Driving the Angeles Crest Highway: A Scenic Trip In Angeles National Forest
Sometimes the best outdoor adventures don't involve hiking miles down a trail. In the summer of 2016, I badly injured my leg and spent weeks on crutches. After being limited to little more than short walks around the house, I was desperate to get back outside. Hiking wasn't an option yet, but staying indoors wasn't one either. That's when we decided to spend a day driving the Angeles Crest Highway.
Stretching roughly 66 miles through Angeles National Forest, California Highway 2 is one of Southern California's most beautiful scenic drives. The road climbs from La Cañada Flintridge into the San Gabriel Mountains, passing forests, overlooks, campgrounds, picnic areas, and countless trailheads before descending toward Wrightwood.
What made the drive so enjoyable wasn't reaching a particular destination, but just taking our time along the way. And finally getting to go on an “adventure”!
There are dozens of places to pull over and admire the scenery. On a clear day, you can see the Los Angeles Basin stretching into the distance, while the surrounding mountains create an entirely different world from the city below. Every bend in the road seems to reveal another overlook, another canyon, or another forest worth exploring.
One of our favorite stops was Charlton Flat Picnic Area, a quiet spot tucked beneath tall pines just off the highway. Even though I was still relying on a walking cane, I could easily make my way from the car to one of the picnic tables and finally enjoy being surrounded by nature again. The crunch of pine needles beneath my feet and the cool mountain air felt like a much bigger adventure than the short walk would suggest.
The weather added a little excitement of its own. As we climbed higher into the mountains, a summer rainstorm rolled in. Within minutes, water was pouring down the rocky slopes beside the highway, sending loose rocks bouncing across the pavement in front of us. We slowed down, found a safe place to pull over, and waited for the heaviest rain to pass before continuing.
That experience was a good reminder that mountain roads can change quickly. Snow, ice, heavy rain, rockfall, and wildfire closures all affect the Angeles Crest Highway throughout the year, so it's always worth checking current road conditions before making the drive.
Sometimes all you need is a scenic road, a quiet picnic beneath the pines, and a chance to leave the city behind for a few hours. Simply enjoying one of California's beautiful mountain roads, the Angeles Crest Highway is worth taking slowly.
