"No one hates winter like someone who has a motorcycle sitting in the garage."
When I created my Updated Bucket List for YEAR 77 I listed a Harley day-ride on the 7th of each month. The idea was to ride to a place that had an interesting history and a fun route to ride on a motorcycle. Crystal Lake, and the related Cafe, Visitors Center, and campgrounds certainly meet that criteria. The 7th doesn't always work, and Tracy Clair said she could ride with me on Saturday January 13th, so we agreed to go then and have breakfast at the cafe.
The route from Monrovia to Crystal Lake is east to Azusa, then into the mountains on Highway 39. The round-trip mileage was 75 miles. Tracy and I met about 8:45 am near the base of Azusa Canyon on a beautiful, clear morning. It was about 60 degrees when I picked her up, 54 degrees when we reached the Crystal Lake area, and was 80 degrees by the end of our ride - all comfortable riding weather. The ride into the mountains is a fun ride on a motorcycle, with many curves and very scenic once inside the Angeles National Forest. There are several large dams going up the canyon; Morris Reservoir, San Gabriel Dam, and CogsWell Dam, and many campgrounds and recreational areas.
After an enjoyable ride up the mountain, we arrived at the Crystal Lake Cafe about 9:45 am and went inside to have breakfast. Crystal Lake Cafe is an historic cafe and trading post in the San Gabriel Mountains within the Angeles National Forest. It is located at the current end of Highway 39 and Crystal Lake Road at an altitude of almost 6000 feet (see A Little History below regarding the "current end of Highway 39"). The cafe is small, but offers homemade food to visitors as well as supplies to the nearby Crystal Lake Campground and to hikers passing by on the Pacific Crest Trail. The cafe has a patio for outside eating and I've always enjoyed sitting outside where you can see the surrounding forest and smell the mountain air. Also, there are always campers, cyclists, and other motorcyclists to exchange stories with. We were both a little surprised at the high number of cyclists riding up the mountain - it's a long and steep ride if you're pedaling. When we arrived it was still a little cool, so we sat inside rather than on the patio. It's a funky little place with the walls covered with photos, sayings, and anything else they can find to hang up, and it's cluttered with all kinds of supplies for the campers. Photos below from the left:
1st Row - Tracy and I as we arrived at the Crystal Lake Cafe; next is a photo of the outside eating area; then a shot of the interior of the cafe.
2nd Row - The cafe menu; Adam serving up a breakfast burrito; then Tracy and I eating an Adam breakfast burrito.
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After finishing our breakfast we walked to the Amphitheater. The Amphitheater is one of the most interesting features of the Crystal Lake Recreation Area. It was built by the Civilian Conservation Corps and other agencies and was fully restored after the damage to the facility caused by the Curve Fire of 2002. This open facility is often used by U. S. Forest Service volunteers and employees to give lectures to individuals, Boy Scouts, hikers, campers, and picnickers during the day and often at night. There was a dance hall nearby the Amphitheater, but only ruins remain and so far I haven't been able to get any good history information on the dance hall. After viewing the Amphitheater we walked back to the Visitors Center where they have some fun photos and maps of the area, but sadly not much in the way of history. Photos below from the left:
1st Row - Photos of the Amphitheater, with Tracy in the second one.
2nd Row - First, another photo of the Amphitheater, next the ruins from the old Dance Hall, and last is the small Visitors Center.
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Next we climbed back on the Harley and rode to Crystal Lake, which is within the area of campsites. Crystal Lake is a naturally formed lake, a rarity in Southern California. It is snow and spring fed and has no other artificial means of being replenished. The camping area is very large, having 191 campsites of various types; some with water hookups, some with sewer hookups, and some with electricity. Within the facility there is the Amphitheater, Bike Trails, Firewood, Fishing, Hiking Trails, Picnic Shelters, Picnic Tables, and Toilets. You can hike on a trial to Crystal Lake, but on the one-way road it was about 1 mile to the lake, and another mile back to the Visitors Center. Photos below from the left:
First photo is how the lake looked in the 1950s, when the name "Crystal Lake" was more fitting; Second photo is how the lake looks today. The California drought has resulted in the lake currently being more like a mud hole. Hopefully, the future will see the lake come back to the way it was. A sign in the Visitors Center says, "Fishing - during the late fall, spring and early summer months, Crystal Lake is stocked with rainbow trout by the California Department of Fish and Game. There is a limit of five trout per day. Boating - Due to the small size of Crystal Lake, boating is restricted to rafts and other lightweight craft, which are able to be carried the distance to the lake. Swimming - There is NO swimming in Crystal Lake because of abundant plant growth and poor water quality." I doubt, based on the way the lake looks today, that there is much demand for fishing, boating or swimming; Third photo shows the rock stairs from the lake back up to the lake parking lot. There is a lot of impressive rock work throughout the area.
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A Little History: Crystal Lake is a tiny lake, about 3 acres in size, and its depth varies from 35 feet to 150 feet. It is said to be stocked with trout, blue gil, and bass and to be a well known destination for fishermen. It is the only natural lake in the San Gabriel Mountains. The lake is fed by snow-melt and natural streams. The lake was originally called Sycamore Lake, until Pasadena Judge Ben Eaton visited the lake in 1887 and remarked, "The water is clear as crystal and the party found it good to drink." Whenever I have visited the lake I have never seen a fisherman, and it might have been clear as crystal in 1887, but you wouldn't want to drink it today. The photo of the lake below was taken in July 1998 after a rainy season following a period of El Niño.
Crystal Lake Cafe was originally built in 1934 as a tent store. It was expanded over the years to a Cafe and Trading Post. Eventually, cabins for rent were added and homes for the concessionaires were built. In 2002, Adam Samrah bought the Cafe shortly before the Curve Fire destroyed many of the houses and cabins in the area. Adam, who owned a cabin at that time, survived the fire with a friend by taking refuge in Crystal Lake. For 10 years after the fire, Highway 39 up to Crystal Lake was closed, and so was the Cafe. Finally, in March 2011, Highway 39 was reopened, allowing Adam to open the Cafe and he as been operating it with his wife, Roula, ever since.
Crystal Lake Campground goes back to the 1920s as a privately leased concession until 1946 when it was permanently taken over by the U.S. Forest Service. It served as the largest campground in the Angeles National Forest, and at its height had 232 campsites. Just past the turnoff to Crystal Lake Recreation area, Highway 39 is closed. The closed area is a 4.5-mile segment that tied into the Angeles Crest Highway (SR 2) that goes on to Wrightwood. It has been closed since 1978 due to a massive mud and rock slide caused by heavy rains. Due to many reasons, budgetary, environmental issues, protection of Big Horn Sheep and certain plant life, Adam says the 4.5-mile section most likely will never be reopened.
The photos below from the left: The entrance off Highway 39 to Crystal Lake Recreational Area; next, one of the many trails within the camping area - this one goes to Crystal Lake; and last, the closed gate at the current end of Highway 39.
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