Route 66 Through the Cajon Pass 

I used to travel to the desert for work, and when returning south, often took 66 instead of the parallel 15 because it's more interesting and relaxing. I was on that very stretch shown at 12:58 during the evening, when I saw someone on a bicycle far down the road. As I passed, I saw that the bike looked brand new, but was the style made in the 1950's, and the girl riding it wore a clean white blouse, long skirt, white socks, and black and white shoes - exactly like what you'd see in a 1950's neighborhood scene. It gave me freakin goosebumps. This was back around 2005, so maybe she was going to a 1950's-themed event, but as the photo shows, there's little out there, and to this day I still don't know what I saw.

I love watching the Cajon Pass episodes. You have done an excellent job showing how the original roads were built before the Interstates.

Fantastic! Wonderful research, historic information, photos and diagrams!

I first went through the Pass in early 1952, when my parents moved from “back east “. They bought a house in Monrovia, just 4 blocks from Foothill Dr., aka Route 66. Then, countless times over Cajon in the ‘50’s as we camped & explored the Mojave more times than I can remember and took the yearly drive back east, all the way on 66. Memories of driving the desert at night (no air conditioning), across the endless plains, and across the Mississippi. It took 5 days. Now, I live back east again. Thanks for this video, so I can rest my eyes on the mountains and chaparral.

Fun and interesting video for me. In the 1970s my co-workers and I commuted through Cajon Pass from San Bernardino to the JPL test facility above Wrightwood.

This video is awesome. I’ve been a sub for a while. I was stationed at MCAS Miramar in the early 2000’s and never really ventured this far north, I wish I had. In the 1950’s my Dad drove his Triumph motorcycle from Chicago to L.A. on Route 66. He stayed for about a month there and returned back to Chicago. I can only imagine how his trip on the “Mother Road” was….I may recreate this trip in the future. Thanks.

When I was 15 years old, my family took a long driving and camping vacation from Miami Florida to Los Angeles. This was in 1963. On our last leg, we left Las Vegas around midnight and drove west to LA. I got to drive the last leg in and I'll always remember cresting a hill (or mountain, not sure) just as daylight was starting to fill the valley and seeing LA laid out below. It just simmered in the morning light and enthralled me. I'll always love Route 66. Thanks for taking me on a ride on my old, favorite roadway once again.

Loved your video! I grew up in LA and we used to go to the desert via San Bernardino/the original McDonald's/ and the Cajon Pass. You covered a lot of things I had no idea of. You mentioned the Santa Ana winds: Wind was frequent in the Pass, and during the sixties a sandstorm in the Pass blasted off the paint on the front of our car and we had to get the windshield replaced. Glad so much of Route 66 has been restored.

I lived in Apple 🍎 Valley for 3 years. Took the pass daily. Interesting historical facts, i love it!

Really nice update, Cliff. I love how you zoom in and out of Google Earth together with superimposing old and new photos. It really makes it interesting and gives it an iconic feeling. Great job! Gord

Super cool...As a Locomotive Engineer for the old Santa Fe Railway I have been up and down the Cajon Pass thousands of times. Very good presentation.

When I was a kid, getting “over the pass” to go shopping in San Bernardino (which wasn’t ghetto then), was always an adventure, you never knew if you were going to make it. In the summer, your car could overheat, and in the winter there could be snow and icy roads. I remember vineyards in Devore.

When I first drove the pass in 1963 on my way east to college, it represented the freedom of brand new territory on my own. The next spring, coming westbound, it represented coming home. Love this pass!

I was stationed at George AFB (Adelanto/Victorville) for four years in the late 80s to 90. Still sad the Summit Inn was lost in a fire because I had stopped in there a few times on my way "down the hill" to LA on the Cajon Pass. At the time I had no idea about Route 66 running through there so this, and the previous version I saw a few years ago, is quite interesting and sad.

I wasn't famous but I traveled that road a couple of times too when it was the only way to go through... And my mom bought a couple of acres in Santa Fe that actually ended up being part of the new interstate. On my first trip from Orange county to Santa Fe we were young kids and mom stopped every once in awhile and got us a hot chocolate at Denny's... It was a real cold winter and we got snowed in at the pass and in Flagstaff. Sometimes I really do miss the old days. Thanks for the walk down memory lane I enjoyed it

This is awesome! I've always wanted to do something like this in Colorado and New Mexico because the old I-25 road beds are still visible along with the abandoned homes and travel stops. Well done!

Heck Yeah... I Still Love Taking The Old Route 66 / Bypassing I-15 Cajon Pass

Good stuff y’all, love the old date stamps😎

Brought back fond memories, I lived in Fontana one block north of Foothill Blvd. /Rt. 66 from 1975 thru 2004. More narration and less text please.

You do such a great job illustrating and editing these videos! I live in Rcho Cucamonga and my son lives in Helendale. I travel this route regularly so I find the last few videos you produce especially interesting. I've been subscribed to your channel for a few years and I haven't been disappointed by any of your videos. Thank you for all your effort in producing these videos.

Great video - very informative with the maps and markers - thanks!

absolutely FANTASTIC video and very informative! Thanks for posting it!

Having lived in Redlands, CA for over 25 years, we often took the I-15 to Las Vegas. I was always interested in the history behind this route and the historic structures along the way. I wanted to document the construction of I-15 and the old routes and the buildings as a travel guide for those frequenting the road from southern California to Las Vegas. But, work and now age has prevented me from doing this. Thank you for doing the same thing...only so much better than I could have done. Thumbs up and new subscriber. Always wanted to know where the Sammy Davis accident occurred...now I know.

Spent 2 days broken down in that pass in 1955 in a 1938 Ford.

Thank you for posting this! As a child in the 60s, my family would frequently drive from our home in Pomona to Victorville to visit my favorite aunt and uncle. They have lived in heaven since 1970, when I was 10 and I miss them badly. My sister and I loved the trip to Victorville on old Route 66. First we enjoyed the "Fontana dips". Then my mom took what was called the Devore Cutoff (or the Old Devore Road). The road was quite windy before getting to Cajon pass and after one hairpin turn, we could see a hill at the base of the next curve and on top of it was a rock that looked exactly like a man's boot. I've been trying to find out if anyone else recalls that and if one can still travel on what was the Devore Cutoff, and if not to know what happened to that portion of the road. I'd love to see that rock again if it still exists. Can anyone out there help with this?

You have a gift for helping others imagine the past. I am new to the area but ride my bike in that area often. I absolutely LOVE your videos. Would be awesome if you did some of the southern roads like Reche Canyon or Barton Road, but that’s just me being selfish wanting to know the history of my area more 🤣

I had no idea about the reconnection around the 15/215 interchange, and I live in Orange county! Thanks!

Great info. I was going to try to drive it and your vid came out how awesome.

Thanks for the memories coming back.

I am a huge fan of the route 66 restoration at the I-15 and I-215 interchange. I wish the other gaps along the route would be connected again. I know it would take A LOT of capital and eminent domain to connect the old route 66 segments in Arizona and New Mexico. But hey, I am a fan. 😊

What an AWESOME tour. Never knew of the Sammy Davis Jr. accident location before

Thanks great video Loving this stuff from the east coast . I have been through the pass multiple times next I will check it out 🇺🇸

At 14:08 I didn't know that section was abandoned. So I went on Google Maps and looked and there was a mound of dirt blocking that section on 2008 and 2012 (much clearer) views. How sad to see that. Good thing they redid that interchange at 15/215 near the classic diner (Tony's) so it was able to open back up after 45 years.

I appreciate your hard work making this.

Sammy Davis..OMG! Now we know!! Never knew!

These are GREAT VIDEOS! This is exactly what I'd like to do when I get my old Isuzu Trooper fixed up!

Great job! 👍

The 66 on the hill was my friend John Hockiday (house below). He wrote a Cajon pass history book "Trails and Tales" history of Cajon pass.

Beautiful love the information and pictures videos you put together amazing stuff

great video wish you spent more time on the northern end of the climb up the mountains. Why no mention of old 395?

Very thorough. Well presented. Really enjoyed. Thanks

Thank you for the great information! I’ll have this as reference in the future

Great update and I enjoy watching your videos, most especially the Route 66 segments. In your Victorville to Helendale Route 66 segment, why wasn't the section of 66 from the 15 freeway (Palmdale/7th) to D street included in the segment?

Great video work. Great historical information.

Very well done. Thank you!

Subscribed. This is great stuff. Just may have to drive down there in the ol' Willys.

Pure RU-vid Gold.

Really great job on the facts and video......

WELL done !

Nice video! I travel the Cajon Pass daily and always wondered where it’s original route went. Sadly, I watched the Summit Inn burn during the Blue Cut fire. There were several fire units on scene, but not enough to save the historic restaurant. They were protecting the gas station next door, which would probably have created a major issue if it caught fire

I think the old alignment on the road in Cajon was th railroad that flooded in 1938. It crossed Cajon Creek, then went back across before Swarthout Canyon Road.

I think the waterway that runs through the pass is a major complication and deserves more attention. What is the source of the Cajon Creek? it obviously floods catastrophically. Is it run off from the surrounding peaks?

Not only US 66 crosses through Cajon Pass, US 91 and US 395 used to be concurrent with US 66 through Cajon Pass. The routes was then replaced with I-15.

6:47. Mormon Rocks. Captain Kirk fought a gorn lizard here. 11:10. "The Mormon Pioneers who founded San Bernardino in 1851..."

great research and analysis.

Let's not forget that this section of old Historic US 66 was also US 91 and US 395.

10:18 ... The fault was likely responsible for the pass even existing, since it cuts through an even older mountain chain.

Great video!

The 1950's expansion to four lanes must have been a welcomed change. Getting stuck behind slow moving vehicles would have been very frustrating. I wonder what the motivation was for re-connecting the pre-1970 portion? Was it just for Route 66 fans?

Very fascinating video. New subscriber today.

I need to ride this route on my motorcycle!

Well done!

Nice video but please dump the music. It's too much and too loud and it makes it hard to concentrate on the real information.

An excellent presentation of one of the more complicated alignments and disused sections of 66. I would however suggest more use of period USGS maps (you do that on other vids) ghosting into modern google sat images. Great work!!

These are well done, it's so good to know the history of the area. I might be nit picking but I don't think I think it's correct to call American's displaced by dust bowl "Refugees " considering they traveled within the borders of the United States.

That was really interesting and informative. I've been up and down that pass a million times and have always taken any chance to get off the main freeway. I wish I had known some of the interesting places to stop and see along the way. Blue Cut was especially interesting. Your video production is pretty good but as somebody else noted, please lower the volume of the music to the point where you can just barely hear it in the background. And, for the love all that editors hold holy, please drop all the 'fly-in/fly-out' transitions. They make your otherwise really good production look amateurish. All that you need is a simple smash cut and an occasional simple dissolve. As another viewer mentioned, all that flying about can actually make some people physically ill. More importantly, it distracts from all the good stuff you are saying. I look forward to seeing more of your videos! Kindest regards,

I love driving 66. There’s some great ghost stories from semi truckers who travel it. Spooky

Apparently it didn't take long for many people to figure out that Route 66 is a way out of the mess that Cajon Pass can become. Southbound is usually pretty good but I am amazed at the traffic headed north sometimes. What a bottleneck that must be at the 215 freeway entrance.

@BackroadsWest1 - Was one of these places along the divided highway ever called Cajon Camp? Our scouts overnight camped there in 1972 or 1973.

@ 14:53 "With no brakes" LOL!

Fun fact : (if someone can remedy this I would be very intrigued) it is impossible to commute to the high desert on a bicycle/or on foot via road access. (Sure you can probably hike over the hills or maybe cross the railroad tracks but) You HAVE to have vehicle that can access the 15 fwy/ or highway 138. I met a young kid from the UK who was traveling from the very beginning of Route 66 to the end. He flagged me down at the Cleghorn fwy entrance (15 fwy). He was dumbfounded on how he was able to continue his journey. When I realized He was right. I myself was dumbfounded. I quickly analyzed the situation and was surprised by the fact you can not commute to the high desert as a pedestrian or someone on a bicycle.

Yes I know I'm nitpicking but it's cast not stamped. Cast in concrete.

Like your shows! I am supposing this runs along a waterway prone to flood?

Am I missing something? Drive to Santa Monica on Route 66 without stopping? How?

But Route 66 ends at cleghorn and ends at a trail. To connect it where it ends at cleghorn to 7th street, is it connected via the 15 freeway?

I remember the original video

14:52 They let you drive on it all the way through LA with no brakes? That doesn't sound very safe.

What’s the background music title ?!

Not trying to be a not picker, but the opening sequence with rapidly scrolling images moving right to left can cause nausea or worse, try not to do that in future vids.

It must be terrifying to drive through the Cajon pass epecilly for Lorry Drivers

Karma and Kerosene my friend. "Civil War"

'if you ever plan to motor west'

El Cajón Pass not to be confused with El Cojón Pass...😆

PS I love California

There was a time when the McDonald's door would open if you pulled in to park in front of the door.

Blue cut is a cruising spot for gay men no joke. There's guys just parked there waiting for a hook up .