Angeles Forest Highway is not a road of Angeles Crest Highway's caliber but is a very good stretch of pavement in it's own right. While Angeles Crest remains a recreational access road, Angeles Forest sees a fairly high volume of commuter traffic. Because of this the pavement is in better shape and the road is less subject to storm closures. Angeles Crest is maintained year round, unlike Angeles Crest.

As you can see on the area map at the top of this page, Angeles Crest makes a great alternate to the 5 or 210 & 14 freeways between LA and the Palmdale / Lancaster area (hence it's use as a commuter path). Whenever I am headed out to the high desert, regardless of what I am driving/riding, I take this path to avoid the traffic on the mainline freeways. I have yet to see a "rush hour" traffic jam on this road, although I have found a few construction pilot car operations on weekends.

Possibly the most important aspect of this road is that it is the only paved road that cuts north/south through the Angeles Forest. This makes it ideal as one leg of a loop to the east using Angeles Crest (when it is open), Big Pines Rd., and Mount Emma; or a loop to the west with Big Tujunga, Little Tujunga, and Soledad Canyon.

Angeles Forest is primarily twisty mountain driving, although there are a few straights and even the occasional passing lane, depending on the direction of travel. There really isn't any development out here, although watch out for the occasional campground or picnic area. There is a small store roughly at the mid point between Angeles Crest and the 14 but they do not sell gas.

The pavement between Big Tujunga Cyn. (purple on map) and Angeles Crest is in fairly bad shape, with ridges very similar to a concrete freeway. This doesn't seem to have too much affect on automobiles but can be an issue for motorcycles with tight suspension. Aliso Canyon Rd. (see map to right) makes a nice connector between Soledad Canyon and Angeles Forest if you area headed in that direction now that it has been re-opened.

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