Of the three canyon roads that run roughly parallel in this part of SoCal (Boquet Canyon, San Francisquito Canyon, and Lake Hughes), this was by far my favorite. Since it is located farther north there hasn't been as much development in the area. The northern section of the road has a few scattered houses and driveways, but the southern end where the road straightens out runs through the Castaic Lake State Recreation Area, which has kept out the developers.

Both ends, north and south, have 35mph speed limits but they don't extend very far and the rest of the 23-mile road is posted 55. The northern section (red on map to the right) follows a river canyon downhill leaving Elizabeth Lake Rd. At the intersection with Elizabeth Lake Rd. there is a very small town, but once past that there is only the occasional ranch or school. The road is very narrow in most places and the edge of pavement is starting to deteriorate. Most of the corners are very tight, 2nd gear switchbacks. There are a few "straights" but no dedicated passing lanes and not many opportunities to pass another vehicle should you find one.

Once out of the canyon you begin to climb up to a ridge that runs around Castaic Lake (orange on map). Here the road gets slightly wider and, once past the climb up, runs fairly straight along the top of the ridge until the last few miles where you drop down to the 5 freeway. With no real cross streets or driveways and sparse traffic, Lake Hughes Rd. can be a great opportunity to get a nice long canyon drive without too many interruptions.

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