El Camino Real
Original art, souvenir & collectible products celebrating the history of California's El Camino Real.
The 700-mile-long El Camino Real (Royal Highway or King's Highway) linked California's chain of 21 missions, which were founded by Father Junípero Serra and reputed to be spaced one day's journey apart by horseback. The El Camino Real was built by Spanish missionaries during the early mission days and was the first roadway in the State.
Over the years, the El Camino Real gave way to modern highways, primarily Routes 101 and 82. Around the turn of the century several civic groups, concerned that this historic road was being lost to "progress", worked to try to preserve it by having the state declare it a historic road and marking the original route from San Diego to Sonoma with the legendary El Camino Real Guidepost Bell.
