Old Priest Grade sounds and looks like an interesting drive.
Immediately east of town, State Route 120 climbs from about 910 feet (280 m) AMSL elevation to about 2,450 feet (750 m) at Priest Station, California, over a distance of 4.5 miles (10 km). Old Priest Grade, a narrower road and predecessor to the current route of SR120, covers the same change in elevation over about 1.8 miles (2.9 km). It is common to see vehicles with smoking brakes descending the old grade. During summer, ambient temperatures can be in the 90~100 °F range. In these temperatures, many vehicles overheat climbing the old grade. For this reason, bottles of water are available at turnouts along Old Priest Grade to fill overheating vehicles. A sign on Highway 120 also advises drivers to turn off air conditioning in order to prevent overheating while climbing either grade. Locals tell stories of car accidents in history where the vehicles left the path of Old Priest Grade and tumbled into Grizzly Gulch. The hillsides are sturdy chaparral with thick vegetation. The terrain was so difficult that, in a few cases, the cars and bodies were not retrieved, some locals claim.[citation needed] Construction to widen curves and add guard rails began in July 2010.[5]
