diphthong

looking to do a century in the san gabriel mtns/angeles ntl forest starting in azuza and exiting the mountains in the wrightwood area.
not clear on what is the best route to take from wrightwood e/se to the baseline rd area to loop back through upland, clairemont, et al
to azuza. any recommendations from the locals? will be on a road bike so pavement is preferred but dirt road(s) are fine too as long as
they are 'hard-packed' and generally navigable on 700x23 tires. thanks in advance for your helpful replies!

hamster

Not personally familiar with the area, but it seems that there are basically two options.

1. Lone Pine Canyon Road (paved), 138, short stretch on the shoulder of the 15, Cajon Boulevard. You're riding on the shoulder for about 1 mile, it's legal, and it's a slight dowhill. There's a weigh station there and I think you have to go through it.

2. Lone Pine Canyon Road, Swarthout Canyon Road, Cajon Boulevard. Swarthout 4 miles long and it is marked on the forest map as "improved dirt road, suitable for passenger cars".

You can try Swarthout and, if it's too gnarly (which it shouldn't be if it's maintained as promised), turn around and take the freeway.

Lesper4

How about this?
https://app.strava.com/activities/50886166

von petrol

This is Swarthout Canyon Road:

diphthong

thanks everyone! looks like i will give swartout canyon rd a try. from the picture, it looks pretty hard-packed. of course, i would expect some soft spots/section over a 4+ mile stretch down to cajon blvd.
really trying to avoid riding on the 15 fwy. will find out in may how navigable it is for roadies and report back.

yourboyblue

I know this is a couple years old, but I'm considering a similar ride and wondered how you found Swartout canyon rd. on your road bike?

diphthong

i forgot to report back. did some auto recon on the way up to wrightwood a few months back to ride from there to cloudburst summit and back.
swarthout (swartout?) canyon was roadie doable from the access road just west of the 15 (don't remember the road name) for approx a mile heading west.
after that, swarthout canyon was definitely not roadie friendly. some very loose sections, big rocks and some fairly steep pitches considering those conditions.
i don't have experience riding 25's or 28's but i feel unless you are mtb'ing thru there, you'll be walking significant stretches and/or flatting multiple times.
the descent looked like it would be just as miserable on a road bike. i was looking for any alternative to riding on the shoulder of the 15 fwy which is
currently going through tons of construction in that area. riding the 15 looks like a day at the spa comparatively and i would do that (and the 138)
even with the high/fast traffic vs swarthout canyon. as a comparison, the mulholland dr. "connection" between the 405 freeway and topanga canyon rd.
(state hwy 27) is a cakewalk. swarthout looks to be 3x worse than that on 23's.


even more troublesome is the ascent of nearby (and connecting) lone pine canyon rd. it's paved but a boring, brutal grind with little payoff.
as a descent, it looked to be super-fast and a good place to set a personal mph best.

Wulf

It looks like El Cajon ends south of Swarthout and the route goes under the fwy into Devore.

Genaro

From where Cajon ends, it looks like you can walk if needed along railroad tracks if need be to the 138. Don't think it could be more than a mile.

Genaro

I meant, alongside the railroad tracks,, not actually on them, especially if there's a train coming. Would hate to be taken word for word here.