Crystal Lake Camp Grounds The Latest News

29/May/2010 -- Greetings, everyone

Caltrans has moved their gate along Highway 39 which was located at mile post 29.67, moving their gate North about three miles to the Valley of the Moon which allows access to Coldbrook Campground and Upper Bear Creek Trail.

The moving of the gate means that there's three more miles of access to the San Gabriel River along the North Fork of the canyons, and access to some of the lengthy fire break dirt roads which are excellent hiking.

Vehicle access to Coldbrook Campground doesn't exist yet, so one must park at Valley of the Moon and then walk down the road perhaps 1000 feet or less to get to the campgrounds.

There are still unsafe areas of the Angeles National Forest due to the aftermath of the Station Fire, and falling trees, rocks slides, and other problems will remaining for some time to come, but Upper Bear Creek Trail can be hiked from the Valley of the Moon all the way to Smith Mountain Saddle and the wilderness boundary.

Down below around mile post 27 across from the Rincon Fire Station, the Rincon Shortcut has also been re-opened for 13 miles though vehicles aren't allowed on the Shortcut yet due to parts of the Shortcut being missing. Hiking, biking, and I believe horses will have no problem on the Shortcut for the first 13 miles. Access beyond 13 miles is restricted since that gets in to unsafe burn areas.

The West Fork Road which is just North of Rincon has been re-opened all the way to Glenn Camp about 8 miles West, to the base of Cogswell Dam. One mile West along the road is the trail head of Lower Bear Creek Trail, located literally under the bridge at mile post one. Hiking along Lower Bear Creek Trail has been resumed though people are asked to not hike past the wilderness boundary, again due to safety problems caused by the Station Fire.

Crystal Lake Recreation Area, the campgrounds, numerous hiking trails, and the lake itself are still not open. The Caltrans gate at Valley of the Moon will remain in place for perhaps 2 more months and then the Recreation Area is expected re-open!

Caltrans is working pretty much every day on the narrow section of the highway which was blasted and carved to widen yet which fell off down in to the canyon along with a Caltrans worker and vehicle, with workers driving heavy I-Beam steel columns in to the hillside dirt and rock which I believe will be followed by concrete.

When Caltrans is finished, the highway will be safe from end to end, as safe as any two lane highway is in Southern California, it seems to me. The narrow section which had been basically a one-lane road for decades will at long last be two lanes, one lane in both directions, and that will mean improved safety for everyone, people in vehicles, people on bicycles, and hikers on foot.

The Crystal Lake campgrounds themselves are ready, and awesome clean, tasty water is available in much of the campgrounds through there are still some leaks in the underground distribution system. The water is very, very good water, a whole lot better than what comes out of the kitchen taps in the cities, in my opinion, and I would expect that people who come to Crystal Lake will come with large bottles to bring some home with them at the end of the day.

Hiking along the ridge lines of Crystal Lake will continue to be awesome however hikers can expect to find trails with dead trees down across them. Big Cienica Trail, Half Knob Trail, Pinyon Ridge Trail, and Golden Cup Nature Trail have been cleared of downed trees and heavy brush, and Windy Gap, Lake Trail, and possibly Soldier Creek Trail should be cleared by the time Caltrans' gate is opened and the campgrounds open.

Other trails such as Islip, Lost Ridge, Little Jimmy, Cedar Canyon, and other trails will be cleared eventually. Soldier Creek Trail is still experiencing extensive erosion caused by the Curve Fire however work continues on re-establishing lasting tread along the trail. Soldier Creek Trail is one of the more loved trails however the trail is also the most difficult trail

When Caltrans' gate is opened and the campgrounds are re-opened, I will send out an update which will hopefully include information about what fees are expected to spend the night, and whether the Adventure Pass is enough for parking in the campgrounds. I don't know what the fees will be or whether the Adventure Pass can be used to enter and park in the campgrounds, but as soon as I find out I will let everyone know.

Good luck! If you have questions or would like to find out about volunteering to work with chainsaws, crosscut saws, and other tools to assist in clearing hiking trails and restoring tread along the trails, please email me and I'll get back to you quickly.

The next volunteer opportunity within Crystal Lake along Big Cienica Trail clearing downed trees is this coming Saturday, June 5 which also happens to be National Trails Day which, I believe, means that parking anywhere within the Angeles National Forest is free, no Adventure Pass required that week end.