State Scenic Highway 2 2
State Scenic Highway 2 is a National Forest Scenic Byway in California. Within California it covers roughly 65 miles. The map below shows its route. Use “Plan a drive” to open it in the Road Sorties route planner — already routing along State Scenic Highway 2 with scenic roads turned on, ready to add your own stops.
State Scenic Highway 2, the Angeles Crest Highway, climbs 66 miles through the San Gabriel Mountains from La Cañada Flintridge to Wrightwood. Engineers first proposed 'the most scenic and picturesque mountain road in the state' in 1912, but construction proceeded in pieces from 1929 to 1956, pausing entirely during World War II. The finished two-lane road is both a National Forest Scenic Byway and an officially designated California Scenic Highway, climbing out of the Los Angeles Basin into pine forest high above the city's smog line. Near mile 14, Red Box Junction offers a side road to Mount Wilson Observatory, whose telescopes and transmitter towers have overlooked the LA basin for more than a century. The highway threads past picnic areas, trailheads, and sheer canyon drops as it crosses into San Bernardino County near Wrightwood, delivering some of the fastest elevation gain of any paved road in the Los Angeles area. Rockslides and wildfire damage have closed sections for years at a stretch, a reminder of how hard-won this mountain crossing was to build.
- La Cañada Flintridge to Wrightwood
- 66 miles
- built 1929-1956
- National Forest Scenic Byway
- Mount Wilson Observatory access
- San Gabriel Mountains
Plan a drive on State Scenic Highway 2 →
What is a National Forest Scenic Byway?
National Forest Scenic Byways are routes designated by the U.S. Forest Service that thread through the mountains, canyons and old growth of America's national forests and grasslands.
Where to Stay along State Scenic Highway 2
14 campgrounds and RV parks sit within about 5 miles of State Scenic Highway 2.
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