it as the Golden State Freeway, as the freeway is more or less the artery of traffic in the state. But by far, the name most Northern Californians encounter is "The 5." More and more Southern Californians (especially amongst the younger crowd) are using this designation for I-5 and other interstates, so this name has been slowly replacing the plethora of names that had been commonplace in the past.
Except near large cities, Interstate 5 has only two lanes each direction. The speed limit is 70 mph in rural areas, though many drivers go much faster than that. I-5 is a major shipping route, so the slow lane is generally lined with trucks.
Go to West Coast Roads for more information and photos.
In Yolo County
These are the exits from I-5 in Yolo County.
- Exit 531 to County Road 22. Depending on which way you've been going on I-5 and which way you turn from this exit, you might exit onto County Road 118, County Road 122, or Old River Road (a former portion of Highway 16), but County Road 22 is the one that will take you to Woodland. It becomes East Main Street when you enter Woodland.
- Exit 536: County Road 102 in Woodland. Signs for Knights Landing.
- Exit 537: Main Street/I-5 Business Loop in Woodland. Signs for CA-113 S to Davis. Although the freeway signs say "Main Street," this exit actually takes you to East Main Street.
- Exit 538: CA-113 N to Yuba City/North East Street in Woodland. Although the freeway signs say "Yuba City," CA-113 N will actually only take you as far as Tudor, a tiny farm town a bit south of Yuba City proper.
- Exit 540: West Street slightly north of Woodland. Although the freeway signs say "West Street," this exit is actually farther north than North West Street, on the section of the road also known as County Road 99.
- Exit 541: CA-16 W/I-5 Business Loop/County Road 98, signs for Esparto. If you turn the opposite direction, you can exit onto County Road 18/County Highway E7 instead.
- Exit 542: Yolo (County Road 17)
- Exit 548: Zamora (County Road 13/County Highway E10)
- Exit 554: County Road 8 (I-505 S, signs for Winters/San Francisco)
- Exit 556: Dunnigan (County Road 6)
- Exit 559: County Line Road/County Road 1/County Highway P9 in Hershey
I-5 Business Loop
Interstate 5 has a Business Loop here in Woodland. Its business loop leaves the main I-5 route between I-5 exit 537 (Main Street at Pioneer Avenue, signs for CA-113 S to Davis) and I-5 exit 541 (CA-16 W or County Road 98, signs for Esparto). The business loop follows East Main Street/Main Street/West Main Street and County Road 98 until they meet one another at Browns Corner.
South of Woodland on Interstate 5
- Sacramento (25-30 minutes when traffic is light)
- Elk Grove (30-35 minutes)
- Stockton (1 hour)
- Santa Clarita (5.5 hours)
- Los Angeles (6 hours)
- Anaheim (6.5 hours - If you have kids, don't miss Disneyland!)
- San Diego (7.5 hours)
- Mexico (8 hours)
North of Woodland on Interstate 5
- Yolo (~10 minutes)
- Dunnigan (~20 minutes)
- Arbuckle (30 minutes)
- Williams (35 minutes - Check out the olives at Granzella's.)
- Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge (50 minutes)
- Willows (1 hour)
- Orland (1.25 hours)
- Corning (1.5 hours)
- Red Bluff (1.75 hours)
- Redding (2 hours)
- Shasta Lake (2.25 hours)
- Castle Crags State Park (3 hours)
- Mount Shasta (3.25 hours)
- Weed (3.5 hours)
- Yreka (3.75 hours)
- Ashland, Oregon (4.25 hours)
- Medford, Oregon (4.5 hours)
- Grants Pass, Oregon (5 hours)
- Roseburg, Oregon (6 hours)
- Eugene, Oregon (7 hours)
- Salem, Oregon (8 hours)
- Portland, Oregon (8.75 hours)
- Vancouver, Washington (9 hours)
- Longview, Washington (9.5 hours)
- Olympia, Washington (10.5 hours)
- Tacoma, Washington (11 hours)
- Seattle, Washington (11.5 hours)
- Bellingham, Washington (13 hours)
- Canada (13.25 hours)
