Wrightwood is the mountain village at the top of the High Desert. Tucked into Swarthout Valley in the San Gabriel Mountains at about 6,000 feet, it is pines and cabins rather than creosote and sand — a real four-season town, with snow in the winter and cool summers, only a short drive up Highway 2 from Phelan and Piñon Hills and about 75 miles from downtown Los Angeles.
The Serrano people were here first. In 1851 the Swarthout brothers came down from Salt Lake City and began ranching the valley that still carries their name, and in the early 1900s the Wright family acquired two-thirds of the valley and ran the thousand-head Circle Mountain Ranch at its eastern end. Sumner Wright began breaking the ranch into residential and commercial lots in 1924, and the town of Wrightwood took root. Skiing arrived in the 1930s and turned it into a resort community; Mountain High's west resort, originally called Blue Ridge, is among the oldest ski areas in the country.
Life here revolves around the mountain: Mountain High is right in town, the Pacific Crest Trail runs along the ridge above it, and the Angeles Crest Highway begins its climb here. Homes are mostly cabins and mountain houses on the slopes around the village, with a small walkable center of restaurants, shops and the community's annual events. It is a favorite for buyers who want a weekend place, and for full-timers who want to live in the mountains and still reach the desert or the Inland Empire in under an hour.
The community center in the village is the gathering point for town events. Schools are part of the Snowline Joint Unified School District, which also serves Phelan and Piñon Hills.
Snowline Joint Unified School District
Wrightwood Community Center
Wrightwood, CA 92397
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