San Gabriel’s West Fork Is Sure to Please

Down river, the San Gabriel River (along with its sister waterways, the Santa Ana and the Los Angeles) is best known for depositing the alluvium that now covers the surface of the Los Angeles Basin. Up river, the San Gabriel has two major forks, each with a claim to fame. East Fork is known for its gold, West Fork for its trout.

West Fork, its course determined by one of Southern California’s more significant faults, the San Gabriel, is one of the best fishing rivers in Southern California. The river can be reached from a couple of directions, but most fishermen, as well as hikers and bicyclists, join the West Fork Scenic Trail, which departs from the Rincon ranger station off California 39.

A less well-known section of the West Fork is its upper part, which courses behind one of the tall shoulders of Mt. Wilson. The canyon cut by the West Fork is woodsy and wild, a tranquil place sure to please. Down by the river side a maple- and oak-shaded trail leads from West Fork Campground to De Vore Trail Camp.

Camps’ Colorful Histories

West Fork and De Vore camps have colorful histories. At the turn of the century, San Gabriel Mountains pioneer Louis Newcomb built a log cabin at West Fork that became California’s first and the nation’s second national forest ranger station. (The first U.S. ranger station was built in 1899 in Montana’s Bitteroot National Forest.)

Those interested in Angeles National Forest history should head up Angeles Crest Highway to the Chilao Visitor Center. The exhibits are quite good. You’ll see that the life of an early forest ranger was no picnic.

Old West Fork Camp, not to be confused with modern day West Fork Campground, was a tiny wilderness hostelry operated by Ernest and Cherie De Vore. Opened in 1913, Camp West Fork was popular with hikers and fishermen for about a decade. Ownership squabbles resulted in its closure. Nothing remains of the trail resort but its peaceful setting, where the Forest Service has constructed a primitive camp with a few stoves and tables.

The hike between West Fork and De Vore camps is an easy saunter that samples the best of the West Fork of the San Gabriel River. You’ll be hiking a short segment of the 28-mile-long Gabrielino Trail, named after a local Indian tribe, which leads from Red Box Ranger Station on Angeles Crest Highway all the way to Chantry Flats Ranger Station above Sierra Madre.

Directions to trailhead: From the Foothill Freeway in La Canada, exit on Angeles Crest Highway and ascend into the San Gabriel Mountains. As you pass a junction with the Angeles Forest Highway you’ll spot the Angeles National Forest’s Clear Creek information station, a good place to pick up a map or to inquire about the latest trail conditions. Fourteen miles from La Canada, you’ll leave the Angeles Crest Highway at Red Box ranger station and turn right on the signed road leading to Mt. Wilson. After you make your right, immediately bear left onto dirt West Fork Road. The dusty road is potholed and bumpy, but suitable for most passenger cars with good ground clearance. Use caution and courtesy when negotiating the road’s narrow spots. Six miles of driving brings you to West Fork Campground, where you’ll find a modest amount of parking and the signed Gabrielino Trail.

The Hike: After cutting through the campground, you’ll cross the West Fork and begin following it downriver (east). After a severe storm, the West Fork can turn into a raging river, but this time of year, it’s mellow and shallow. You will probably be able to keep your feet dry as you boulder-hop across the river a dozen different times on the way to De Vore. Halfway along, you might be surprised to find a seasonal waterfall located above one of the bends of the river.

Your pleasant stream-side saunter ends at De Vore Trail Camp. An old fisherman’s trail continues quite some distance along the San Gabriel River--all the way to Cogswell Reservoir, in fact--but it is in poor condition and the part just below De Vore is quite overgrown with poison oak.

Gabrielino Trail-- West Fork Campground to De Vore Trail Camp: 2 miles round trip; 200-foot elevation gain.