Ojai via
The Grapevine, Lockwood Valley and Route 33
This is a fairly long ride (about 200 miles)
for a Sunday, but it's worth the effort. It's best done in any season other
than winter, as Lockwood Valley is over 5,000 feet (1,524 Meters) in altitude
and it can be snowing (even when it's sunny in LA!).
Directions:
The first leg it up the Golden State Freeway
(Interstate 5) about 45 miles. Take the Frazier Park exit, and a few miles
later you'll see the Lockwood Valley Road turnoff. If you were to stop
and look back, you'd probably see something like this:
Continue on and enjoy the ride! The road
has a few gotchas - look out for water across the road in the dips (especially
on the straights - speeding through the dips here can be an adventure)!
After a while, after a couple of cattle grids, you'll come across some
twisties - watch for flooding! Keep an eye over your left shoulder and
you should see this:
A few miles down the road, keep an eye open for
this:
This is the turnoff for Camp Scheidek Lodge. Careful,
as you can see, it's easy to miss! Don't though, stop here for a beer &
lunch, you won't regret it.
A few mile past Scheidek, you'll come to the intersection
of Lockwood Valley Road and State Route 33. Turn left and head for Pine
Mountain. After the pass, watch out for the road repair (as of October
'98 they're still recovering from El Ninjo):
After some more cool riding (watch out for the
rock climbers - they park on the side of the road!), look for the Wheel
Inn. This is a cool place to stop for a beer. The place I prefer, though,
is the Deer Lodge, just as you get into Ojai. They have (in summer) a $5
barbecue & a live band on Sunday afternoons. It's a great place for
an early dinner!
(Photos soon).
You can then run down to State Route 126 through
Santa Paula to Fillmore, and either continue and go back to Interstate
5, or, as I prefer, take 23 over to Moorpark, then 118 (The Ronald Reagan
Freeway, but I forget <grin>) back through Simi Valley and the Santa
Susana pass to LA.
Last modified: 12/24/98