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History CakeHistory Cake

Narrated audio tours that play themselves as you drive or walk. The history beneath the places you pass.

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Free on iPhone and Android

Stories of the past that play themselves as you drive, walk, or ride.

Beneath the path or roadway are layered the stories of our past, both recent and some not so recent at all…

Browse tours
Download on the App StoreGet it on Google Play
The History Cake app showing a list of available tours, each with a historic photo, stop count and running timeA tour's detail screen in the app, showing its map, stop count and a Start Tour buttonA story playing in the app: an archival photograph of Mirror Lake with the narration player beneath it

Pick a tour

Stories start on their own

Each story begins the moment you arrive, so your phone stays right where it belongs, in your pocket

Written by historians

Researched and narrated by real historians and locals who know the place.

Works fully offline

Download before you leave. Canyons and dead zones don't interrupt the story.

Buy once, keep it

A tour is a one-time purchase, yours to replay on every trip. There are Free tours included.

How it works

Pick a tour. Start moving. Listen.

1

Pick a tour

Browse drives and walks by region. Download the one you want before you leave.

2

Drive or walk the route

Follow the route at your own pace. There's nothing to tap once you're moving.

3

Listen as you arrive

Each story begins the moment you arrive, whether you're standing at a scenic overlook or a corner most people never notice.

Start here

The layers of the cake are baked and ready for you to enjoy.

No matter your mode of journey, be it on foot, rolling rubber or from miles in the sky above, we have the stories of yesteryear on an audio dish.

See all tours

From real tours

The places you'll hear about.

Real stops from published tours. Every web page is a preview — the full narration plays on location in the app.

Plan your first trip

Pick your first tour.

Browse the catalog here, then open it in the free app — every story is ready to play on the road.

Browse tours
Lake Gregory Self-Guided Walking Tour
Walking tour$4.99

Lake Gregory Self-Guided Walking Tour

A 2.3-mile, ~50-minute walk around Lake Gregory in Crestline — the "Switzerland of Southern California." Across 21 stops, trace the Serrano people, the logging boom and Arthur Gregory's dam, the 1938 flood that filled the lake in three days, the Hollywood-era San Moritz Lodge, the "swingingest town in America," wintering bald eagles, and a mountain community that keeps rebuilding through fire and Snowmageddon.

21 storiesstories
2.2 mi
1h 45m
Hear the stories
Altadena Golf Course - Welcome!
Walking tourFree

Altadena Golf Course - Welcome!

This is HistoryCake, the Altadena Golf Course tour.

12 storiesstories
2.4 mi
1h 21m
Hear the stories
Sphinx Ranch
Walking tourFree

Sphinx Ranch

Hello and welcome to HistoryCake, The Sphinx Ranch walking tour. 

17 storiesstories
5.3 mi
2h 32m
Hear the stories
Grapevines - 3 to 4 year old varietals

Sphinx Ranch

Grapevines - 3 to 4 year old varietals

These vines were grapes for wine planted after the original trial cuttings had succeeded at the southern end of the ranch. Heartier and more blight resistant varietals were introduced in 1885.

Neighbors to your West - the Grogan Tract and Albert Brigden

Sphinx Ranch

Neighbors to your West - the Grogan Tract and Albert Brigden

Alexander Grogan, was a key landholder in early Pasadena history, purchasing a significant "Grogan Tract" in the north area (near modern Villa Street and Lake Avenue) from the Rancho San Pasqual holdings. This area, along with others like the Monk Tract, was later subdivided for residential development in the late 19th century.

Seven and Eight year old vines - 90 acres

Sphinx Ranch

Seven and Eight year old vines - 90 acres

The older vines existed when Allen bought the ranch and he continued to farm them on this side of the ranch bordering the Brigdens on the west and sloping gently towards a morning sun.

Pumpkin Patch

Sphinx Ranch

Pumpkin Patch

The Allen Family grew pumpkins under 19 acres of native coastal live oaks just north of New York Avenue where it bends to go uphill to Allen.

The Tennis Court

Sphinx Ranch

The Tennis Court

The Allens were great fans and players of Tennis when it is just in its infancy.