Asphalt Paving in Lake Hughes, CA

Asphalt paving in Lake Hughes is mountain work. The community sits at about 3,228 feet in the Sierra Pelona Mountains, inside the Angeles National Forest, where Elizabeth Lake Road and Lake Hughes Road, both county highways, meet near the center of town. Hughes Lake and nearby Lake Elizabeth lie in canyons along the San Andreas Fault and periodically dry up depending on rainfall. Lake Hughes is small, with 544 residents and 326 housing units at the 2020 census, and only about 77 percent of those units were occupied, which reflects the number of cabins and part-time homes.

Slopes, curves and gravel

Mountain driveways are short but steep, often curved, and many were built as gravel or thin asphalt. Water runs down them in storms, carrying gravel into the road. Paving one well takes:

• A compacted base shaped to the curve
• A cross slope that sends water off the inside or outside edge at controlled points
• Thicker asphalt on steep sections so tires do not shove it on hot days
• Clean transitions to the county road

Fire country

The 2020 Lake fire was first reported in Lake Hughes. For homes in the brush, a paved driveway wide enough for a fire engine to reach the house and turn around has practical value, and clearing brush back from the drive is part of good defensible space. We can widen a turnaround while paving.

Part-time owners

With many cabins used part-time, we can schedule work while you are away, send photos at each stage and leave the drive barricaded until it is ready to use.

Cold and timing

Winter nights are cold at this elevation, and hot mix loses heat quickly on cold ground. We pave from late spring to early fall here and fill cracks before the first hard freeze.

History on the stage route

From 1858 to 1861, the Lake Hughes area lay on the Butterfield Overland Mail route, and the community dates its settlement to 1873. The lake was earlier called West Elizabeth Lake and was renamed for Judge Griffith Hughes, who homesteaded here around the turn of the 20th century. Old properties here sometimes have driveways that follow paths older than the road grid, with tight curves and odd grades. We work with those layouts rather than against them, adjusting slope and drainage to fit.

Cost on a short, steep drive

Mountain driveways are often short, so a minimum charge may apply. HomeGuide notes some contractors have a minimum of $2,000 or more for driveway paving. Extra base work on slopes and drainage outlets add to the cost, and we list each item separately in the quote.

County roads

Lake Hughes is unincorporated Los Angeles County. Approach work on a county road needs a Los Angeles County Public Works road permit. Call (661) 466-4552 or

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