In 1933 Caltrans blasted away at a mountain within Piru Canyon to make way for Hwy 99 leaving a…read moretriangular-shaped rock formation that resembled an Egyptian monument. The landmark became known as Pyramid Rock. Motorist considered it the halfway point between Los Angeles and Bakersfield. In the early 70s the Water Resources Dept created Pyramid Lake directly in the path of the old highway. They took care not to submerse its namesake. Sadly, the lake's dam ended up hiding the pyramid from easy public view. To reach Pyramid Rock you'll need to park near Frenchmans Flat Campground and walk, or bike, 4 miles (roundtrip) along an abandoned section of the old highway that is now closed-off to cars. After experiencing the triangular landmark I recommend making your way down the nearby canyon bottom to view a scenic waterfall that empties into a large pool. You'll see two signs that indicate the entrance to the path.

Here it is: the dividing line between central California and southern California. It alternates…read morebetween fun, scenic, historic, dramatic, and scary. Hmm, scary? Yes, the northern part is scary. Really, the northern part is what kept the two Californias separate for so long. There are no foothills here. Within five miles, I-5 goes from elevation 100 to elevation 4,000. Far too steep for a railroad, and 100 years ago, nearly too steep for an automobile road. It was an engineering marvel to build a 2-lane road up this steep mountain. Two widenings later, it's now an 8-lane freeway. But going south, the far right lane slows 18-wheelers down to 20 mph and causes older cars to overheat. Going north, there are two runaway truck ramps that are heavily used, and when I owned a BMW, it was so easy to get it up to 100 because the road is so steep. CalTrans has many big signs warning of the 6% 5-mile grade for good reason. History buffs will find it easy to find the old road in many places. One volunteer organization is working to reopen the Ridge Route between the Templin Highway and 138. Road #2, the 4-lane US99, is mostly under I-5 now, but there are places where you can drive on 99 just as you could in the 1950s. Fun can be those swoops the freeway takes near Pyramid Lake. And there's that one part just outside Castaic where 99 is now the 4 northbound lanes . . . and the southbound lanes switch sides and go down the left side of Violin Canyon, British style (99 south was too steep for trucks). Technically, the Grapevine is only the northernmost five miles, and the settlement at the bottom is called Grapevine. But the entire stretch from Grapevine to Castaic is popularly called "the Grapevine" all the way. Stops include the Hungry Valley off-road area, Pyramid Lake, the old restaurant in Gorman, Fort Tejon, and the rest area near Tejon Pass. Now for the dramatic part: when you leave Castaic driving north, that long drive up says "goodbye, SoCal". And driving south from Bakersfield, the mountains loom in front of you for 15 dry miles, signalling the end of the Central Valley. Entering the Central Valley, the hills ahead of you disappear and all you see is the huge, long expanse of desert that will soon become orchards, welcoming you to the most productive farmland in the world. Entering Castaic is uneventful, but several miles later, when there are four freeways stacked on top of each other, you KNOW you're in LA. So that's it. The Grapevine, a freeway for those who say that the journey is as important as the destination.

Back to NorCal…read more.. Love it or hate it this stretch of mountain pass is a necessary part of any NorCal to SoCal (and vice versa) road trip. It is the fastest route between LA and Sacramento... a mountain route that is steep, busy, curvy with lots of big rigs driving along with you. Sometimes the travel conditions here are so bad including construction, closures, delays, traffic flow, accidents and even weather conditions. Yes! Sometimes there are closures due to snow. We've experienced all in our travels in the past except traveling in the snow. This past weekend we've experienced gusty winds in the mountains and a high wind advisory was in effect. There is a place I've been wanting to visit each time we travel through the Grapevine. Often we tend to overlook the Fort Tejon State Park as it is usually at the beginning of our road trip... maybe one day we will actually stop by here. When we pass through the Grapevine it's usually in the daytime and it tells me that we have officially left SoCal and onto a long stretch of boring highway heading back to Sacramento. It usually takes us an average of 5-1/2 hours with no stops to get home to Roseville but knowing my husband there will be one or two bathroom breaks... and maybe even a petrol stop. No food stops because we usually load up with Porto's before heading home. LoL Drive safe California! Review #1278

I have to say that the history of Rancho San Francisco is definitely a lot more interesting than…read morethe location of this historical landmark. The history of Rancho San Francisco tells the history of the City of Santa Clarita. Most of the information listed below was obtained from various Wikapedia pages. Mission San Fernando Rey de Espana, established in 1797, was the 17th of 21 Spanish missions established in Alta California, the land controlled by Spain and later Mexico before it became a territory of the United States. The mission needed more land for crops and livestock so they looked north to the Santa Clarita Valley. They created a "mission ranch" (or as the plaque states, a "granary" which is a place to store grain). They names the mission ranch Mission Rancho San Francisco. In the process they had to relocate the Tataviam Indians who were living on the lands at the time. They moved them to the mission and used them for labor. The missions were later taken over by the Mexican government. In 1839, Lt Del Valle was the person in charge of inventorying the property of Mission San Fernando Rey de Espana. Instead of returning the land back to the Tataviam Indians, the then Mexican Governor, Juan B. Alvarado, deeded it to his friend Del Valle. Del Valle later died and his son, Ygnacio, took control over the land. Del Valle's wife, Jacoba Feliz, had an uncle named Francisco Lopez. He was the first person to find gold in California at the Oak of the Golden Dream, located in Placerita Canyon. This started a mini gold rush with the much larger California Gold Rush taking place several years later. Jacoba later sued for control of Rancho San Francisco. The land later was split between the Del Valle's son and his wife. The land was later sold to a petroleum company and then to Henry Newhall. Henry Newhall granted the land to Southern Pacific Railroad and which led to the town of Newhall and later Saugus. The plaque inscription reads: NO. 556 RANCHO SAN FRANCISCO - Approximately one-half mile south of the point was the adobe headquarters of Rancho San Francisco, originally built about 1804 as a granary of Mission San Fernando. The rancho was granted to Antonio de Valle in 1839. Here, in January 1850, William Lewis Manly and John Rogers obtained supplies and animals to rescue their comrades in a California-bound gold-seeking emigrant party that was stranded and starving in Death Valley, some 250 miles to the northeast. Location: SW corner of 'The Old Road' and Henry Mayo Drive, 0.2 mi S of I-5 and State Hwy 126 interchange, Valencia

This place was so amazing great place to get close to ostrich. The own himself gave my family a…read moreprivate tour it was so informative and all the details he gave us have me so amazed. The location it self it's beautiful near mountains. They also have restrooms and playground for kids. They also have little shop they sell ostrich eggs which are huge and they even have home made honey. Amazing place would definitely be going back!!

Such a great little place! We did a tour in the morning with five kids under 7, and the gentleman…read moregiving the tour was so accommodating to antsy little bodies needing to move around. I'm so sorry I didn't catch his name, but he was very knowledgeable and so kind. I'll absolutely be recommending Quail Run Ranch to every one!

This is a great small park with lots of open space and trees. I could imagine that it can get busy…read morequickly since the playground area isn't very big. But it's tucked away in Castaic so it's a nice little "secret". They have 2 restrooms, a few benches and tables and lots of mature trees to shade under.

We are returning clients at Rawhyde Castaic, we came back because of their excellent training…read moreprogram, their fantastic service and the great camaraderie we have yet to find anywhere else. We took the Intro Plus this time and were challenged to expand our off-road riding skills. This 120 acre terrain offers a unique opportunity for lots of skill options with loose sand, gravel, large hills, ruts and grooves, obstacles and much more. Their coaches have years of experience. The staff is knowledgeable and accommodating, the Chef is top notch. The training camp is all inclusive. Will we be back? Absolutely! Once you have gone through the program you become part of a new family and you are always welcome whether it's for more training (private or in group) or just a visit to say hi. You can bring your own bike or rent one of their latest edition BMW GS or GSA, with an option to purchase one that includes many incentives. We purchased our BMW 1250 GS 2 years ago after our intro class and have been hooked ever since traveling across the US and Canada. If you aspire to the exciting lifestyle of adventure motorcycle travel particularly on the BMW GS series motorcycle, enroll in the Rawhyde adventure training program so you are then prepared for incredible opportunities.

Spot on company!!! Everyone and everything was top notch with Raw Hyde Adventure (CA location…read more10/2024. The entire staff was amazing!! The coaches (JJ, Mark & Bill) held the group motivated even during a heat wave and kept us learning in rough conditions. The chefs were putting out mind blowing food and mechanic was amazing as I brought my own bike and had to remove items. WENDY is the glue with her love and energy is mind blowing!!!!! Coming with zero experience of off road I walked away 3 days later with such information to go protective and hit the BLM lands!!! Jim Hyde is running an amazing training facility! Such a great and fun group of happy and experienced employees..... it's truly a family.

Everything went great at this place Well, organized and…read moreclean friendly atmosphere. All the best to management & crew.

We visit this lake often and enjoy it every time that we go! There is plenty to do there to meet…read moremany people's needs. On one side you can launch boats, kayaks, paddle boards and such. On the other side there are 5 or 6 different play areas, plenty of tables and even bbqs and bathrooms. Thankfully the bathrooms ass minimal but always clean. Sometimes we go on the lake, sometimes we just play in the sand, sometimes we go to the play grounds. We even ride our bikes there or go for a walk. There's so much to do for people who love the outdoors. It costs $12 to park for the day, then $9 to bring a kayak or paddle board. Since we go often we bought an annual pass for parking. It's usually pretty chill. During holidays or summers it can get more crowded. We went on the 4th of July and parking was closed by noon. Definitely check it out!

Phenomenal earth day visit to the gardens. It's a peaceful way to experience the naturalness of…read moreOjai. We met so many pleasant workers, visitors, and resident artists along the way.

Taft Garden and Nature Preserve is one of the most beautiful places I've visited in my long life…read more The peace and beauty is enhanced by the limited number of daily visitors. It is possible move about the multiple trails at your own pace self guided, or join tours (when offered) to learn about the Plants, Birds, Geology, and Art. The garden is tucked away, and for me getting there and back to Ojai proper was a big part of the magic of the visit. Thank you to all who created and maintain Taft Garden and Nature Preserve.

Booked a second lesson with Lorenzo for my 12 year old son. This time he took us out on his boat to…read moreLake Castaic. It was a beautiful day. Lorenzo was patient, experienced and fun. He encouraged my son and we had an excellent day. He caught more than 10 fish under Lorenzo's tutelage! I would recommend Lorenzo to anyone looking to learn the craft of fishing from someone professional with passion and kindness. He does not disappoint! We will be booking another lesson soon!

I highly recommend taking fishing lessons with Guppies Fishing Adventures…read more Fishing has been on my list of things to learn for years now. After catching my first fish while on vacation in MN, I knew when I returned home to CA I wanted to find a guide to teach me the basics, and I'm so glad I found Guppies. I've taken three lessons so far -- one at the dock in Marina del Rey and two half day boat trips at Castaic and Pyramid Lakes. Each time I had a blast!! Like others have mentioned, Lorenzo is truly the best teacher. He is knowledgeable and passionate about his craft. He had answers to all of my questions. He taught me different casting methods, how to tie two knots (palomar and improved cinch knot), and in between catching fish at the marina, we dug beneath the dock to grab mussels and cracked them open to use as bait (maybe my favorite part.) I love learning new life skills and catching a fish is one of the most rewarding things. The tug is the drug!! Looking forward to more fishing adventures with Guppies in the future -- thanks Lorenzo!!