Old Control Road (Tulare County Mountain Road 52)

Old Control Road is an eleven-mile rural dirt highway located in the Sierra Nevada foothills. Old Control Road is a loop of Hot Springs Drive located north of King George Peak and maintained as Tulare County Mountain Road 52. The Old Control Road corridor was the original highway which served California Hot Springs when the resort was constructed in the 1880s. As the name implies during the automotive era traffic was managed by way of timed alternating one-way traffic. Functionally the Control Road was replaced around 1915 when modern Hot Springs Drive was constructed south of King George Peak.

The history of the California Hot Springs Control Road

The Hot Springs along Deer Creek were known to the native Bokinnuwad Yokuts prior the 1853 Kern County Gold Rush. Said gold rush spurred American development of the southern Sierra Nevada foothills in Tulare County. The Witt family would file land patent claims for the lands around upper Deer Creek in the late 1870s. By 1880 the Witts had constructed a bathhouse and campground that was initially called "Deer Creek Hot Springs."

By 1882 the Deer Creek Hot Springs resort had been considered by Henry Witt (claimed to have been founded by the California Hot Springs Resort web page). The resort at Deer Creek is noted to be an active proposal in an October 1883 Tulare Register stub article (courtesy Laile De Silvestro of the Tulare County History Facebook group).

Deer Creek Hot Springs became locally famous due to the reliable 125F degree hot spring water which was notably pure compared to other nearby sources. Deer Creek Hot Springs was connected to the Stockton-Los Angeles Road via a one-way control road running eastward from Fountain Springs along the course of Deer Creek.

The Witt family would sell Deer Creek Hot Springs in 1889 to T.J. Wingrove, G.K. Pike and J.F. Firebaugh out of the Lindsey-Exeter area. In April 1901 Dr. C.E. Bernard purchased the resort business interests of Pike and Firebaugh. In 1902 construction of Hotel Del Venado had broken ground and would be complete by 1904.

Following the death of Dr. Bernard in early 1905 his interests in the Deer Creek Hot Springs would be purchased by S. Mitchell out of Visalia and J.H. Williams out of Porterville. The new owners would incorporate their then new holdings as "California Hot Springs" during June 1905.

The general history of the California Hot Springs resort was featured in the 1913-era book titled "History of Tulare and Kings County." The resort Control Road is noted to be served by stage lines originating out of Porterville and Ducor. The Control Road is noted to be popular with travelers out of Visalia looking to access the resort on day trips.

The Hotel Del Venado can be seen shortly after being completed in a Tulare County Public Library photo.

The California Hot Springs resort can be seen below in a 1907 photo hosted by the Tulare County Public Library.

A California Hot Springs owned stage can be seen climbing the Control Road in a 1909-1910 era photo owned by the Tulare County Public Library. The Control Road as the name implies had one-way traffic which would alternate during different times of the name. This alternation of traffic made it inadequate to handle the emergence of automobiles visiting the resort.

Another stage can be seen stopped on the Control Road circa 1909 in a Tulare County Public Library owned photo.

Below a car can be seen on the Control Road circa 1910 in a Tulare County Public Library owned photo.

The Control Road was supplemented by modern Hot Springs Drive and Grapevine Road around 1915. Hot Springs Drive was intended for cars and used steeper grades located to the south of the Control Road on the ridge opposite King George Peak. Grapevine Road in particular followed the White River east the namesake goldrush era town through to what is now Railroad Canyon. A railroad line east from the Stockton & Tulare Railroad was once under consideration but the general routing is unclear. It is likely that Grapevine Road (now closed to traffic) was constructed with a railroad grade in mind.

The Control Road, Hot Springs Drive and Grapevine Road can all be seen east of the Stockton-Los Angeles Road (now Old Stage Road) on the 1917 California State Automobile Association map. Control Road (in bolded black) is shown to be the then primary highway to California Hot Springs.

The Hotel Del Venado burned in 1932 but was quickly replaced by new accommodations which were complete by 1934. The California Hot Springs Resort can be seen from facing east along Hot Springs Drive in a 1935 era photo owned by the Tulare County Public Library.

Control Road (in red) is shown to still be a major local highway on the 1935 Division of Highways map of Tulare County. Hot Springs Drive (in black) is shown to be minor roadway branching south of King George Peak.

Control Road (in red) is still shown to be the primary highway into California Hot Springs on the 1943 United States Geological Survey map of Tobias Peak. The blue pin denotes where the eastern side of the Control Road/Hot Springs Drive meet near King George Peak.

Hot Springs Drive is shown to have become the primary highway into California Hot Springs on the 1958 United States Geological Survey map of California Hot Springs. The "Hot Springs Drive" designation would be ended all the way west to Fountain Springs where it meets Old Stage Road and Avenue 56. Control Road was rebranded as "Old Control Road" and was truncated as a loop of Hot Springs Road. Hot Springs Drive now is signed as Tulare County Mountain Road 56 whereas Old Control Road is designated Mountain Road 52.

In recent years Old Control Road has been subject to numerous washouts. As of July 2025, the corridor is still closed after suffering damage during the previous winter. It isn't clear when Tulare County intends to make repairs.

The westbound beginning of Old Control Road can be seen below as it was during July 2025.