The Historic Highway 99 Association of California has posted two new videos on their YouTube channel featuring the Ridge Route. They’re short but packed with information and highlight the scenery along the route.
Category: Scenery
New Video – Ridge Route Basics
The Historic Highway 99 Association of California, in conjunction with the RRPO, has produced a video on the basics of the Ridge Route and some of the features that make the road unique. Learn about the curbs, rails, footprints of all types, tire tracks, and more that can be found on the road. They also talk about the different pavement types on the road as well as how you can get up there and see the road yourself.
The Historic Highway 99 Association of California has also produced other videos talking about other sections of the highway, including the bridges over the Santa Clara River and Castaic Creek in their “History along US 99” series.
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[PHOTOS] The Old Ridge Route Comes to Life – San Diego & Orange County Model A Ford Club Tour
![[PHOTOS] The Old Ridge Route Comes to Life – San Diego & Orange County Model A Ford Club Tour](https://ridgeroute.org/wp-content/uploads/RidgeRoute-ModelA-3271-1200x474.jpg)
(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!
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New Ridge Route Video – February 2024
In early and mid-February 2024, we went on a field survey trip over the Ridge Route to assess damage. We took a lot of videos and put together an overview of what we saw.
Come join us on our journey over the Ridge Route.
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March – April 2022 Newsletter
Ridge Route Update
In mid-January, I took a trip over the Ridge Route to survey the damage from the recent storms. The results were very mixed. Like in December, there were many small rockslides over most of the road from Serpentine Drive to Sandberg. None of the rocks were all that large but did create problems for traversing the roadway. The CUTRR work that was done in October was also compromised, with additional material deposited on the roadway making travel nearly impossible for standard automobiles. The good news was there was no section that was heavily damaged by the storms. We seem to have gotten lucky with that, so far. This winter has certainly been a wild one, ranging from extended dry periods to heavy rain and snow.
We are working with the USFS to get these slides cleared and to get permission to use heavier equipment to do some of the work ourselves. We are also working with the County of Los Angeles to help ensure that road closures on I-5 due to storms or fires don’t impact the Ridge Route, as they have in the past. Dates will be announced soon for the next CUTRR event, though due to personal obligations, I may be unavailable to lead the events in April or May.
The gates still remain closed and will for some time. We are working to get them opened on a seasonal basis once we reach an agreement with the USFS regarding some issues with the roadway. They, of course, have the control over the road and the decision is still up to them. We just want to make sure the roadway is available to the public and kept in good order. Without that, we lose a piece of history, something we cannot allow.
Monthly Meetings via Zoom
We have been hosting monthly meetings, open to the public, to talk about the Ridge Route, what is happening, future CUTRR events, and its history. There is a lot going on and things are looking positive for the Ridge Route, more than they have in the past. These meetings will be online via Zoom. We want to get more people engaged in our continuing efforts to reopen the roadway and help keep it preserved. The schedule is still being worked out, so make sure you’re subscribed to our website to stay informed. A meeting in March will be announced soon.
Public Forums
We invite all to join our discussion forums, which are now available using the link below. The appearance and registration are still being adjusted, so bear with us. Check it out and let us know what you think! Share your Ridge Route stories and chat with other Ridge Route enthusiasts!
https://ridgeroute.org/forums/
Membership
We are working on sending notices for our members to renew their memberships. We need your support to keep this momentum going and to reopen the roadway. Memberships such as yours help us with this effort. You can join for the first time, renew, or just submit a donation online using our secure website using the link below.
Website Subscription
Make sure to subscribe to our site to get updates on upcoming CUTRR events and Ridge Route news.
Reporting Problems on the Ridge Route
With all the recent fire activity as well as other events such as January 26 when big rigs tried to travel the Ridge Route, we thought it was a good idea to have a place to report things. If you see something wrong on the Ridge Route, be it a developing washout, large vehicles traversing the roadway, or things out-of-the-ordinary, we have have set up a web page to help you report things on the road. We will pass the information along to the appropriate agencies as needed.
To Report Problems or other issues on the Ridge Route, please use the website below. The web page is also located under our “Current Roadway Conditions” page in the menu.
Featured Photo
Early in the morning on March 13, 1928, the floodwaters from the collapse of the St Francis Dam reached US 99 at the Santa Clara River. The bridge, a steel through-truss span built by Los Angeles County in 1916, was quickly destroyed and sent downstream. Later, the structure was used to support a gas or oil line, which itself was later abandoned. This structure can be accessed via Feedmill Rd near Six Flags Magic Mountain.
