There are a few things we can’t fathom from the 21^st century. Galileo being able to see the planets from his house and yard in the city is one. Life without an electric light bulb or heating your house solely with a wood fireplace also make the list. For that matter, doing physical work with only human and draft animals is high on that list too. All of these things came together in the hills over Pasadena, California in 1906 when the Mr. Wilson Observatory installed a 100-inch astronomical telescope. The first galaxy outside the Milky Way was discovered using this telescope.

It was no small feat to locate the observatory and telescope on Mt. Wilson. In 1877 John Muir climbed to a point near the summit and commented it was one of the most inaccessible places he had hiked. Like many large and significant events and places the location and placement of solar and astronomical telescopes had the help of many people. Thaddeus Lowe’s trolly car and hotel at Mt. Lowe inspired some to seek the highest peak in the area. The construction of a toll road and the subsequent declaration that it would be a public road and couldn’t be restricted from the public at large also helped. Perhaps the biggest help came when the Carnegie Institute granted a 99-year lease of 40 acres for telescopes on the site.

All of this wouldn’t have been possible without the vision of George Ellery Hale who saw the site and determined it would be an ideal place to research solar and astronomical telescopes for use in studying the heavens. Funding the manufacture of 60-inch and then the 100-inch telescopes would have been worthless without the road and labor to haul them up the mountain and then install them in an appropriate building. Using men and draft animals, the instruments were carefully and painstakingly brought up the mountain along with the material to make the structures needed to house the equipment.

Today, Mt. Wilson is more useful as a radio and television tower location. Beginning in 1948 the site has seen an increasing number of antennas placed near the telescopes on top of the hill. The Mt. Wilson Hotel, which was razed in 1966 to make Skyline Park, is long gone but you can still visit the 100-inch telescope which is operated by the Mount Wilson Institute. In addition to the telescope the Cosmic Café has limited hours and the views toward downtown Los Angeles and on a clear day the Pacific Ocean are amazing. Unfortunately, the basin’s smog is on full display on less clear days.

Access is available via car on the Angeles Crest Road/Red Box Road to Mr. Wilson or by hiking the old toll road from Altadena. From the summit you can access several trials including a summit trail. Skyline Park has a parking area and access to the telescope is an easy walk for an average person. While access to the inner building to view the telescope is limited to a steep staircase, the rest of the site is wheelchair accessible.

My trip via motorcycle took place on a fall Friday morning. As you will see the road was nearly empty. I’m sure on the weekend there is more traffic, especially on a clear day. Access to the road is out of La Canada. Angeles Crest Highway (CA 2) is an exit off the 210 freeway. A popular motorcycle and sports car road, I encourage you to drive at your own speed and let the speedsters do what they want. Since the highway remains closed just beyond Mt. Wilson Road, traffic going to Wrightwood is impossible, reducing the number of motorcyclists who have enjoyed this windy stretch of road, sometimes as a bit of a racetrack. A preferred route for the speedster group is to turn on to Angeles Forrest Highway and head out to Palmdale and CA14. Countless auto and motorcycle videos and reviews have been done on this stretch of road.

If you’re interested in a more in-depth history of the telescope and property, I would steer you to https://www.mtwilson.edu/history/.

Since I had the camera clamped to my motorcycle some of the turns may look a little sharper than you will experience in your car or pickup.

If you’re into motorcycle videos, here’s the trip down the hill with a few cut-aways from the top of the hill. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ccBX8ZAlQ1o

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