United StatesCalifornia Mt. Gleason South (Nike Missile Site)
Mt. Gleason South (Nike Missile Site) Bike Climb - PJAMM Cycling

19.4
PDI
17.5 mi
DISTANCE
4,147 ft
GAINED
4 %
AVG. GRADE
FULL CLIMB STATS
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INTRO

Ride up to an abandoned Cold War Nike Missile launch site. 

This climb is just pure fun, and feels far more like exploring than working out, especially after you turn off onto the second half of the climb at Mill Creek. Don't be fooled by the modest 5.5 fiets: the 15 miles of climbing and rollers will make the last 2 miles at 10% after the missile site hurt especially bad.  

PLAN YOUR ROUTE

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Roadway:
The roadway on Angeles Forest Hwy is pristine. Traffic is light, but cars and motorcycles tend to drive fast around turns. 
The traffic significantly reduces once you turn onto Mt Gleason Road (mile 8.3) but the pavement quality declines. 

Parking:
There are scenic pulloffs along Angeles Forest Hwy before the start of the climb (east) that are fine to park at for a few hours - from these it should be a short downhill until the start of the climb. An Angeles Forest recreation pass is required to park at a campsite, trailhead, or day-use site. 

This climb is unsupported, especially once you turn onto Mount Gleason Road. Nearby fire stations with public water fountains/bottle fill ups:

Monte Cristo Fire Station (mile 2 - water was turned off when we rode Oct '21)
Mill Creek Fire Station (mile 8.3 - water could also be turned off)
Clear Creek Fire Station (not along route - water always on)
Before heading out on any cycling adventure check out our Things to Bring on a Cycling Trip and use our interactive check list to ensure you don't forget anything.
Check out our full ride suggestions in the Full Summary to plan your next ride around Mt Gleason.

Although Gleason is one of our local favorites and absolutely worth spending a day to ride, if you're traveling to LA to climb, we actually recommend focusing most of your efforts on rides like Glendora Mountain Road, Hwy 39 - Dawson Saddle, Crystal Lake, and even rides across town in Malibu (ocean views!) 

To get to these, the best place to stay is farther east in Glendora, and to get to the latter, Malibu has some top hotels. If you plan on doing more than just riding while in LA, Santa Monica is our recommendation. 

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San Gabriel Mountains
United States (CA)
38 ROUTES
43 POIs
ROUTE STATS (TOTAL)
677.5
mi
DISTANCE
80,483
ft
ELEV. GAIN

NEARBY CLIMBS (0) RADIAL PROXIMITY

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Oct 20, 2022
-Exceptional ride, prob underrated bc it takes effort to get to start. -rode this october 19, 2022, temps mid80s bottom, 70 top, visibility unlimited from summit, sb mtns, mojave, tehachipis, downtown la, channel islands, mt. wilson, etc. -went through 4 botts -cfd chief at tujunga stn says avoid angeles forest road on weekends! drift drivers and motorcyclists cutting corners. if biker gets hit and goes over the side...they'll never find you. -road q: first half excellent, next 1/3 ok, next 1/3 has a mile of chunky dirt and pavement over concrete strips. i rode a salsa cutthroat with 2.2 knobbies. -park at picnic area on left immed after tunnel, which is immed after tujunga bridge. -even better, just park at the top, pacifico campground, as the climb to there is plain vanilla socal uphill grind. -nike missile silos...meh. bunch of old buildings and stuff. -last two miles are very steep. don't go to the atm too early. -if you're in socal, make this a priority
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CLIMB SUMMARY

The climb starts at a bridge spanning the Big Tujunga Canyon. It’s a remote climb, but there are several scenic pull-offs east of the start of the climb along the road that are fine to be parked at for a few hours.

If you’re used to riding in mountainous regions, you won’t find the first part of the climb to be very scenic. But riding through the canyons of the San Gabriel Mts still beats a day at the office!

The turnoff onto Mt Gleason road at Mill Creek Summit, the highest point along Angeles Forest Road (4,920 ft).

It looks like there’s another road climb to the south, but the pavement only continues for another ¼ mile before turning into a respectable gravel climb: https://www.strava.com/segments/15838516 

Once you reach the north side of the mountain, the views open up and go from average to absolutely spectacular - wide open views of desert plains and mountains looking towards Las Vegas.  

6 miles into Mt Gleason road you stumble upon an old Nike Missile site. Project Nike (named after Nike the winged Greek goddess of victory) was a U.S. Cold War military operation designed to protect major US cities from foreign nuclear missiles.  A Nike missile would launch from these sites (scattered about remote places in the US) and destroy the enemy warheads in midair before they reached their target.

(photo source: wikipedia)

These missiles have since been removed and decommissioned, and these launch sites remain as historical attractions.

 A giant fuel tank for the missiles.

After the missile site, the steepest part of the climb remains: 2.4 miles at 8.3%, with individual grades reaching the mid-teens. The summit is in clear view!

There’s a brief (~100 yd long) downhill section of dirt after the missile site  before the pavement resumes. After the missile site, the pavement gets a bit worse and much more overgrown, but never terrible, considering the last time it was paved (in the 1950s?) - you can still cruise on the descent.

After a 2 mile stretch of agonizingly steep pavement, there’s a right turn up to the last remaining trees on the summit.

Looking back down at the Nike Missile site.

We love these pure summit finishes for the 360 degree views - note the santa monica mountains, Santa Catalina Island poking through the fog, and the late afternoon sunlight reflecting off the Pacific Ocean.