RECREATION : Recent Storms Curtail Activity on Trails, in Campgrounds in Area

Weekend campers arriving at McGrath State Beach in Oxnard might need a boat to reach their campsites.

About 25% of the campground’s 174 sites are still underwater as a result of last week’s storms, which wreaked havoc with recreation facilities in Los Angeles and Ventura counties.

A few miles north of McGrath, campsites also were flooded at Emma Wood State Beach, leaving behind a layer of mud. But portions of the campgrounds remain underwater and state officials expect them to be closed for a minimum of three weeks.

Camping in the Angeles National Forest also has been drastically curtailed, either because of mud or rock slides on access roads or high water in campgrounds. All campgrounds in the Tujunga District and most in the Saugus District will be closed this weekend. Campgrounds above the snow level in other districts are expected to be open.

Although the three Rose Valley campgrounds in the Los Padres National Forest weren’t damaged by the heavy rains, the roads leading to them have been closed because of rock slides and sediment, virtually shutting down the area for recreation this weekend.

In the Santa Monica Mountains area, all state campgrounds except Thornhill-Broome have reopened after being closed for six days. Beach sites had been closed because of sewage in the ocean and inland campgrounds had been shut down because of muddy conditions and debris-covered access roads.

At Lake Casitas, rain and rising waters kept holiday weekend crowds about 10,000 below last year’s turnout and stranded three campers for a short time at the back section of the recreation area. Water levels rose 11 feet in a few days, but lake officials were able to move docks and boats to higher ground.

Initial reports vary on damage to hiking and equestrian trails and bike paths. The problem in making an accurate assessment, however, is that officials haven’t had time to examine the thousands of miles of trails in the L.A. area.

“We expect a considerable amount of trail damage, fairly widespread in the front country, but to what extent we don’t know yet because we haven’t looked,” said Don Wopschall, a recreation officer in the Arroyo Seco District of the Angeles Forest.

The Los Padres, which is crisscrossed by streams fed by now-surging Sespe Creek, has been savaged by floods in previous years, so Ranger John Boggs knows what to expect when he finds time to inspect the trail system.

“There’s going to be problems along many trails from sediment and rock slides,” he said. “Trails won’t even be recognizable in areas where they cross creeks because of massive debris dams.”

To access several popular trails in Rose Valley, including Piedra Blanca, hikers have to cross Sespe Creek, but Boggs strongly urges them not to try because “the creek is running too fast.”

In the Santa Monicas, damage reports are coming in slowly but “our trails seem to be in pretty good shape, including the Backbone,” said trail builder Ron Webster, who has hiked several trails this week. Parts of some trails, however, “are iffy for horses.”

Hikers also should be careful this weekend. “We’d like people to exercise caution, especially in the back country,” said Russ Guiney, state park superintendent in the Malibu sector. “Trails in shaded areas take time to dry out and rocks can be slippery.”

Guiney also urged equestrians and bicyclists to use “common sense. Horses and bicycles can make a lasting impact,” he said.

In Ojai, bicyclists can use the entire 9 1/2-mile bike trail, which sustained several minor washouts but did not need to be shut down.

In Ventura, a popular three-mile stretch of beach bike path actually benefited from the storm. The section in front of the county fairgrounds has been severely eroded by high seas in the past few weeks, but strong currents from the rampaging Ventura River just to the north “dissipated the ocean currents, thus reducing wave-caused erosion,” said Steve Treanor, superintendent of the state’s Channel Coast District.

Lake fishermen also are beneficiaries of the storms. At Casitas, which is now only 30 feet below normal, shoreline brush has been covered with water, which will provide cover for fish to hide and spawn.

“We’d tried to create artificial habitat for the fish,” said lake recreation manager Doug Ralph, “but we can’t do it anywhere near as good as nature.”

Fishermen also are enjoying immediate gratification. Although trout have moved deeper because the storms churned up the water with mud and silt, catfish like the conditions. One man at Casitas caught 10 catfish weighing a total of 170 pounds. A 36 1/2-pound catfish was taken at Lake Castaic.

Trout fishing also might improve in Sespe Creek as raging storm waters eliminate competitors. “I would hope (the current) would flush out the bluegill and perch,” Boggs said.