Ridge Route
The Ridge Route' was California's first highway linking the Los Angeles Basin with the San Joaquin Valley, and was particularly used to travel from the city of Los Angeles to Bakersfield. It was sometimes called the Tejon-Castaic Ridge Route.
History
Surveying began in 1912 on what was one of the largest and most daunting feats of road engineering ever attempted; so daunting a task, in fact, that there was serious discussion about splitting the state in two. The Automobile Club of Southern California as well as political interests led the charge to build the highway and preserve the state.
Completed in 1915, the highway got its name because it followed the ridge line of the San Gabriel and Tehachapi Mountains. Mostly bypassed by 1938 with the coming of U.S. Highway 99, a 30-mile long, 20-foot-wide stretch of the original Ridge Route between Castaic just off Interstate 5 and Highway 138 in Gorman is paved in concrete and is still passable.
Features
The complete road from Castaic to Gorman had more than 600 curves totalling 39,441 degrees; or roughly 110 full circles; with few guard rails or turnouts. One section, popularly referred to as The Grapevine, then as now, was not named for the winding path taken by the road (as many believe), but for the wild grapevines which early Spanish explorers had to hack through. It was dubbed Cañon de las Uvas, or, in English, Canyon of the Grapes. These wild grapevines still exist on Grapevine "hill" west of Interstate 5 next to a part of old US 99.
Other named features included Swede's Cut (carved through solid rock with steam-powered equipment and mule-powered graders), the Newhall Tunnel and Horseshoe Bend overlooking Liebre Gulch. Horseshoe Bend was the first paved stretch of the Ridge Route, but was bypassed early in the highway's history and is no longer passable. Parts of the route ran alongside and overlooked Castaic Creek.
The Ridge Route today
The route's present end at Highway 138 was the site of the Butterfield Stage stop between Los Angeles and Bakersfield. The remainder of the Ridge Route was covered up by US 99/Interstate 5 with a few fragments of broken pavement visible from the new highway. What is today a fairly brief drive of less than 30 minutes on Interstate 5 on the old route took a minimum of three hours with sightseeing stops. The remains of the Ridge Route were listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1997.
Driving the Ridge Route
To get to the existing fragment of the route from Los Angeles, take Interstate 5 heading north and exit Parker Road at Castaic, go right at top of the offramp, go right on Ridge Route and follow the road. (At Templin Highway, disregard the sign which says "Not a through road.")
Navigating on the Ridge Route demands safe driving habits. Potholes, loose sand and/or debris, and those 600 curves (remember, few guardrails still exist) await the road traveler of today's Ridge Route. Speed should be the least of a driver's concerns. It's advisable to allow around three to four hours to enjoy the remaining road. When the weather is inclement (such as rain or snow) it's best to avoid the Ridge Route altogether, due to mud and ice possibly being on the roadway. The road section listed in the National Register of Historic Places is at present not being maintained due to lack of funds.
None of the businesses that once dotted the route remain, but tourists can catch a glimpse of the occasional wall or foundation of a long-lost building. (Many of the buildings were intentionally destroyed by the U.S. Forest Service in the 1960s because they were used as flophouses by hippies, resulting in unsanitary conditions and fire danger.)
Remains of the buildings can be glimpsed in the canyons. One foundation, that of the Tumble Inn at about the halfway point of the trip, is a stone structure that still bears the words "TUMBLE INN" carved in one of its steps. A 1928 motor tour book described the Tumble Inn thus: Rooms, dbl. $2, meals, gas, free camp space, water and rest rooms. A small resort of far-reaching vista. Almost nothing remains of Sandberg's Summit Hotel, which burned down in 1961. It was advertised as having both running water and indoor plumbing and was the stop of choice for the well-heeled traveller. Unsubstantiated rumors of illegal gambling and even prostitution abounded.