A GATEWAY BEFORE ROUTE 66
Camp Cajon opened on July 4, 1919, beside the National Old Trails Road, the transcontinental highway that would later become U.S. Route 66. Local orange grower, writer and civic booster William Bristol had envisioned a place where motorists could recover after crossing the Mojave Desert before descending toward Southern California.
THE ROADSIDE CAMP
The camp was more than a pullout. Sponsors including civic groups and businesses provided fireplaces, tables, stoves and other facilities. Its handmade stone-and-concrete structures turned the pass into a recognizable stopping place, and the camp became known as a gateway into Southern California.
ROUTE 66 ARRIVES
When the highway was designated Route 66 in 1926, Camp Cajon became part of the Mother Road story. Travelers who had endured heat, primitive roads and mechanical trouble could stop before the final descent toward San Bernardino and Los Angeles.
THE 1938 FLOOD
The great Southern California flood of 1938 devastated Cajon Pass. Camp Cajon was hit hard; stone structures were buried or damaged beyond practical recovery. The camp was abandoned, and later highway realignments pushed traffic away from the original site.
WHAT REMAINS
The original camp no longer survives as it did in the 1920s and 1930s. Historical groups reconstructed a monument in 2019 for the centennial of the camp's opening. That monument marks the memory of a roadside complex that was physically erased but remained important to regional transportation history.
WHY IT FEELS HAUNTED
Camp Cajon is sometimes encountered today as a 'lost place' rather than a conventional ruin: the landscape carries the story, while most original structures are gone. ODDKNOWN found no reliable primary evidence establishing a supernatural haunting, so paranormal interpretations should be treated as modern atmosphere or folklore rather than documented fact.