La Crescenta-Montrose is known for its nature and mountain views, living true to the city's motto as "The Balcony of Southern California." La Crescenta-Montrose is home to around 20,000 people and is bordered on the north by the San Gabriel Mountains and Angeles National Forest, on the east by La Cañada Flintridge, on the south by the Verdugo Mountains and central Glendale, and the northwest by the Sunland-Tujunga community of Los Angeles. The Foothill Freeway (I-210) runs through the southern portion of the area.

An interesting fact about the city is the historic 1946 La Crescenta Motel. It is formerly known as the May Lane Motel, with its classic postwar L-shaped layout on Foothill Boulevard, and has been used as a location for numerous feature films and television shows, such as Glee, Criminal Minds, Mad Men and True Blood.

Rockhaven Sanitarium on Honolulu Avenue, built entirely of rock, opened in 1923. It became known as the "Screen Actors' Sanitarium," housing such patients as Billie Burke and Gladys Baker, mother of Marilyn Monroe. Closed in 2006, the property was purchased by the City of Glendale in 2008.