Templin Highway

If you are looking for the ideal "test road", you should check out Templin Highway. The next exit past Lake Hughes Road in Castaic, Templin serves as the access road to the pumping station on the north end of Castaic Lake. 3 miles of un-patrolled smooth asphalt with lots of shoulder room. All the times I've been there over the years, I dont think I've seen more than 2 cars TOTAL! Back when I was into Miatas (SOLO 1 and 2, and Spec), it was where we went to test the latest modifications.

North on I-5, exit at Templin Highway, turn right. Follow road to stop sign at Old Ridge Route. From there, the road drops down to the lake in a series of sweeping turns. There is one decreasing radius corner just after you start down the hill (in front of the big tank so you know it's coming). Road ends at the entrance to the pumping facility. Turn around and zoom uphill using gravity to help slow you down. Repeat as needed. Very good place to practice cornering technique and to take pictures. It's a popular location as well for local TV and movie productions.

An alternative to the Templin exit is to exit the 5 at Lake Hughes Road, turn right, then at the first stop sign, turn left onto Old Ridge Route. After a half mile of suburban sprawl, the road turns into a twisty snake that can be rough in spots, but always fun. Stop sign at Templin.

While you are up there, if you take Templin in the other direction (under the 5) it ends immediately at old Route 99. Turn right and you find yourself on an extremely wide open road that you can make some serious time on. Dead ends about 5 miles later. This one will have some very light traffic though as there are a couple of trail heads and a ranger station off of it. And there is sometimes a CHP cruiser parked near the freeway ramps. Another popular location for films.