Ridge Route

The Ridge Route, also called the Castaic–Tejon Route and nicknamed the Grapevine, was an important two-lane road in California. It connected Los Angeles County with Kern County, helping people travel between the Los Angeles Basin and the San Joaquin Valley, which is part of the Central Valley. The road went over the Tejon Pass and through the Sierra Pelona Mountains, a rugged area south of Gorman.

Opened in 1915, the Ridge Route was one of the first roads in that area to be paved with concrete between 1917 and 1921. It passed many interesting places, such as the National Forest Inn, Reservoir Summit, and other old hotels along the way. As more people started using the road, it was later replaced by bigger highways. Today, parts of the old Ridge Route are closed, but some sections are still used by local drivers, and a part of it is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

Route description

The Ridge Route was officially called the Castaic–Tejon Route. It started at State Route 126 at Castaic Junction and ended at the bottom of the grade at Grapevine. Before 1930, the road went through the Newhall Tunnel at San Fernando Pass.

From Castaic Junction north to Castaic, the Ridge Route is now mostly covered by newer roads. At Castaic, the old road turned northwest. After passing North Lake, the road began to climb, and part of it was straightened in 1924. This area is known as the Five-Mile Grade. The road later entered the Angeles National Forest about one mile south of Templin Highway.

There were several places along the road in the forest, like the National Forest Inn, Kelly's Half Way Inn, Tumble Inn, and Sandberg's Summit Hotel. Some of these places were popular stops for travelers, but many were bypassed by newer roads and are now just memories, with only a few remains left behind.

The National Forest Inn was on the west side of the road. It was made of white clapboard buildings but was destroyed by a fire in 1932 and was not rebuilt.

About two miles north of the National Forest Inn is Serpentine Drive, where the road curves around hills. North of there, the road goes through Swede's Cut, a very deep cut in the earth.

Reservoir Summit is a high point on the road. There was a popular restaurant there, but it closed in the late 1920s.

Kelly's Half Way Inn was about halfway between Los Angeles and Bakersfield. Only parts of its foundation remain.

The Tumble Inn, later called Mountain View Lodge, closed in 1933. Some steps and a wall are still there.

The Sandberg's Summit Hotel was built in 1914 and served travelers when the road opened in 1915. It was made of logs and was a fancy hotel. The hotel burned down in 1961, and only some parts of its foundation and a rock wall remain.

The Ridge Route crosses the West Branch California Aqueduct with SR 138, then joins I-5 again at Gorman. From Gorman to Grapevine, most of the old road is covered by newer roads. The old path is now called Peace Valley Road and Lebec Road, going over Tejon Pass and past Lebec and Fort Tejon. At Grapevine, the road flattens out.

History

Before the Ridge Route

Before the Ridge Route, traveling between Los Angeles and the San Joaquin Valley was less direct. El Camino Real, the first major road in California, connected Los Angeles and the missions, presidios, and settlements with San Francisco and Sonoma. Another route between Los Angeles and Bakersfield followed the southern approach to the Ridge Route to Saugus, but took a longer path between Saugus and Gorman, heading northeast through San Francisquito Canyon to the Antelope Valley and west to Gorman.

Construction

The new road, built with an ideal grade of 6 percent but with several 7 percent grades, cut the travel distance by many miles over older routes. A speed limit of 15 miles per hour was enforced between Castaic and Quail Lake, making the trip from Los Angeles to Bakersfield take about 12 hours. The unpaved road, which had cost $450,000, opened in October 1915.

Bypasses and the fate of the bypassed road

In 1929, the state decided to build a new bypass of the central portion through Piru Canyon and to upgrade the north portion over Tejon Pass. This Ridge Route Alternate shortened the route and increased safety. Construction began in 1930, and the road south of Tejon Pass opened on October 29, 1933. The old highway was to be relinquished to Los Angeles County and incorporated into the county road system.

Portions of the old road continued to exist as a county road. The longest preserved segment was the part bypassed by the Ridge Route Alternate, between Castaic and SR 138 near Sandberg, including the portion through the Angeles National Forest. The road was repaired in 2005 following heavy rainfall, but was not reopened as of early 2013 due to objections from Angeles National Forest officials.

Major intersections

County	Location	mi	km	Destinations
Los Angeles	Castaic Junction	0	0.0	US 99 south – Santa Clarita, Los Angeles SR 126
	Gorman	30	48	SR 138 east – Lancaster, Palmdale
Kern	Grapevine	44	71	US 99 north – Bakersfield
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi