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42-625: The creek rises near the Angeles Crest Highway in Upper Big Tujunga Canyon, deep within the Angeles National Forest . Its upper course is steep and rocky, and sprinkled with rapids, riffles and small waterfalls. It flows west then northwest, receiving Alder Creek and Lynx Gulch from the right and Wildcat Gulch and Wickiup Creek from the left. As the stream cuts deeper into its gorge, it receives

84-404: A National Forest Adventure Pass available for a $ 5.00 fee. During the 2009 wildfire season the large fire known as the " Station Fire " burned the mountains through which Route 2 travels. The fire damaged the signs, guardrails, and lane striping, as well as leaving large boulders and other debris all over the road. As a result, the highway was closed by Caltrans until November 30, 2009. It

126-432: A bikeway, rapid transit , and part of Brightline West , a proposed high-speed rail line linking Los Angeles to Las Vegas. Caltrans put the freeway on hold in 2019. Except where prefixed with a letter, postmiles were measured on the road as it was in 1964 , based on the alignment that existed at the time, and do not necessarily reflect current mileage. R reflects a realignment in the route since then, M indicates

168-559: A four-and-a-half year closure, the highway reopened on May 20, 2009. Repairs included the construction of a new bridge intended to allow landslides to pass underneath without damaging the road. The work cost $ 10.5 million. A moratorium on three-axles trucks was imposed in 2009 following the deaths of two people when a tractor trailer lost control and crashed into a La Cañada Flintridge business (other California highways have similar truck bans such as I-580 and SR 85 but have been implemented for different reasons). Cell phone reception

210-530: A major tributary, Mill Creek, from the right, and Fall Creek also from the right just before emptying into Big Tujunga Reservoir, formed by the Big Tujunga Dam . While part of the reservoir, it receives Fox Creek from the right. Below the dam, the stream flows through a steep rocky gorge, receiving Clear Creek from the left, before turning northwest into a broader valley. It flows through this valley for several miles before receiving Trail Canyon Creek from

252-416: A second realignment, L refers to an overlap due to a correction or change, and T indicates postmiles classified as temporary ( for a full list of prefixes, see California postmile § Official postmile definitions ). Segments that remain unconstructed or have been relinquished to local control may be omitted. The numbers reset at county lines; the start and end postmiles in each county are given in

294-429: Is also used later in the movie for other scenes. The Angeles Crest Highway is also used extensively in the motion picture The Love Bug for racing scenes, as well as in the sequel film Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo , where the highway doubles for "The French Alps". Intersections with other roads are few, which can be problematic in the event of road closures due to acts of nature such as landslides and fires. At about

336-455: Is composed of vacationers, sightseers, and locals. The three areas comprising Mountain High ski resort are just west of Wrightwood . Construction of Angeles Crest Highway began in 1929. It was originally intended to be a fire access road . In 1941 construction stopped because of World War II . In 1946, after the war, construction resumed; the completed highway eventually opened in 1956. The road

378-607: Is definitely not going to open until next spring (of 2006)". However, a March 2006 storm caused even more extensive damage to the highway, including a complete washout of a large section of roadway, further delaying the reopening of the highway. The long closure caused concern for the United States Forest Service and other emergency services agencies because it hindered access, particularly with firefighting efforts, and it hurt business in Wrightwood. After

420-897: Is eligible to be included in the State Scenic Highway System , but it is not officially designated as a scenic highway by the California Department of Transportation . The segment of SR 138 from I-15 in the Cajon Pass to SR 18 at Crestline is designated as part of the Rim of the World Scenic Byway , a National Forest Scenic Byway . A project to widen the highway to four lanes and add shoulders between Avenue T in Palmdale and Highway 18 in Llano

462-626: Is known as the El Cajon-Skyline Forest Highway. State Route 138 and 18 overlap each other in opposing termini, as SR 18's northwest most endpoint is in Llano with SR 138, while SR 138's southmost point is in Crestline with SR 18. Because of its twisting, mountainous segments and overloaded traffic conditions on its eastern leg, State Route 138 east of Palmdale and west of Interstate 15 is the site of numerous serious auto accidents as of 2004, according to CHP data. One of

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504-570: Is normally closed in the winter from Islip Saddle to Vincent Gap due to rockfall and avalanche hazards. The winter storms of 2004/05 caused several landslides and significant damage to the highway. Thus, the highway never reopened in the summer of 2005. Damage to the highway was estimated to be over $ 4 million as of November 2005. Terri Kasinga, a spokeswoman for the California Department of Transportation, stated in November 2005 "It

546-547: Is sporadic and signal strength and clarity are poor, due to the terrain and distance from cellular communication antennas . The Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act passed in December 2004, protects the Angeles National Forest. Although anyone can park at the side of the road and access the wilderness along the side of the road, doing so for extended periods of time, such as camping or hiking, requires

588-577: Is to/through the San Gabriel Mountains National Monument and the Angeles National Forest . With the exception of a 1,000 feet (300 m)-long section in La Cañada Flintridge , the entire route is part of California State Route 2 . The road is 66 miles (106 km) in length, with its western terminus at the intersection at Foothill Boulevard in La Cañada Flintridge and its eastern terminus at

630-708: The Antelope Valley Freeway (State Route 14) and the Golden State Freeway ( Interstate 5 ), both located to the west, for reaching the Foothill Freeway ( Interstate 210 ) and San Gabriel Valley . Because the road is a two-lane highway, its vehicle capacity is significantly lower than either of the two freeways. In contrast, the remainder of the Angeles Crest Highway is lightly traveled. Typically, this traffic

672-537: The Leonis Adobe in 1916. In the narrative, the wife of Khra'wiyawi (the chief of the region) is stricken with grief over the untimely loss of her daughter. In her sadness, she retreats to the mountains and turns to stone. It is thought this event became the basis for the village name. In fact, there is a large rock in Little Tujunga Canyon which looks like an old woman in a sitting position, whence

714-547: The Los Angeles / San Bernardino County line where it loses its alternative name, Antelope Highway. Between the county line and Interstate 15 , State Route 138 traverses very mountainous and scenic terrain and it connects with State Route 2 that leads to winter resort areas in the San Gabriel Mountains used largely by residents of the Los Angeles metropolitan area . State Route 138 then descends through

756-663: The Los Angeles – San Bernardino county line is known as the Angeles Crest Scenic Byway , which is both a National Forest Scenic Byway and an officially designated California Scenic Highway . The route is best described as mountain-rural. Because the route passes through the protected San Gabriel Mountains National Monument and Angeles National Forest, development is very limited. There are not many buildings between La Cañada Flintridge and Wrightwood save for Newcomb's Ranch , and forest service campgrounds and visitor centers . Other points of interest along

798-786: The Pearblossom Highway (State Route 138) northeast of Wrightwood . The majority of the route passes through the San Gabriel Mountains located north of the Greater Los Angeles Area . Segments of the road reach elevations above 7,000 feet (2,100 m), with a summit of 7,903 feet (2,409 m) at the Dawson Saddle , which makes this road one of the highest in Southern California. The segment from La Cañada Flintridge to

840-644: The San Gabriel Mountains and the western Mojave Desert . The scenic highway begins in the west at its junction with Interstate 5 located south of Gorman in the Sierra Pelona Mountains , continues eastward through the Antelope Valley and Cajon Pass , to its junction with State Route 18 in the east, located in the San Bernardino Mountains south of Crestline . Except for the western two miles (3.2 km) of

882-591: The 10 people in the van. The van was a carpool carrying workers of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory from the Antelope Valley to work in Pasadena. It was determined upon investigation by the CHP that the driver fell asleep at the wheel of the van. The Angeles Crest Highway and Angeles Forest Highway have figured in various murders, not as scenes of the murders but as drop-off points for the bodies of

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924-407: The 1950s, but was later considered geographically improbable and the plans were abandoned. Roads in the San Gabriel Mountains have a high number of single-vehicle auto and motorcycle accidents. As an example, in the predawn hours of December 8, 2004, a van plunged off the side of Angeles Forest Highway at about 1-mile (1.6 km) north of its junction with the Angeles Crest Highway, killing 3 of

966-671: The Antelope Valley Freeway (SR 14) for approximately 14 miles (23 km) through Lancaster and Palmdale , it passes through Palmdale's eastside as four-lane Palmdale Boulevard, 47th Street East, and Fort Tejon Road to Avenue T. At Avenue T it tapers to two lanes and continues straight ahead on Pearblossom Highway through Littlerock , Pearblossom , and Llano to its west junction with State Route 18 . Route 18 's western terminus siphons off Las Vegas -bound travelers from 138. At its west junction with State Route 18 , State Route 138 turns southeast on Antelope Highway to

1008-571: The Lancaster Freeway from Interstate 5 to Gorman Post Road, Lancaster Road from Gorman Post Road to 245th Street West near Neenach School, and Avenue D from 245th Street West to Route 138's north junction with State Route 14. The Lancaster Freeway has four lanes, two for each direction of travel. Both Lancaster Road and Avenue D are 2-lane conventional roads; Avenue D is on a straight alignment over its 22 miles (35 km) between 245th Street West and State Route 14. After its co-routing with

1050-601: The Tujunga Wash, which runs south about 8.5 miles (13.7 km) to the Los Angeles River near Studio City . The stream was named after the village of Tujunga or Tuxunga , a name which means "old woman's place" in both the languages of the Tongva and Fernandeño . The term is thought to relate to an ethnohistoric narrative, known as Khra'wiyawi, collected by Carobeth Laird from Juan and Juana Menendez at

1092-666: The West Cajon Valley and crosses Interstate 15 in the Cajon Pass . From Interstate 15 to State Route 173 , near the northwest corner of Silverwood Lake , traffic on State Route 138 is rather sparse. The remaining road past Silverwood Lake is mountainous, narrow, and twisting, and not a prime mountain route to the San Bernardino Mountain resorts. The entire segment from Interstate 15 to the eastern terminus of State Route 138 at Mount Anderson Junction

1134-478: The chief contributors to accidents on Route 138 of late is drivers passing on the two-lane highway in unsafe conditions. A notable accident in 2003 involved a pickup truck driven by an unlicensed driver leaving the roadway and plunging into the California Aqueduct , killing four occupants of the vehicle and leaving the sole survivor quadriplegic. The State of California paid a $ 10 million settlement to

1176-427: The county column. Parts of the distinctive highway were used in the filming of the movie The Long, Long Trailer , a 1954 comedy with Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz . Despite the rapid growth of Southern California in the ensuing fifty years, the segment shown in the movie is little changed since the movie was filmed. David Hockney composed the picturesque photographic collage Pearblossom Highway in 1986 off

1218-468: The creek's canyon to provide flood control and block silt. With a capacity of just 5,960 acre-feet (7,350,000 m), the dam is unable to control large floods, and has overflowed many times since its construction. During the Los Angeles Flood of 1938 , Big Tujunga Creek reached a maximum flow of more than 50,000 cubic feet per second (1,400 m/s), washing down thousands of tons of silt from

1260-591: The midpoint of the highway is the junction with the north terminus of State Route 39 . However, access to State Route 39 is not possible as it is closed indefinitely to automobile traffic because of persistent landslides along its route. Therefore, travelers to the Angeles National Forest preferring the Angeles Crest Highway corridor should expect to be on the Angeles Crest Highway throughout much of its length, use available alternate routing where possible, or be willing to turn around and retrace their trip at any point along its route if necessary. The Angeles Crest Highway

1302-540: The mountains and jumping its banks destroying hundreds of buildings and floodworks. Following the floods, the 97-foot (30 m)-high Hansen Dam was built across the lower creek by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in 1940 in the hope of controlling future floods. Angeles Crest Highway The Angeles Crest Highway is a two-lane (one lane of travel in each direction) highway over the San Gabriel Mountains , in Los Angeles County, California . Its route

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1344-599: The name originated. However, there was also a Fernandeño village in the vicinity of Big Tujunga Canyon (the upper part of the creek) called Muxúnga , which means "place of shooting" in the Fernandeño dialect of the Tongva language . The name comes from the verb muxú, which means "shoot him." In 1931, the Big Tujunga Dam was built by the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power deep within

1386-531: The north of downtown Palmdale has been studied by Caltrans . The bypass would be located east of the Antelope Valley Freeway and south of LA/Palmdale Regional Airport along Avenue P-8, reconnecting with the current SR 138 east of Palmdale. Caltrans developed a plan to build a 63-mile (101 km) freeway and transit corridor parallel to State Route 138 and State Route 18, known as the "High Desert Corridor". The $ 8 billion project would have included an eight-lane freeway between Lancaster and Victorville, along with

1428-458: The right, and swinging southwards around a few ridges spills out of the mountains near Sunland . Part of the stream is diverted at Sunland into spreading grounds in order to recharge the local aquifer . The rest of Big Tujunga Creek continues west into the usually dry Hansen Flood Control Basin, formed by the Hansen Dam . Here it receives Little Tujunga Creek also from the right, and becomes

1470-692: The route between Interstate 5 and just east of Gorman Post Road and a segment shared with State Route 14 between Avenue D in Lancaster and Palmdale Boulevard in Palmdale, it is all a mostly undivided two-lane surface road. The remaining section of the Ridge Route , California's first highway connecting the San Joaquin Valley to the Los Angeles Basin , ends at Route 138 near Gorman. The western leg of State Route 138 traverses

1512-491: The route include the Mountain High and Mt. Waterman ski areas. Mount Wilson and its Mount Wilson Observatory and various radio/television transmitters are about 4.5 miles from the junction of Mount Wilson Road and Angeles Crest Highway. Depending on visibility conditions, impressive views of the Los Angeles Basin are possible from the vicinity of Mount Wilson. The most frequent hindrances of what can be seen are

1554-424: The smog and/or a marine layer covering the basin below. The westernmost segment of the highway, combined with Angeles Forest Highway to/from State Route 14 , is heavily travelled by southbound traffic in the morning (and corresponding northbound traffic in the afternoon) that comprises commuters who live in the Antelope Valley and work in the Greater Los Angeles Area . The route is a convenient alternative to

1596-636: The victims' family. The area surrounding the highway is also prone to brush fires and flash floods. SR 138 is part of the California Freeway and Expressway System , and west of the western junction of SR 18 is part of the National Highway System , a network of highways that are considered essential to the country's economy, defense, and mobility by the Federal Highway Administration . SR 138

1638-416: The victims, including that of Linda Sobek, a model kidnapped and found dead in the area in 1995. The motion picture Donnie Darko , released in 2001, was partially filmed on Angeles Crest Highway. In the opening scene with Donnie waking up in the middle of the road, next to his bike, the camera zooms in on Donnie, then loops around and shows a view of the valley seen from Angeles Crest Highway. The highway

1680-676: Was announced by the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) in 2009. Work was projected to be completed by Spring 2012. However, as of December 2012, work on the project was still ongoing and several portions remain two lanes. Improvements to the six-mile (9.7 km) stretch between Highway 18 and the Los Angeles/San Bernardino County Line, including widening the shoulders and installing rumble strips, were proposed in February 2013, with no timeline for completion being given. A proposed bypass to

1722-466: Was briefly re-opened until mud and rock slides in early 2010 forced a portion of the highway to be closed again from 2 miles east of the I-210 junction to 14 miles east of La Cañada Flintridge. It reopened on June 3, 2011. California State Route 138 State Route 138 ( SR 138 ) is an east–west state highway in the U.S. state of California that generally follows the northern foothills of

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1764-460: Was constructed by prison labor from Camp 37, which has since been razed. Division of Highways (now known as CalTrans ) staff lived at a site called Cedar Springs. The staff is now located at Chilao Flats. Children of the staff attended Chilao Mountain School, a one-room school; the school has been closed for several years. Angeles Crest Highway was originally planned to be upgraded to a freeway in

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