Author: Sydney Croasmun

(Cover photo by Ryan Babroff)

On May 4th 2025, the rain broke just in time for a magical journey back in time along the Old Ridge Route. Eight Model A Fords traveled to Gorman to take a tour of the road, coming from San Diego and Orange County.

The group of over 20 met in Gorman, starting off with a talk about road and it’s construction. RRPO President, Michael Ballard and Public Relations Director, Sydney Croasmun spoke and answered questions from the group, before lining up and heading down Gorman Post Road towards the Old Ridge Route.

Model A’s lined the road as we pulled into the first stop – the legendary Sandberg’s Summit Hotel. The tour talked about the 3 story log cabin, the people that lived there and the conspiracy theories that haunted it.

Next up is Liebre Summit – the highest point on the road. Visitors took in the stunning view and learned about the weather in the region and the importance of the Sandberg Weather Station. Even to this day, it’s a vital weather station for both land and air travel.

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At the Liebre Maintenance Camp, we discussed the people who built the road and the road building methods. Learning about the shift from railroad contractors to road building contractors and how this space is utilized in the modern day.

Always a tradition – lining up all the cars up at the Tumble Inn for a photo! Visitors got to explore the ruins and listen to Michael Ballard speak about the road.

Now this is where things get fun – as our first tour to go past the gates, we continued down the road when we usually would end at the Tumble Inn

For the first time in 20 years, the tour made it’s way to Reservoir Summit! Here they are checking out the now empty reservoir, learning about the old restaurant, garage and fire lookout tower.

The tour concluded with a picnic at Swede’s Cut, overlooking Serpentine Drive. This was the largest cut on the road at 110ft deep!

We are so thankful to the San Diego Model A Club for setting this all up! It was great to meet so many wonderful people and see some beautiful cars

Want to support the Ridge Route Preservation Organization? Become a member!

We are so excited to announce that SoCal Gas has offered to repair potholes 6 miles of the Old Ridge Route. This includes the stretch off the 138 near Gorman, which is open to the public. This will greatly increase accessibility for the public, make access for pipeline maintenance easier and smoother access for emergency services such as fire and ambulances. 

This came to light after SoCal Gas had been doing maintenance on their pipeline. Part of the agreement when it comes to protecting this historic road is to lay heavy rubber mats along the edges of the concrete and areas where the road is crumbling. 

• If you would like to send a thank you to the road crew and SoCal Gas, please do so here

I ran into their contracted construction manager while doing a sweep of the road and talked with him about the work they’ve been doing on the road and told him about our volunteer Pothole Project. He proposed that – instead of using the temporary fix – the rubber matting – they could help us with a permanent repair in those crumbling areas.  

The history of SoCal Gas and the Old Ridge Route are deeply intertwined. Construction started on their first pipeline through the area in 1912, under the name Midway Gas Company. The pipeline was operational in 1913 – the same year the Old Ridge Route was surveyed, meaning their first pipeline actually predates the road. This first pipeline ran from Taft to Glendale. 

I don’t think people fully realize how vital this corridor is when it comes to infrastructure. When the Old Ridge Route was dreamt up, California was on the verge of splitting into two states – this mountain range becoming the border. To get from Bakersfield to LA was nearly 24 hours in travel time, through rough stagecoach roads that often flooded, became muddy and developed ruts. It was a treacherous journey of roughly 180 miles and grades of 30%. That rough road cut off trade from north to south. In central CA, San Francisco merchants were preferred to LA merchants due to unpredictable travel times.

When the Ridge Route opened up in 1915, it changed the course of history. It allowed goods to be delivered from the port in Los Angeles to central California. It brought Central California’s food to Los Angeles, and opened up a much safer route for travel. This road is written into the history of so many Southern California families – just ask your grandparents about it. 

And while this road was so influential to the history of California, it is often forgotten. After it was bypassed in 1933, it remained largely unmaintained – left to the elements. When a disastrous rainy season hit  in 2005, causing a number of landslides making the road impassable, most of the road running through the Angeles National Forest was closed indefinitely – and still remains that way to this day. 

The Ridge Route Preservation Organization worked to have the landslides repaired. We hold regular volunteer work days and have been diligently working towards getting the road in good enough shape to re-open it. That’s where SoCal Gas comes in – to have such a large stretch of the road repaired is a big leap in the road’s preservation and towards getting this road reopened.

If you would like to send a thank you to the road crew and SoCal Gas, please do so here