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Adapted from
Camping California's
National Forests
by George Stratton
 Leaving Los Angeles
Exploring Angeles National Forest
Part One: Camping

Camping California's National Forests
Remarkable and astounding, fascination and wonderful are adjectives used repeatedly to describe the Angeles National Forest in the "back yard" of the Los Angeles Metropolitan Area. Sixteen million people live within two hours of the Forest, and yet, with all the pressure, it remains an oasis of calm at the edge of cacophony.

The Forest covers more than 650,000 acres, and is as diverse in appearance and terrain as the diversity represented by the population it serves. Elevations range from 1200 to 10,064 feet. Much of the Forest is covered by dense chaparral which changes to pine and fir-covered slopes as you reach the majestic peaks of the higher elevations. Wildflowers, birds of all kinds, and mammals big and small speckle the landscape throughout the Forest.

Angeles National Forest has more than 100 developed campground and picnic sites on its five ranger districts. You can choose form a wide variety of camping places (from the cool, secluded forest sites found in the high country, to sunny, streamside locations at the lower elevations). Besides the family campgrounds, there are eight large, group campgrounds that can be campgrounds are on a first come, first served basis, although plans are being considered that would allow for reservations at some sites.

Move on to:

Part One: Camping
Part Two: Hiking
Part Three: Wilderness
Part Four: Activities

Arroyo Seco District

Two of the most beautiful campgrounds in southern California, Buckhorn and Chilao are located along the Angeles Cress Highway on the Arroyo Seco Ranger district. Buckhorn, especially, will remind you of camping in the remote Sierra Nevada. Set in a canyon of tall incense cedars and mixed conifers, a branch of Little Rock Creek runs through it lined with rare ferns. The Burkhart Trail follows the stream down Buckhorn Canyon, where there is fishing and waterplay for those who hike the distance.

At Chilao, a recently rebuilt and upgraded campground, you'll camp on a broad savannah dotted with widely spaced big timber. Ponderosa and sugar pines tower over the campsites.

Hiking trails, including the Silver Moccasin National Recreation Trail, go in several directions from Chilao. The Chilao Visitor Center is among the finest in the country, and you'll enjoy visiting the displays as well as taking advantage of its interpretive programs. There are campfires, guided nature walks, and children's activities planned by the Forest Rangers. The center is also noted for bird observations. Birders will find dozens of varieties in any give season form mountain quail and bandtailed pigeons to warblers, kinglets, and hummers. Grassy meadows and panoramic views of canyons and peaks complete the picture.

Horn Flats campground is located on the Santa Clara Divide Road north of Angeles Crest Highway a mile or so beyond Chilao. Like Sulphur Springs campground, closer to the high desert, it is used by families enjoying the out-of-doors.

All four of these campgrounds are in the middle altitudes, from 5,200 to 6,500, thus the appearance is of broad meadows laced with big pines, cedars, and occasional firs, combined with the yucca and sagebrush of the arid southwest.

There are also a number of trail camps on the Arroyo Seco, such as Little Jimmy and Cooper Canyon, both on the Pacific Crest Trail, and Idlehour and Mt. Lowe above Altadena, that are open to those who want to backpack. Devore and Spruce Grove are on Gabrielino National Recreation Trail above Chantry Flat in the "front country."

Mt. Baldy District

Two major recreation areas are located on the Mt. Baldy Ranger District, Crystal Lade in San Gabriel Canyon, and Mt. Baldy, with Crystal Lake having the most developed camping opportunities. The Crystal Lake Campground high up in the canyon has 176 campsites spread under the pines: Jeffrey, Coulter, and sugar. There's also a visitor center open weekends the year round, and a small store providing basic food and grocery service, ice and firewood.

Forest Ranger-naturalists lead nature walks and campfire programs during the summer season. There are four self-guided nature tails for which brochures are available at the center.

Halfway up San Gabriel Canyon, you'll come to the Coldbrook campground at the 3,350-foot altitude point. This charming little campground is sheltered in a riparian forest along the banks of the North Fork of San Gabriel River. At one time the location of a private hunting lodge and later a CCC camp, traces of its historical past can be spotted under the native alders and pines, and in the introduced sequoias, cedars and spruce trees.

Over in the Mt. Baldy Village area in San Antonio Canyon, the Manker Flat campground accommodates twenty-two families in an open pine forest up at 6,300 feet. Hikers enjoy this campground, with its trails going into two different wildernesses: as well as shorter day hikes to San Antonio Falls, Devil's Backbone and Bear Canyon.

Suggestions for other great Los Angeles Getaways? Share them in GORP's Destination Forum.

Saugus District

The Saugus Ranger district is separated from the rest of the Angeles National Forest by a corridor containing the Antelope Valley Freeway, and has more developed camping places than any of the other four districts on the Forest. Pyramid, Castaic, and Elizabeth Lakes are on, or partially on, the Saugus District, and account for much of its attraction.

The campgrounds away from the lakes are squeezed into the riparian woodlands along the creek bottoms in such places as Bouquet Canyon and Elizabeth Lake Canyon. Most of the campgrounds are small, with many having fewer than ten sites. About half of the campgrounds are kept open all year long in this low-altitude portion of the forest.

Two beckoning campgrounds in Elizabeth Lake Canyon are Cottonwood and Prospect. Their locations are almost identical along the canyon bottom, one at Prospect at 2,100 feet and Cottonwood at 2,600 feet. In both cases, for kids to play and sounds of water gurgling around the rocks and boulders to lull campers to sleep at night. At Prospect, the Forest Service has erected Privacy screens at each site. The ells created make each site' cooking and dining areas quite private.

Campers who want to stay near Pyramid Lake have two choices, basically, north of the lake at Los Alamos (or Hardluck on the Los Padres National Forest), or ten miles south of the lake at Oak Flat campground. Los Alamos is nearest the recreation areas at the lake, and has ninety-three campsites spread out over the flats in lower Hungry Valley. Oak Flat campground is on Old Highway 99 adjacent to the Oak Flat Ranger Station. The oak are are mostly scrub oaks, although some valley live oaks are present with welcome shade. The heat build-up in the summer can be pretty terrific, consequently spring, late fall, and even winter are the most comfortable camping periods here.

Five campgrounds line the road up Bouquet Canyon above the own of Saugus, form Zuni at the lower end to The Falls at the top. Sycamores, willows, black oaks, cottonwoods, and alders provide shade for campers and shelter for countless birds. Flycatchers, both as-throated and western, are common, as are the canyon wrens and bushtits. Scrub jays will wake you at dawn with their raucous calls, and appear for a hand-out with little provocation.

Tujunga District

Monte Cristo campground, on the banks of Mill Creek, can be reached just off the Angeles Forest Highway a dozen miles beyond its turn-off from the Angeles Crest Highway. Oaks, cedars, and ponderosa pines are dotted through the camp spots, and you'll stand a good chance of spotting squirrels, cottontail rabbits, and maybe even a raccoon or skunk coming to the water. For sure, you'll be serenaded by coyotes at night as they greet the rising moon.

On the northern boundary of the District, you'll find little Soledad campground. This Isolated camping place is great to "disappear" to in the winter or early spring. It's only two miles from access to the Pacific Crest Trail, and hikers use it as a rendezvous point.

Up on top of the Forest on the partly paved road that goes from Mill Creek Summit west to Mt. Gleason and Messenger Peak, you'll find the Messenger Flats campground. The PCT passes Messenger Flats at its edge, and campers here have access to that trail and several others, as well as having some spectacular views. You can see all the way to the Mojave Desert on the north and Big Tujunga Canyon to the south. Don't try to pull a trailer up here but do come up to see the lights of Los Angeles on one of its oh-so-rare clear evenings. It's an unforgettable sight.

Valyermo District

The Valyermo Ranger District contains two important recreation areas, Big Pines and Littlerock Canyon.

Littlerock Recreation Area is one of the major off-highway vehicle areas of The Angeles, and Basins campground has direct access to the off-road vehicle area. Fishing is popular, too, along the shores of Littlerock Reservoir as well as upstream in the many pools of Little Rock Creek. Lakeside and Juniper Grove campgrounds are small units located close to the shore of the reservoir. The altitude here is just 3400 feet, and basin environment is chaparral on the hillsides with oak and sycamore woodlands along the bottoms.

The higher concentration of campgrounds on the Valyermo District occurs near Big Pines, an enticing region of rangy pines an open meadows near the top of the San Gabriels. Table Mountain campground, a mile from the Big Pines Visitor Center, has 115 units on the edge of the ridge where you can see the Mojave Desert and the far-off space-craft landing area at Edwards Air Force Base. Campers here can take advantage of the campfire programs, guided nature walks, and children's activities planned by the forest ranger at Big Pines.

Mountain Oak, Peavine, and Lake campgrounds share proximity to Jackson Lake, a fishing and swimming pond atop the San Andreas earthquake fault. Peavine is a walk-in campground just off Big Pines Highway sheltered by giant Jeffrey pines. Both Lake and Mountain Oak camping places will accommodate trailers to twenty-two feet in length. Like Peavine, Lake is sheltered by spurs. Mountain Oak sites are further apart, and thicker growth of underbrush makes each of the units more widely separate.

High up on the Angeles Crest Highway three miles west of Big Pine, Grassy Hollow campground is right at the tip-top of the mountain range. Western bluebirds, stellar hays, and magnificent mountain quail will be your companions at this pine-dotted meadow.

At the very edge of the Sheep Mountain Wilderness are three more campgrounds reachable only with four-wheel drive vehicles. These three (blue Ridge, Guffy, and Lupine) can also be used as staging areas for hiker going into the wilderness or to the San Bernardino Nations Forest.

Between the Big Pines and Littlerock Canyon Recreation Areas are several more attractive campgrounds. Big Rock, Sycamore Flat, and South Fork are all accessible on big Rock Creek out of Valyermo. Halfway up the north slope of Pleasant View Ridge and Mt. Lewis, they're about 4,500 feet elevation. There's yucca and sage, and there's pine and oak in this boundary zone between desert and mountain environments.



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