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National Forests began in 1891 at the hands of Congress as a way to protect the land from cut-and-run logging. Today the system covers 190 million acres in 155 National Forests, but surveys are finding a decline in visits and use.
It wasn't until 2000 that the Forest Service first started monitoring visitor use. What they found between 2000 and 2003 was that 204.8 million came annually. Between 2003 and 2007, only 178.6 million, a 13% drop, the Associated Press reported over the weekend.
Top officials at the U.S. Forest Service blame it on circumstances outside their control - rising gas prices, the popularity of video games and the Internet, and an increasingly urban and aging population less inclined to camp out.Critics focus on fees charged for hiking trails and visitor centers, a proliferation of noisy off-road vehicles and the declining proportion of the Forest Service budget dedicated to recreation.
Los Angeles is surrounded by National Forests (they often are what is burning). There is the Angeles National Forest that borders the Northeast Valley into the San Gabriel Valley, the Los Padres National Forest between the Santa Clarita Valley and Ventura, the San Bernardino National Forest to the east and the Cleveland National Forest in Riverside, Orange and San Diego Counties. There are 18 National Forests total in California.
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While you're at it, can you please highlight the great walking/hiking trails right in the city of LA? Anyone commenters who have had a good hike without driving an hour, let me know (post below!)
Yes yes yes! I hike all the f*cking time!!!
Going anywhere in LA can involve an hour of driving, so Linkracer is a bit out of luck. But if you live close to the foothills, you can get deep into the Angeles without too much driving.
However, some good "urban" hiking can be found at Runyon, Franklin, Rustic Canyons, Griffith Park, Debs Park, Palos Verdes, and Kenneth Hahn State Rec. Area. There are quite a few more than that, of course! In Long Beach, we have El Dorado, and Bolsa Chica is right nearby.
Eaton Canyon in Pasadena is by far the best hike I've had in this area, if you're nearby. Walk out to the falls. You'll probably get wet on the second leg, but it's beautiful and the falls are worth it.
The Santa Monica mountains, of course, have beautiful trails, as well as Malibu Creek. I'd bet that you're less than an hour from either Pasadena or Malibu.
I do go to National Forests and also have a National Parks pass. The boyfriend is big on camping. For Valentine's day we'll be camping at Death Valley.
Totally! A Seattle native and REI addict, I was highly skeptical about moving to LA... but I've been really surprised by all the great hikes close by... and yes, within 30 mins of my house in Echo Park. In fact, I probably get out on Saturdays more frequently now than I did in the NW.
A good home-grown resource for finding trails and commentary about them is LocalHikes.org; their LA area page is here: http://www.localhikes.com/MSA/MSA_4472.asp/
My fav's so far in the Angeles (hwy 2 is an awesome drive in itself, btw) are Mt. Islip and Waterman Mountain. The latter had snow on it when I did it on Friday... so weird to be walking on snow less than 40 miles from downtown.
I own a couple of good books about hiking in LA. Even though they're 15 years old, they're still a great source of info.
"Walking in LA" is definitely the title of one. The other is similar "hiking in LA" or the like.
TONS of great hikes - especially in the Palisades area.
@linkracer
We had a hiking expert interested in writing for LAist, but an injury or something got in the way. I'll check into it see if we can get him on board!
Localhikes is great. I live in Pasadena so I do Eaton Canyon a lot- though I prefer nearby Echo Mountain where you can see the remnants of early 20th century hotels and a train line.
In the greater L.A. area, I'd take the Mishe Mokwa trail in the Santa Monica Mountains http://www.localhikes.com/Hikes/MisheMokwa_4472.asp
San Gorgonio mountain in the San Bernardino Mountains
Devil's Punchbowl in the Antelope Valley.
All doable on a long day's travel.
Crime is keeping some people away
Crime you say?
Yes Crime
Gangsters, drunk/high people, speeding motorcycles, auto burglaries
Trash / poor facilities / closed roads
Poorly maintained trails / closures because of environmental lawsuits
But I personally use the Local public lands extensively visiting 2-3 times per week average
Thanks guys. All of this is super helpful!