Detour #26: Mulholland Highway, Los Angeles, California, USA
Locals call it The Snake, and, if all the crash videos on YouTube are anything to go by, then this road certainly can bite.
Mulholland Highway cuts through the Santa Monica Mountains from Calabasas to Malibu offering up more driving entertainment in 20 miles than the whole of the rest of LA County. Well, that’s probably an exaggeration, but if you’ve spent any time on the infamous I-5 or 101 then you’ll certainly understand that most driving in the City of Angels isn’t exactly exhilarating.
So Mulholland is a mecca for drivers and riders, eager to escape the gridlock of LA. The trouble is that many of them, and their vehicles, just don’t appear to be cut out for cornering.
A case in point is the Dodge Charger rental car that Detour took up the Snake. Yes, it was ‘only’ a V6, but the sloppy steering, lack of body control and copious weight of the thing made negotiating Mulholland far more furious than fast. The young gun in a ‘ricer’ Hyundai Veloster we met was definitely having far more fun.
Weekends on The Snake are always busy, with bikes and cars of every vintage and type, and the corners are often lined with photographers hoping to catch something exotic - preferably in flames - for their social media channels.
Aside from the cars, the views are pretty spectacular. Stop at one of the many lookouts and you can take in LA - smog permitting - or as you get closer to Malibu, enjoy the Pacific Ocean.
The road ends at the Pacific Coast Highway - another California icon. But that’s another story.
Roadbook
Class: Mountain Pass
Name: Mulholland Highway
Route: Calabasas to Malibu
Country: USA
Distance: 20 miles