Camp Ground Conditions as of 24/Nov/2011
Crystal Lake is in its Winter schedule which means that overnight camping
has been suspended until May 15th of next year.
The turn off from the main highway in to the camping grounds is located
at North 34 degrees, 18.870 by West 117 degrees, 50.203 at 5131
feet.
There was extensive damage to the camping grounds and the facilities at
Crystal Lake due to fires, beetle infestations, flooding, and vandalism.
Individual camp sites, trails, and the campground's water distribution
network were damaged to various degrees. The Forest Service has been
doing an extremely good job working on restorations and
making the camping facilities safe and clean.
All of the damage has been repaired thanks to USFS efforts and
thanks to a series of volunteer efforts from the San Gabriel Mountains
Trailbuilders crews, the volunteers that join them, and a variety of
other volunteer organizations which donate their time and effort in to
maintaining, building, and repairing hiking and nature trails such as
the Angeles Volunteer Association.
- The camp sites themselves -- of which there are about 300 -- are
in the process of being cleaned out through the efforts of volunteers
which have included a number of Boy Scout troops.
- BBQ and Fire Pits -- Nearly all of the camping sites have either a
metal fire ring or a BBQ box on a stand. Some sites have both.
About 50% of the BBQ boxes and fire rings have been cleaned out to
the point where they can be used.
- Visitor Center -- The U. S. Forest Service Visitor Center has been
cleaned out with brush removed and trees trimmed from around the property
and parking lot. The Center looks pretty good and it will be a great
place for campers and other visitors to organize their forest activities.
- Hiking Trails and Nature Trails -- A detailed description of the
hiking and nature trails in the Crystal Lake Recreation Area can be found
elsewhere on this web site. Currently about half of the hiking
trails have been restored to fully safe usage with about half of the
remaining trails needing only minimal work. The remaining trails -- such
as Golden Cup and Soldier Creek -- need extensive work to make those
trails safe again.
- Cafe and Trading Post -- The Crystal Lake Cafe and Trading Post is
privately owned and operated. The Cafe (when it opens) will provide
hot meals, sandwhiches, and other good as well as provide typical items
that one might need when camping in the forest.
- Water Distribution -- The distribution network consists of three
large overflow tanks which holds water that feeds pipes which lead to
distribution boxes after a network of water filters. The water system
distribution network has some leaks so water is not available yet at
most camp sites. Water is available at the Visitor Center.
- Parking Lots -- Much of the roads and parking lots of the camping
grounds have been resurfaced, including the parking area for the lake.
The Visitor Center parking lot is due to be resurfaced some time this
year.
- The Lake -- The steps leading down to the lake were flooded however
a construction crew cleaned the steps by hand about a year ago. The
water level at the lake is very low.
- Toilets -- The USFS has installed a large number of new buildings
containing non-water-flush toilets. The old existing toilets built with
rocks and wood which are the water-flushing kind are locked.
- Trash Dumpsters -- Most of the trash dumpsters around the main camp
grounds are new and there are quite a lot of them. It's not known how
often the trash dumpsters will be emptied when the grounds are open
however there's enough dumpsters available that campers should have no
difficulty finding one.
The volunteers of the San Gabriel Mountains Trailbuilders are currently
working on a schedule of repairs to the remaining hiking trails and nature
trails. The Angeles Volunteers Association is also volunteering to perform
the repairs to the Visitor Center that are required.
