Travel Geek Alert: I was inspired to visit this highway after viewing Huell Howser‘s California’s Gold Road Trip show. It was the second time that I had randomly turned on the TV and this show popped up. I knew I just had to go and find this old and very historic route for the State of California. Do you not know about Huell Howser? Well, this fine gentleman created and starred in various public TV (KCET – Los Angeles) shows featuring the sites and people of California. The show that inspired me is archived at Chapman University here. There is an additional article at the KCET web site on their show “Lost LA” here.
Please note: This road was built in 1915 first with gravel and oil to keep it in place -more or less. The true width of the road was 20 feet. It was later paved over with concrete and probably a little bit wider. There were not and still are not any guard rails for the road. The route follows the mountain side slopes and often makes tight and blind curves. It’s difficult driving this route now so imagine driving this old road in a 1915 Model T Ford! Probably in the 1950s it was paved again with asphalt. There are places along the route where each layer of paving is revealed due to erosion. There are rock slides, deep erosion, and big pot holes all along the route. The US Forest Service was taking care of the road within the Angeles National Forest. It doesn’t look like there is much repair going on now as demonstrated in some of my pictures. I decided to follow the route as Huell Howser did from the Castaic side where it starts from the south side of the Tehachapi Mountain Range and driving toward the grapevine valley. The show I watched originally aired in 2003. My trusty map from AAA had very little detail of where the route started AND there has been a lot of development in the Castaic area. I figured it might take some ingenuity and outright guessing to find the old road. I was right! Look for street signs – sometimes they are hidden or just plane difficult to see. I did find the starting route and it winds through a new neighborhood and school. Getting past all of this new construction the old road appears with some fantastic valley views.
Here is a more well maintained part of the ghost highway that parallels the I-5. The Road Trip video from 2003 starts at this point with Huell Howser inviting viewers to come along for the ride. This is the split on the 5 that takes southbound traffic to the right and northbound is on the left. When driving on this freeway one never really notices the side and frontage roads that appear from time to time.
The road up to this point was in decent shape – all things considered. This intersection marked the end of decent road to one that was winding and pockmarked. Templin Hwy is an exit from the freeway. This exit can be used for easier access to the old road but you will miss the transition sections and beautiful views. Templin Hwy more than likely was made for specific access to a water reservoir in the valley below for Los Angeles and dead ends at the building that pumps the water to the city.
I really liked winding around the mountain and found a lot of private property. The web site for the Old Ridge Route made me aware that there are road closures. I had hoped that the roads would be repaired due to the historical significance of the road. However, I found this dead end on the Castaic side . . . but was determined to find the north route and see how far I could go.
Back to the freeway (I-5) north to Antelope Valley Rt 138 heading east to the Old Ridge Route exit.
I was able to get to the top of the ridge on a road that was literally ripped apart, washed out with rock slides, potholed but still intact. I found ruins of old hotels and houses along the way. The wind was as rough as the road and it brought in a storm cloud with scattered snow and rain while the sun was shining. It became a true 4×4 and AWD vehicle road and the AWD Shuttlecraft was brilliant throughout.
This trip is unusual for the #IEDaytripper. It was an all day journey and outside of the greater Inland Empire but well worth the time, map and GPS energy to complete the trip. If you have a suggestion for a day trip let me know in the comment section.
