General Information
Access
Hikes
Other Web Information
General Information Blue Ridge Summit (7,360') is where the Angeles Crest Highway, SR2, gains its highest elevation while crossing the Blue Ridge.
Blue Ridge is named for the color of the rock, the distinctive blue-gray Pelona schist. Interestingly, the Orocopia Mountains (east of Mecca, CA and just north of the Salton Sea), 160 miles (257 km) away along the San Andreas Fault, have a virtually-identical rock, the Orocopia Schist. In 1953, this displacement led Hill and Dibblee to suggest that a total of ~350 miles of displacement have occurred along the San Andreas Fault since its birth ~11 million years ago. This was received as an outrageous claim at the time, but further work substantiated their claim. (An entire suite of rocks in the San Gabriel Mountains, on one side of the San Andreas Fault, complete with their ancient faults, is almost perfectly duplicated in the Orocopia Mountains, on the other side of the Fault.)
At the summit, on the north side of the road, is a large trailhead parking lot for the Pacific Crest Trail complete with restrooms. Also on the north side is a nature trail circling Lightning Ridge with an incredible display of wildflowers for much of the year. To the southwest is Inspiration Point, a not-to-be-missed vista overlooking the East Fork of the San Gabriel River, Mt. Baldy and Mt. Baden-Powell. (See calculated elevation angles and azimuthal angles to visible features from Lightning Ridge.) To the southeast is an electronic site and the Blue Ridge Road, the access for hiking Wright / Pine / Dawson / Baldy Mtns., the northern Devil's Backbone Trail.
Access Map: Mt. Islip Region (89 near the right edge of the map)
See also: USGS 7.5' x 7.5' Map: Mount San Antonio (34° 22' 18" N, 117° 42' 32" W)By Car: East from Big Pines, 1.7 miles, on Angeles Crest Highway, SR2. East from the Blue Ridge Fire Road.
By Trail: On the Pacific Crest Trail west from Grassy Hollow and east from Wrightwood. North from a trail around Lightning Ridge.
Season: Snow closure in winter.
Hikes Warning: This list does not get updated as often as the hikes listed in the region tables. Consult Mt. Islip Region Hikes for the latest listing.
No. RT
milesElev.
gainSeason Name 89 1 200 jun-oct Lightning Ridge Nature Trail 89.1 4.5 1000 jun-oct Blue Ridge Trail 89.2 2.3 250 may-nov Blue Ridge Road to Mtn. High West via Ski Lift Access Road 93 11 4600 jun-oct Blue Ridge to Pine and Dawson Mtns. and Mount San Antonio
Other Web Information
- Digital Desert's Photo Tour of the Pacific Crest Trail Grassy Hollow Visitor Center to Wrightwood
- Welcome to Grassy Hollow Visitor Center!
- www.MyBikeSite.com Trail Maps, Blue Ridge
- The distribution of the Pelona-type schist
- California Camping's Blue Ridge, Guffy, and the even more difficult to reach Lupine campground information
- John Chamber's Pictures of Elevations along Angeles Crest Highway showing views from Inspiration Point
- San Gabriel Mountains Leaf Log Wednesday, September 9, 1998, Into the high country, Highway 2 from Big Pines to Buckhorn Campground, all elevations between 6300 and 7300 feet
- Seasons of the San Gabriels May 20, 1999, Lightning Ridge
Go to Field Guide to the San Gabriel Mountains: Places
Copyright © 1999 by Jane Strong and Tom Chester
Permission is freely granted to reproduce any or all of this page as long as credit is given to us at this source:
http://tchester.org/sgm/places/blue_ridge_summit.html
Comments and feedback: Jane Strong | Tom Chester
Updated 18 October 1999.
