The El Camino Real can be translated several ways into English, however, it is usually just called the "King's Highway." It was the route connected the 21 California Missions created by the Fransiscan missionaries in helping to claim Alta California for the Spanish empire.
It generally follows the route of US Highway 101, but it does have some occassional sudden appearances in some places (For example, there is a portion in San Gabriel that is suddenly signed out of nowhere and continues to San Gabriel Archangel and then disappears). The original idea of saving the history route was brought up in 1892 by Anna Pitcher, Director of the Pasadena Art Exhibition Association to the Women's Club of Los Angeles. However, no action to preserve the El Camino Real occured until 1904 when the El Camino Real Association was formed, it also created the use of the bell marking the route. Originally there were 450 iron cast bells, but they were vandalized, stolen, etc. Today the replacements made by CalTrans are usually concrete and can be adopted via the Adopt-a-Highway program.
There are also several other different El Camino Reals, here are 2 other ones:
- El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro -- This 1,800 mile trail goes from Mexico City to Santa Fe, New Mexico. In the United States, this route runs along approximately Interstate 25 between El Paso, Texas and Taos, New Mexico.
- El Camino Real de los Tejas -- El Camino Real de los Tejas and variations in the primary route were used for more than 150 years as the principal route between Mexico City, Saltillo, Monclova, and respective presidios, and the missions near the present Guerrero, Coahuila, Mexico, on the Rio Grande and Los Adaes in what is now northwestern Louisiana.