Facilities and Activities:
| Day-Use | Fishing | yes | | | Hunting | yes | | | Hiking Trail, miles | yes | | | Picnicking | yes |
National Park Location Maps:
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National Park Photo Gallery:
volunteer positions open
Nearby Parks:
Palomar Mountain State Park
Inaja Nature National Recreation Trail
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| History of the Area: |
| In 1869, gold was discovered near Julian attracting hordes of miners from the Mother Lode and swelling the town to a population greater than that of San Diego. Also, during this period, zinc, lead, and silver mines were booming in the western canyons of the Santa Anas (hence, Silverado Canyon). Nearby, in Trabuco Canyon, stands the remains of the large (and unproductive) tin mine, once owned (about 1900) by Gail Borden of the Eagle Milk Co. He had hoped to use its yield to produce cans for his milk.
The influx of miners left its mark on the land. Trees were cut for mine timbers, heat and cooking fuel. Great expanses of brush were burned so miners could penetrate new areas to search for minerals.
As the mines petered out, so did many of the early ranches which had been overgrazed and had lost their chief labor force as the Indian population died off due to hardship and disease.
The principal end results was steadily growing threats to the watersheds, which by now were of critical importance to southern California communities.
Early reports from the 1870's - 1880's refer to fires that burned uncontrolled for weeks at a time. Lack of protection from fire was causing serious damage to irrigation works, the water supplies of rural areas, the small metropolitan area of San Diego, and other coastal towns of the late 1800's. The need for a forest reserve was evident to the first California Forestry Commission, appointed by Governor Stone in 1886. The commission recorded in its findings the necessity for special protection of the watershed cover to prevent the occurrence of major fires and subsequent erosion which were injuring the climate, agriculture and future prospects of southern California.
The widespread support for better resource management found a few opposing voices. Among these were timber and ranching interests who viewed the movement as leading to greater restriction on their activities.
Regardless, the Forest Reserve Act was passed in 1891. Although the Act was meant to slow wasteful and illegal timber cutting, the problem was different in southern California. It was to protect their watersheds that Californians immediately began demanding Forest Reserves.
Cleveland National Forest became one of the first in the new system and had its basis in the 50,000 acre Trabuco Ca?Forest Reserve (in the Santa Ana Mountains), created by President Harrison in February 1893. In February 1897 President Cleveland created San Jacinto Forest Reserve, a 700,000 acre area which included the desert lands southeast of Palomar Mountain. In 1899, the Trabuco Reserve was more than doubled, in response to a petition sent to the General Land Office by residents near Trabuco Canyon.
These early Forest Reserves had been administered by the General Land Office (GLO) in the U.S. Department of Interior. However, the GLO lacked any trained foresters to aggressively take charge. As a result in 1905 the reserves were transferred to a new Bureau of Forestry (now the Forest Service) in the U.S. Department of Agriculture. In 1907 their designation as Forest Reserves was changed to National Forests.
In 1907 President Roosevelt made extensive additions to both the Trabuco Canyon and San Jacinto Forest Reserves, to include Palomar and Laguna Mountains and those farther south to the Mexican Border. A year later (1908) President Roosevelt combined the two Reserves to form the new 1,904,826 acre Cleveland National Forest.
During the next seventeen years there were several deletions to the Cleveland. A major one in 1915 when 749,730 acres of non-forest value lands were returned to public entry, and another in 1925 when the San Jacinto unit was transferred to the San Bernardino National Forest. Today the Cleveland National Forest consists of approximately 424,000 acres of forest land. |
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| Related Links: |
| Cleveland National Forest - Welcome! - your description here ... Recreational Activities Research and Development State and Private Forestry Cleveland National Forest Cleveland National Forest Home Page About Us Contact Us Current ... | | San Diego Mountains, Cleveland National Forest Maps, Southern California Mountains, Laguna - lodging B & B hostels pet friendly ranches on a budget fly fishing hot springs mtn. cabin by town destinations coastal desert country mountains city random activities road trips animals camp leisure ... | | Click here to buy Mountain Biking the Coast Range: Orange County and Cleveland National Fo - Mountain Biking the Coast Range: Orange County and Cleveland National Forest Mountain Biking the Coast Range: Orange County and Cleveland National Forest Robert Rasmussen 0938665375. | | Cleveland National Forest - CLEVELAND NATIONAL FOREST CONSERVATION FUND One of the 18 most threatened wilderness areas in the world encompasses Southern California's mountains, which hold a great diversity of wildlife. This ... | | UNITED ECO-ACTION FUND: Web Designs - ... endangered species, sustainable economy, humanitarian action, Cleveland National Forest, American forests, ecology, environment,sustainable economy, Cleveland National Forest, American Indians ... | | ET 03/01: Public asked for input in Cleveland National Forest Management Plan update - We need to voice our concern to the Forest Service that they adequately protect the endangered ... Public asked for input in Cleveland National Forest Management Plan update provided by Center for ... | | ET 9/95: Cleveland National Forest protector wins award - Cleveland National Forest protector wins award he prestigious Feinstone Award, presented annually by the State University of ... the recently-formed Cleveland National Forest Foundation. This ... | | Cleveland National Forest Vacation Adventure Guide by MainTour! - Tour Cleveland National Forest in Southern California - Local Travel Services Guidebook. | | Ren?McBride's Home Page - ... of my footsteps from there to here, a table of contents to my life. Cleveland National Forest Cleveland National Forest Campgrounds Cleveland National Forest Information [top] Lake Elsinore, CA ... | | California Public Lands: Cleveland National Forest - California Public Lands: Cleveland National Forest ... R5_Cleveland@fs.fed.us INFORMATIONAL LINKS Cleveland National Forest Cleveland National Forest On-line Reservations Growing wolf ... | | Area Campgrounds | | |
| Directions: |
| Located north and east of sunny San Diego, this forest is readily accessable from many routes. |
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