Crystal lake San Gab mountains.

[old pudd fisher]

If you'd like something similar to what you remember Crystal Lake to be, you might want to check out Jenks Lake near Angelus Oaks . Beautiful little lake in a nice mountain setting.

Thanks Lightning it is beautiful, I like it in the summer months the best.

[Old Hooker]

Interesting fact - Crystal Lake is the only natural lake in the San Gabriel Mountains. The constant source of water had been some springs up near the old campground and general store that were redirected into a pipe that fed the lake and sustained water levels. We had looked into doing a restoration and reconfiguring the old pipe into a waterfall/stream of sorts for aeration and optics.
Unfortunately seismic movements have caused the springs to shift and would require drilling to regain the water from the ground. We met with the Angeles Forest folks but they pretty much saw recreation as a nuisance and would just as soon see a gate across San Gabriel Canyon. That's one of the reasons why the road has never been cleared to reach Angeles Crest Highway. Ultimately USFS is really only interested in their "cash cow" - ground leases on Mt. Wilson for all the media/communications antennae arrays.

[Viejo]

Interesting fact - Crystal Lake is the only natural lake in the San Gabriel Mountains. The constant source of water had been some springs up near the old campground and general store that were redirected into a pipe that fed the lake and sustained water levels. We had looked into doing a restoration and reconfiguring the old pipe into a waterfall/stream of sorts for aeration and optics.
Unfortunately seismic movements have caused the springs to shift and would require drilling to regain the water from the ground. We met with the Angeles Forest folks but they pretty much saw recreation as a nuisance and would just as soon see a gate across San Gabriel Canyon. That's one of the reasons why the road has never been cleared to reach Angeles Crest Highway. Ultimately USFS is really only interested in their "cash cow" - ground leases on Mt. Wilson for all the media/communications antennae arrays.

You're half right. I agree that Rec has taken a back seat with the way Forests have to dip into other segments budgets due to Fire Borrowing. Budgets for this forests have been slashed and slashed again. Recreation....in the case of the Angeles...is where tens of thousands come to the forest to recreate each weekend...is a bare bones affair. A look at the canyon on Monday after a busy summer weekend shows just how skimpy their maintenance. Granted, the folks recreating shouldn't dump those amazing volumes of trash. Oh, USFS has nothing to do with the road going through to Highway 2. That is strictly a CalTrans deal. They've tried but they can't keep the road clear of rock falls. They did a study and the cost of reopening it and keeping it open was simply not in the cards.