Places near me Random place
All the United States California Los Angeles Nike Missile Control Site LA-96

Nike Missile Control Site LA-96

A Cold War site complete with rusty structures, hiking trails, and beautiful views.

Los Angeles, California

Added By
Anna
Nike Missile Control Site LA-96.   AnnaIF (Atlas Obscura User)
Nike Missile Control Site LA-96, 1/2021   Keri Kilgo (Atlas Obscura User)
Nike Missile Control Site LA-96.   AnnaIF (Atlas Obscura User)
Nike Missile Control Site LA-96.   AnnaIF (Atlas Obscura User)
Nike Missile Control Site LA-96.   AnnaIF (Atlas Obscura User)
Nike Missile Control Site LA-96.   AnnaIF (Atlas Obscura User)
Nike Missile Control Site LA-96.   AnnaIF (Atlas Obscura User)
Nike Missile Control Site LA-96.   AnnaIF (Atlas Obscura User)
Nike Missile Control Site LA-96, 1/2021   Keri Kilgo (Atlas Obscura User)
Nike Missile Control Site LA-96.   AnnaIF (Atlas Obscura User)
Nike Missile Control Site LA-96.   AnnaIF (Atlas Obscura User)
Informative signs are made to look like relics from the original military site.   AnnaIF (Atlas Obscura User)
  Avoiding Regret (Used with permission)
from afar   Avoiding Regret (Used with permission)
Nike Missile Control Site LA-96.   AnnaIF (Atlas Obscura User)
Nike Missile Control Site LA-96.   AnnaIF (Atlas Obscura User)
Nike Missile Control Site LA-96.   AnnaIF (Atlas Obscura User)
Nike Missile Control Site LA-96.   AnnaIF (Atlas Obscura User)
Nike Missile Control Site LA-96.   AnnaIF (Atlas Obscura User)
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list

About

In San Vicente Mountain Park, you can drive pretty close and then take a quick hike up to this Nike Missile Site, named for the missile project, not the shoe.  

During the Cold War in the late '50s, Army specialists monitored the skies from this high point between Los Angeles and the Valley, looking for Soviet air strikes. The technology at the site could both detect enemy aircraft and assist anti-aircraft missiles launched from a nearby facility.

Years of disuse later, the missile site is now part of a public park. People can stomp up the steel structures and enjoy the sweeping views in all directions. Not much has changed, or what's been added is deliberately made to match the existing structures, so it still sort of feels like somewhere you're not allowed to be.

Related Tags

Cold War Military History Missiles Parks Military

Know Before You Go

The dirt road is usually open to vehicles. If not, the missile site is about a 10-minute walk from the parking area. You can find a map of the park here.

Community Contributors

Added By

AnnaIF

Published

October 31, 2019

Edit this listing

Make an Edit
Add Photos
Sources

Nearby Places

Explore the Destination Guide

Related Places

  • Children play among the old missile equipment.

    Addison, Illinois

    Nike Park

    Cold War missile launch site which has been converted to a public park.

  • The launch pad from below

    Gilsland, England

    Spadeadam Rocket Test Site

    In the middle of a barren moorland, the remnants of a lost British Space Age stand like a 20th-century Stonehenge.

  • Concrete debris found in the woods of Popes Head Park.

    Fairfax, Virginia

    Fairfax Nike Missile Site

    A lone historical marker off the highway and scattered debris are all that remain of this Cold War-era missile site.

  • Nike Missile Site W-92.

    Gaithersburg, Maryland

    Nike Missile Site W-92

    Three abandoned missile silos are hiding in plain sight behind a suburban development in Maryland.

  • Congressional Country Club in 2011.

    Bethesda, Maryland

    Congressional Country Club

    Proto-CIA agents trained with grenades in the sand traps and fired machine guns from the fairways.

Aerial image of Vietnam, displaying the picturesque rice terraces, characterized by their layered, verdant fields.
Atlas Obscura Membership

See Fewer Ads

Become an Atlas Obscura member and experience far fewer ads

Become a Member