Autoblog Sunday Drive: Glendora Mountain Road

It's been a while since we did a Sunday drive, but when we had a 2010 Roush 427R Mustang delivered to the Autoblog Garage (see the review here), we figured it would be a good idea to enjoy it on some of our favorite roads in Southern California. For this Sunday Drive, we head to the northeast portion of Los Angeles County, to the city of Glendora and Glendora Mountain Road. Winding through the Glendora Wilderness Park, this route is not only a fantastic driving road but offers incredible views of the Angeles National Forest as well. If that sounds like your ideal Sunday afternoon, follow along with us on our route after the jump.

Want to contribute your own Sunday Drive? Send a Google Maps-formatted route and, if you wish, a story to autoblogsundaydrive – at – gmail – dawt – com.

Photos copyright ©2009 Drew Phillips / Weblogs, Inc.

As a forewarning, know that Glendora Mountain Road is an extremely popular route for mountain bikers. During our drive we saw significantly more bikes than cars, so be aware that you will be sharing the road. As tempting as it might be to cut inside on turns, we highly suggest that you stay in your lane and be careful around the dozens of blind curves.

Accessing Glendora Mountain Road is fairly simple, with the start of the route located just a few miles from the 210 freeway. The best way to get there is to exit Grand Avenue and head north to downtown Glendora. Next, you'll take a right on Foothill Blvd, left on Valley Center Ave, and then a left on Sierra Madre Ave that immediately puts you at the start of Glendora Mountain Road on the right-hand side.


The first section of GMR isn't anything special, but after a mile or so you'll come to some really fantastic sections of pavement. The road winds uphill with a series of on-camber turns one after another. We spent most of the time in second gear, as there aren't really any spots to open up. After a few miles you'll eventually find yourself several hundred feet higher than when you started, and there are quite a few turn-offs that provide an excellent view of the San Gabriel Valley. The route continues for another seven or eight miles along the ridge of the mountains, often lined with beautiful rock walls and with plenty of spots where you can step out and enjoy the view of the Angeles Mountains.


At just under ten miles into GMR, you'll come upon a fork in the road and have the option to choose your own adventure. The right fork, Glendora Ridge Road, will take you east towards Mt. Baldy Road (which can take you back down to the 210 freeway in Claremont). This road is unique in that much of it doesn't have a center stripe most of the way (it's still two-way traffic, though, so stay to the right), and offers plenty of tight, low-speed turns. The left fork stays on Glendora Mountain Road and continues north, dropping down into the valleys rather than staying on the ridges


If you continue on GMR (like we did, although only after exploring parts of Glendora Ridge Road), it eventually connects with E. Fork Rd that gives you a break from the low speed turns and lets you open it up a bit. A left on E. Fork will eventually lead you to San Gabriel Canyon Rd, signaling the return portion of our drive. This section of the route will put you right alongside the mountains, with a few of the San Gabriel and Morris reservoirs on your left side. Just less than eleven miles later, and San Gabriel Canyon Rd. will spill out into downtown Azusa and take you directly to the 210 freeway, just a few miles from the start of our drive. Happy motoring!