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Forest Status

Fire Danger: Extreme
No fires, including campfires and smoking, are permitted in the forest at this time.

New Bridge Fire Closure Order 10/17/2024

Updated Closure Map 12/17/2024

Big Pines Visitor Center  is 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.

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BIG PINES VISITOR CENTER

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.

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COME, JOIN US, BE A PART OF THE VOLUNTEERS OF THE ANGELES NATIONAL FOREST

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.

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SCHOOL PROGRAM

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!)

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TRASH IN THE FOREST

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.

Carry in, carry out.