Featured image credit: Altadena Historical Society
It seems like everyone grew up with tales of a gravity hill. And if you didn’t, maybe you just heard it under another name, like “mystery spot” or the popular “spook hill.” They’re common enough that it seems every town that isn’t flat as a pancake has one. Yet, they’re still rare enough to maintain an eerie sense of mystery. In Los Angeles, our closest gravity hill is in Altadena, though we’ve got others nearby in Whittier and Sylmar. Wikipedia even has a list, by no means exhaustive, of gravity hills across the globe, indicating seven confirmed gravity hills across the state of California. Not too shabby if you’re looking for a cheap thrill on a spooky night.
What is a Gravity Hill?
For the uninitiated, your first brush with a gravity hill can be a mind-bending experience. Basically, a gravity hill or spook hill is an incline in which items appear to defy gravity, rolling upward instead of downward. Put your car in neutral on a gravity hill and marvel as it reverses up the hill as if pulled by some supernatural magnetic force. It’s an eerie sensation when nature seems to contradict itself. Especially since the phenomenon extends beyond cars. Bottles of water, basketballs, skateboards… anything that can roll will move up the hill. There’s a simple explanation for this, of course. But first, we’ll look at a few not-so-simple ones.
The Urban Legends of the Altadena Gravity Hill
The gravity hill in Altadena enjoys a bit of added mystique thanks to a few urban legends surrounding it. But it’s worth noting that variations on these same urban legends seem to accompany each gravity hill across the country. No doubt, tall tales like these have perpetuated the less popular but still frequent spook hill label.
The Joyriders
Legend has it that Altadena’s spook hill gained its mystical gravity-defying power on a fateful evening when a teenage girl snuck from her room and pilfered the keys to her parents’ sports car. After picking up a few of her friends, the teens were hurtling across Altadena at dangerous speeds, eyes peeled for adventure. But the inexperienced driver lost control of her car, spinning wildly until colliding with a tree.
Everyone in the car died on impact. The site of the fatal accident? A hill on Loma Alta Drive now recognized as the gravity hill. These days, when motorists put their cars in neutral on the hill, it summons the regretful spirits of the teens who will push cars back up the hill in an attempt to spare others a similarly violent fate.
After School Special
Another legend claims that the victims of the hill on Loma Alta Drive were actually children headed home on a school bus. When the bus driver lost control, all of the children onboard died in the resulting crash. This is likely a repurposing of another popular urban legend in which a school bus stalls out while crossing train tracks.
It also lends to one of the most enduring rumors of the Altadena gravity hill. Allegedly, if you cover the hood or bumper of your car with baby powder, you can find the tiny handprints of helpful ghost children or joyriding teenagers pushing your car up the hill to safety. But the true horror is cleaning the baby powder off of your car.
Home of the Brave
Probably the least popular but still common urban legend surrounding the Altadena spook hill is that of a wayward Native American. This tale would have occurred after the arrival of European colonists because it purports that this weary brave was leading a wagon that rolled down the hill on Loma Alta Drive, crushing him to death beneath its wooden wheels. Now, he’s said to patrol the hill, dragging motorists back to safety.
The Truth Behind Gravity Hills
If you’re enchanted by the mystique of the spook hill, this is your warning to turn back. You can back out of the blog now and still live under the belief that good samaritan ghosts are trying to save your life by pushing your car up the hill. Or even that a giant hidden magnet is pulling you backward. But the truth is less exciting.
Gravity hills are simply optical illusions. Due to the curvature of the hill being at odds with the lay of the nearby structures and trees, you’re given the impression that you are facing downward when you are actually looking up a hill. Therefore, when your car rolls upward, it’s really rolling downward. No ghosts. No magnets. Just pure illusion.
Directions to the Altadena Gravity Hill
If you’d like to freak out your less skeptical friends, it’s fairly easy to get to the gravity hill on Loma Alta Drive. Exiting the 210 freeway, take Lake Avenue north, then a right on East Altadena Drive, and a left on Porter Avenue. Follow Porter Avenue north until it terminates at East Loma Alta Drive. Turn left. You’ll hit a few dips in the road but when you start to significantly ascend, keep your eyes peeled for the second sign for Sunny Oaks Circle on the left.
Once you pass the second sign, it will feel as though your car is heading downhill. To the left, you’ll see an official gated facility that almost resembles a rock quarry. To your right, you’ll see an elevated rock wall. If you come to a bridge, then you’ve passed the gravity hill area.
If attempting to test the gravity hill illusion on yourself and your unsuspecting friends, just keep in mind that this is a public road with frequent traffic. It’s a good idea to keep your emergency lights flashing. Locals are used to the novelty of the gravity hill, but many motorists passing through the area will likely be confused if they see you hurtling back toward them without warning. For this reason, and also to facilitate the creepiest atmosphere, many choose to visit the spook hill at night.
Other Gravity Hills Near Los Angeles
The gravity hill in Sylmar may be more your speed if it’s closer to your location or if you’d consider the extra miles a fair trade for its spookier cemetery-adjacent setting. However, it’s a tinier ascent than even the modest Altadena gravity hill. The scenic Sylmar spook hill can be found near 12772 Kagel Canyon Road. The remote area is rumored to be a clandestine meeting spot for Ku Klux Klan members, so approach with caution.
If you’d rather a cemetery-based gravity hill that won’t end in a run-in with the KKK, Whittier’s Rose Hills Memorial Park may be able to accommodate. A slope located between the Garden of Memories and the Garden of Devotion creates the same eerie impression; bicycles, skateboards, and cars all seem to defy gravity by rolling up the incline. The fact that the stretch is literally flanked by graves only adds to the atmosphere.
Cheap Thrills… and Chills
While some gravity hills across the country charge admission, Southern California is fortunate that none of our spook hills are officially claimed tourist traps. Rather, they are no-cost anomalies that we’re free to experience at our discretion. So, if you’re having trouble coughing up the bones to visit Horror Nights this year, a gravity hill with some unaware friends is a verified cheap night out.
