Cleveland National Forest

Family camping, wilderness backpacking, hiking, horseback riding and cross-country skiing are some of the recreational activities at Cleveland National Forest.

The 460,000-acre forest, with three ranger districts, offers a wide variety of terrain, wildlife and recreational activities.

The forest extends from within five miles of the border in San Diego County with Mexico northward approximately 130 miles into Orange and Riverside counties.

The southernmost Descanso district is noted for the Laguna Mountains, the timbered campsites of the Laguna Mountain Recreation Area and the most southerly portion of the Pacific Crest Trail.

Visitors can also bike or ride on the 24-mile Sunrise Scenic Byway.

The Hauser and Pine Creek Wildernesses provide backcountry experiences in a chaparral and oak woodland ecosystem. The Pine Creek Wilderness is known for its abundant wildlife, including deer, mountain lions, coyotes, gray foxes, hawks, owls and reptiles.

Palomar, the central district, includes Palomar Mountain and the famed Palomar Observatory with its 200-inch Hale telescope. The rugged Agua Tibia Wilderness provides hiking experiences that extend from high desert landscapes to Coulter pines and big-cone Douglas fir along its upper reaches.

In the 15,900-acre Agua Tibia Wilderness, elevations range from 1,700 to 5,000 feet and summer temperatures exceed 100 degrees F. Visitor permits are required to venture into this wilderness.

Variety is the trademark of the Palomar District, where wildlife, timber and recreation values are managed over a wide range of elevations and ecological zones. The district is home to one of the largest stands of rare big-cone Douglas fir in southern California.

The northern district is Trabuco, where the Santa Ana Mountains thrust up as open space against an urban sea. Extensive and varied electronic transmission facilities (allowed by special use permit) are found on interior peaks linking southern California communities together and across the nation.

Use of the hiking trails on this district is heaviest during the cooler fall and spring months. The San Mateo Wilderness provides almost 40,000 acres of rugged southern California chaparral wildland with steep canyons and arduous foot travel opportunities.

San Mateo Canyon, situated in the mountains between Camp Pendleton and Lake Elsinore, is accessible by several routes off Hwy. 74.

An Adventure pass, which costs $5 per night or $30 per year per car, is required to park in certain areas of the forest. Other passes are available.

Some facilities and sites in the forest are closed seasonally due to wildlife breeding, fire and extreme weather conditions.