Crystal Lake Camp Grounds Coldbrook Campground, Trails

Coldbrook Campground, West Fork, and Trails as of 21/Sep/2020 -- The CAMPGROUND ARE CLOSED due to the Bobcat Fire

Drinking water! Joyness!

Coldbrook located at North 34 degrees, 17.428 by West 117 degrees, 50.445 at 3309 feet just after mile marker 32.12. The campgrounds are currently open and there are fire rings and BBQ cooking boxes up on stands within the campgrounds. Drinking water is available! The water system has been repaired and there is drinking water available at the campgrounds from all of the faucets. Very good drinking water.

All 25 camping sites located at Coldbrook have been cleaned out and restored, both by construction crew and by a large number of volunteers. The road network within Coldbrook has also been paved recently.

On March 10'th of 2009 the Forest Service held a Watershed Restoration Tree Planting Day at the Coldbrook Campgrounds and many new pine trees were planted.

Bear Creek Trail itself had been fully repaired by a professional paid trail-building crew, and then the trail from Highway 39 up to Smith Mountain Saddle has been maintained by the Trailbuilders. There is also a Facebook page HERE which you should Like if you use Facebook.

The work that Marvin's crew did (the paid contractor) extends from the trail head already described up to Smith Saddle at North 34 degrees, 17.180 by West 117 degrees, 51.726 at 4296 feet and then the trail work stopped when the trail hit the San Gabriel Designated Wilderness area. The trail then extends for another two miles or so through Bear Creek before it picks up West Fork Road.

Further South there's excellent hiking along the Rincon Shortcut> located across the highway from the Rincon Fire Station, just about a quarter of a mile North of the Off Road Vehicle area.

The Rincon Shortcut is a dirt road that has a gate however the combination to the lock on that gate is sold to people by the Forest Service. Some caution is needed when hiking or bicycle riding on the Roncon Shortcut since vehicles are at times permitted to drive on it and I've encountered a great many drunk drivers and people shooting at rocks from the road.

Proper equipment with proper tags are required before vehicles are allowed on to the Rincon Shortcut. Hikers, campers, and bicyclers have complete access to the trail with no current restrictions (some fire restrictions come up from time to time which causes the Shortcut to close at times.)

There's also a long section of abandoned road which can be walked along behind Coldbrook Campground. That's a dirt road that was at one time going to be part of the main highway however that section had to be abandoned. Currently there are safety issues involved with the area of Coldbrook and this dirt road in that tree branches continue to fall in the aftermath of the insect infestation and fires that have swept through the area.

The Forest Service has caution signs posted in a number of areas where falling tree limbs are a safety hazard. Generally it's a good idea to look up into the trees you're hiking under from time to time and make sure that you're aware of possible hazards.

There's also a very long dirt road that starts at a locked gate off of Highway 39, the main highway. That long dirt road forks with one section heading approximately due East until it ends abruptly. The other side of the work heads about South East for a long distance before it also ends abruptly. That road's GPS coordinates are North 34 degrees, 16.869 by West 117 degrees, 50.323 at 2874 feet. From topological maps it appears that there might be water along the way however the U. S. Forest Service warns that any of the water you find up here should not be drunk without sterializating it first.

Hiking along the San Gabriel River (around mile marker 28.76) is also a good hike. The river actually splits in two with the right fork going through a series of long-destroyed cabins, and the left fork taking a more direct route up the mountain.

Another place to visit is the Environmental Education Center which is located across from the Rincon Fire Station North of the Off Road Vehicle area. The Center is usually closed and is only open when there are scheduled events -- like tree planting or other activities. The Center was reworked and rebuilt with volunteers who made the place look fresh and professional!

Fish Falls -- There's also Fish Falls just 2 miles North of Azusa. Sorry I don't have the GPS coordinates or instructions for getting there yet, but CLICK HERE for a good photograph of the falls.

West Fork Road -- Approximately 12 miles up Highway 39 (counting from the bottom of the Canyon opening at Azusa) there is West Fork Bridge and under the bridge begins the eight mile long West Fork Road.

West Fork Road is closed to vehicle traffic (other than water company and Forest Service vehicles) however it is a good day trip to hike from the start of the road to Glenn Camp Campgrounds (aproximately a 6.5 mile hike which rises only 450 feet in altitude.) Another 1.5 miles reaches the base of Cogswell Dam where the climb is very steep.

There is plenty of parking available for people who wish to hike and bicycle along West Fork Road where they can enjoy the large volume of water running in the river along side the road.

There are some dirt hiking trails which branch off of West Fork Road at Cogswell Dam, including a very short trail called Devil's Canyon and another trail that winds its way up to Mount Disappointment.