[7] Located in a pine-covered valley in the San Gabriel Mountains, the Wrightwood area was first developed as cattle ranches in the 19th century by Nathan and Truman Swarthout.

Later, the main ranch, owned by Sumner Wright, was broken up into residential and commercial lots, and by the 1920s a community had taken root.

Early ski enthusiasts discovered the north-facing slopes of the San Gabriels above the Swarthout Valley.

Until 1937, the ski area, originally known as Big Pines, was part of a Los Angeles County park.

Highways were built connecting to the major routes in the Cajon Pass, making Wrightwood accessible without serious mountain driving.

J. Dale Gentry, chairman of the California Fish and Game Commission, applied pressure to file charges against the two men.

One of the men, Clyde Steele, was found not guilty at trial; the charges were dropped against the other man.

[9] In September 2020, the Bobcat Fire caused evacuation warnings for the Wrightwood area as it raged across the San Gabriel Mountains.

[10] According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 5.9 square miles (15 km2), 99.94% of it land and 0.06% of it water.

Even so, daytime highs year-round average above freezing, rendering snowpacks unstable and unreliable.

There were 2,686 housing units at an average density of 453.0 per square mile (174.9/km2), of which 1,390 (74.9%) were owner-occupied, and 467 (25.1%) were occupied by renters.

According to the 2010 United States Census, Wrightwood had a median household income of $72,231, with 4.6% of the population living below the federal poverty line.

[16] Public education in Wrightwood is managed by Snowline Joint Unified School District.