SR 3 begins at the junction with
SR 36 south of the town of
Peanut in
Trinity County. SR 3 is also known as Bramlot Road from its southern terminus to
Hayfork. This stretch of road through the
Shasta-Trinity National Forest parallels the
Hayfork River. Once SR 3 reaches the town of Hayfork, it travels along Hyampom Road east and snakes through the mountains to
Douglas City and the junction with
SR 299. From there, SR 3 runs concurrently with SR 299 north to the town of
Weaverville. SR 3 then separates from SR 299, providing access to the
Whiskeytown-Shasta-Trinity National Recreation Area and
Trinity Dam along
Lewiston Lake. in Trinity Lake north of Lewiston SR 3 passes through the towns of
Covington Mill,
Trinity Center, and
Coffee Creek before paralleling the
Trinity River and
Trinity Mountains as Weaverville-Scott Mountain Road and crossing the
Scott Mountains and the
Pacific Crest Trail into
Siskiyou County. and a portion near the northern terminus is part of the
National Highway System, a network of highways that are considered essential to the country's economy, defense, and mobility by the
Federal Highway Administration. SR 3 is eligible to be included in the
State Scenic Highway System, and is officially designated as a scenic highway by the
California Department of Transportation for its entire length, meaning that it is a substantial section of highway passing through a "memorable landscape" with no "visual intrusions", where the potential designation has gained popular favor with the community. The segment of SR 3 from Weaverville to Gazelle Callahan Road forms part of the
Trinity Heritage Scenic Byway, a
National Forest Scenic Byway. in Montague In 2014, SR 3 had an
annual average daily traffic (AADT) of 135 at U.S. Forest Service Road, and 10,000 at Moonlit Oaks Avenue, the latter of which was the highest AADT for the highway. == History ==