Carrying mail was the first commercial application of air travel, and in the early 1920s the federal government established a network of beacons for airmail navigation. Officially called Beacon Stations, these consisted of a concrete arrows—originally painted yellow—that pointed easterly on east-west routes and northerly on north-south routes. They also included a brilliant light on a steel tower about 50 feet high so that planes could follow a course from light to light after dark. Otherwise, in the absence radar—and with only primitive radio, at best—night flying was hazardous and could not be done routinely.
The towers are mostly gone, having been salvaged for scrap decades ago, but a number of the arrows have survived. This Beacon Station, officially #38 LA-SL (#38 on the Los Angeles to Salt Lake City route), is one of the survivors, and it can be reached by a scenic hike. The overlook by the arrow has an expansive view of Quail Creek Reservoir below and of the surrounding red-rock country.
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