The entire Angeles National Forest is temporarily closed for public safety and the protection of natural resources from today, January 8, 2025, at 5:00 p.m. through Wednesday, January 15, 2025, at 12:00 midnight. During this time, the following acts are prohibited within the Angeles National Forest and San Gabriel Mountains National Monument:
1. Going into or being upon the Angeles National Forest. 36 C.F.R. § 261.52(e).
2. Being on any National Forest System Road within the Angeles National Forest. 36 C.F.R. § 261.54(e).
3. Being on any National Forest System Trail within the Angeles National Forest. 36 C.F.R. § 261.55(a).
For more information, please visit the ANF website.
Big Pines Visitor Centeris currently open! Beginning October 18, the visitor center will re-open Saturdays, Sundays, and some holidays from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. Come in to see our displays – including taxidermied bear, mountain lion, and other animals and items from our area, and get information regarding hiking, camping, and the forest. It’s free and the volunteers are eager to help you!
There are limited trails & amenities open in the Big Pines Area.
Vincent Gap parking lot, Inspiration Point Vista, Grassy Hollow, Blue Ridge Road, Blue Ridge Campground, Guffy Campground, and Lupine Campground remain closed due to the Bridge Fire Closure
CLOSED NATIONAL FOREST SYSTEM TRAILS
BLUE RIDGE
JACKSON FLAT GEOLOGICAL
PCT GRASSY HOLLOW
PCT WRIGHT MT TO INSPIRATION P
SOUTH HAWKINS TRAIL
BALDY BOWL TRAIL
DEVILS BACKBONE TRAIL
MT. BALDY TRAIL
BEAR CANYON LOOP TRAIL
EAGLE MINE TRAIL
GOLD DOLLAR TRAIL
EAST FORK TRAIL
HEATON FLATS TRAIL
ALLISON MINE TRAIL
JACKSON LAKE
HAWKINS RIDGE TRAIL
ACORN
NORTH DEVILS BACKBONE TRAIL
MINE GULCH
PRAIRIE FORK
Weather: Fall here. Days are cool/warm and nights are getting cold. Dress in layers. Wear hats and sunscreen. Bring and drink LOTS of water.
Snakes: Rattlesnakes are out. Stay on trails, stay out of tall grass, and always wear closed-toe shoes.
Road conditions and status: visit https://www.fs.usda.gov/angeles – Alerts & Warnings Bridge Fire Area Closure for forest road closures; contact CalTrans at 800-427-7623 or their website for the latest on State Route 2, and check LA County’s Road Conditions website for the latest on N-4, aka Big Pines Hwy. Always watch for rock and debris.
Parking: park legally! – follow posted signage; do not park car over foglines/infringing on roadways.
Camping: As of 9/21/24 All USFS-managed campsites are currently closed. USFS-managed: Blue Ridge, Guffy, and Lupine Campgrounds (first come, first served requiring the Adventure Pass or an Interagency Federal Pass) are closed due to the Bridge Fire.
MtHigh.com is the concessionaire managing all other campsites, picnic areas, and parking lots in the Big Pines Area and have their own fee/pass program. (Exception: an Adventure Pass is required for parking at the Blue Ridge Trailhead parking lot.)
Trash: When there are no trash cans or they are full, please take your trash home with you!
Fire Restrictions: Check ANF website for current fire level status – including campfire prohibitions. Campfire permits can be acquired any time on line or at the Big Pines Visitor Center on Saturdays and Sundays, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Clarification: the Grassy Hollow Visitor Center building had reopened as part of the Big Pines concessionaire-managed area. Sad to report, the Grassy Hollow Visitor Center burned down in the fire. (Remember: the Volunteers and their displays – including the bear and mountain lion – moved from the Grassy Hollow Visitor Center to the Big Pines Visitor Center a few years ago. BPVC survived the fire.)
As you discover other areas of the ANF, please be careful and Thank you for protecting our forest.
Good news: although the Bridge Fire tragically burned through our area, Task Force 3 from AZ and ANF Patrol 38 and 35 were able to protect/save our building.
Big Pines Visitor Center is now open (as of 10/18/2024)
Forest Closure – As of October 17, 2024, the ANF has issued a new Bridge Fire Area Closure Order covering National Forest System roads, trails and other facilities impacted by the Bridge Fire. Many of these areas will be closed for public safety and to facilitate recovery of the natural resources and landscape affected by this wildfire. For specifics, visit: https://www.fs.usda.gov/angeles – Alerts & Warnings Bridge Fire Area Closure
Located in a historical stonework building, the visitor center is located at the intersection of Hwy 2 and N-4, four miles west of the town of Wrightwood.
Staffing the visitor center on Saturdays, Sundays, and some holidays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., VANF members are here to help with hiking, camping, and other suggestions; Adventure Passes are for sale.
Couched within this 1920’s facility, are a selection of great interpretive items – including a taxidermied mountain lion and bear.
The Volunteers of the Angeles National Forest are staffing the Big Pines Visitor Center – located 4 miles west of Wrightwood – on Saturdays, Sundays, and some holidays, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
While answering questions about hiking and camping, and selling Adventure Passes, they invite visitors to enjoy their historic building including displays of local animals and birds, maps, and pictures of the area.
As a volunteer, when working at the center, you are committing to one weekend day a month and attending a monthly membership meeting.
Initial training is provided and ongoing training occurs at the monthly membership meeting at 7pm on the 4th Tuesday of each month in Wrightwood.
We welcome volunteers 18 years and older.
If you would like to join our team or would like more information, please email vanf.big.pines@gmail.com or visit us at the Big Pines Visitor Center.
School Field Trips are on hold until ? (Why: The Volunteers of the Angeles National Forest, having provided fieldtrip opportunities at the Grassy Hollow Visitor Center for over a decade, were requested to move 2 miles east to the historical Big Pines Information Center. We moved our displays and since then have been open to serve the public on Saturdays and Sundays, and some holidays, from 10-4 pm. Unfortunately, the volunteers involved in running the school program are no longer with us. If you would be interested in rebuilding and adapting our fieldtrip program to the Big Pines setting, please join our membership!)
Bears and other animals live in our forest and trash pick up is minimal or non-existent. Please use bear trashcans and dumpsters, or take your trash home with you.
