California Touge.Best driving roads in California

San Gabriel Canyon Road · SR 39

A canyon drive north from Azusa toward the Crystal Lake turnoff. Treat it as an out-and-back, not a connection through to Angeles Crest.

Medium speedDifficulty 2/3 · WindingAngeles / San Gabriel Mountains

Out-and-back: the northern connection to Angeles Crest is closed. Check current access ↗ · Reviewed 2026-09-09

Road shape

Length
15.7 mi
Bends
56
Switchbacks
8
Bends per mile
3.6
Turning per mile
381°
Curviest rank
58of 94

Measured from the OpenStreetMap centreline at a 20 m sampling step — road shape only, not a safety or speed judgement. How bends are counted.

Elevation

Low 704 ft15.7 miHigh 3,193 ft
Total climb
3,289ft
Climb per mile
209ft
Highest point
3,191ft
Steepest grade
8%

Sampled every 100 m from USGS 10 m elevation data, a public-domain federal dataset. Total climb counts vertical change in both directions, so it does not depend on which way you drive. How elevation is measured.

Speed limits

Varies

Unverified

Limits vary by section. Follow posted signs.

Limits vary by section. Follow posted signs.

Posted signs always govern. How speed evidence is handled.

Sources

Difficulty 2/3 (Winding) is our editorial rating of width, bends and sightlines; “Medium speed” describes character, not a target speed. Full method. Identified from:

Reviewed 2026-09-09. The trace shows selected road sections, not a navigation route.

Roads nearby

View on the Los Angeles map →Check road conditions ↗Open in Google Maps ↗All 94 roads →