After more than four years of waiting, Sachiko Iwaki of Monrovia, an avid hiker, can’t wait to visit Chantry Flat once again.
The favorite trail destination in the Angeles National Forest, situated just north of Arcadia, Monrovia and Sierra Madre, and designated this year as a crucial addition to the San Gabriel Mountains National Monument, is finally reopening, at 8 a.m. Wednesday, Oct. 2, after having been closed since March, 2020.
“Everybody is talking about it,” Iwaki said.
Originally shuttered following the start of the pandemic, the area was severely damaged by the Bobcat fire in the fall of 2020. Winter storms then washed out trails and roadway, in particular making the Chantry Flat Road, which runs north from the Santa Anita Canyon Road, impassable.
“It was sad,” Iwaki said. “The reason for closure was a sad reason, because it was basically destroyed by fire and rain.”
She noted that cabins in the vicinity were likewise burned.
“Nature rearranged the landscape pretty majorly,” noted Dana Dierkes, public affairs officer with the United States Forest Service, with some of the trails literally being washed away to the point of invisibility by heavy rains.
File: A photo of work being done on Chantry Flat Road. The road is under the jurisdiction of Los Angeles County. (Photo courtesy of USDA Forest Service).
While it had been due to reopen in May, ongoing work — much of it done by teams of volunteers working in tandem with county and federal agencies — necessitated a delay. Dierkes said there are still trails, specifically some of the ones geared toward beginners, that will remain closed for now, but that there are still many options.
“We do have quite a few trails open … Most trails are passable due to the help of a large number of volunteers and volunteer groups,” she said.
How quickly those other trails will reopen, she said, depends on the weather and the number of volunteers, which are continually being sought to help.
New improvements, however, are in place, including better wheelchair access for the picnic area, refurbished bathrooms and a repaved parking lot.
Michael Madison of Monrovia, who estimates he’s hiked the trails in Chantry Flat more than 200 times, has led hiking groups in the area with as many as 75 people. Excited to see it reopen, he said it provides great variety in its physical features, as well as the skill level of trails.
“The Chantry Flat system of trails were a very popular hike for us, with a wide variety of trails covering beginner, moderate and difficult skill levels,” he said.
“Covered trees, great landscape, waterfalls, cabins, camping sites and the last of the packing stations in the United States make it the most beautiful recreation center in the state of California,” he said.
Dierkes concurred.
“It’s a very diverse landscape,” she said. “It is beautiful. You literally can feel like you are a world away from Los Angeles and you literally are just a few minutes away from Arcadia and Sierra Madre.”
She cautioned, however, that it is still a wilderness and that people need to respect that, practicing the principle of leaving no trace behind, including litter, and especially being cognizant that there are no fires of any kind allowed, including smoking.
She said people need to stay on trails, both for safety reasons following the floods and fires, and also to limit impact to the environment.
“It’s important that people recognize that this is very much a natural place,” Dierkes said.
She noted that, while many people have taken access to Hermit Falls, this is not a sanctioned trail and that visitors should not be going there.
She also said people should check the Forest Service website and review maps before they visit, coming prepared with proper hiking boots necessary for the steep and rocky terrain.
While she and others remain excited to get back to Chantry Flat, Iwaki noted that the opening day may offer challenges for visitors.
“Everybody was talking about it, but they were saying the same thing — that it’s going to be overcrowded,” she said.
“The parking lot is very small up there, so the parking lot will get filled in 10 minutes,” she said, noting that people are then forced to park along the “really crazy steep road” nearby, which runs adjacent to a dangerous drop.
Madison pointed out that weekdays are not a problem, but weekends get crowded.
“It isn’t an issue during the week, but on Saturday and Sunday the two parking lots are not nearly enough to cover everyone due to the popularity of Chantry Flat,” he said.
Dierkes cautioned visitors that if the parking lots are full, parking is not allowed along the road, as she said it makes it hazardous for access by emergency vehicles. Instead, she suggested that people may have to just wait until spots open up.
Parking issues aside, Madison and others are excited to make the journey back to this favorite recreation spot.
“I can’t wait to see what new adventures the volunteers and trail crews have for us hikers when it reopens,” he said.
Those interested in volunteering can visit the website at https://www.fs.usda.gov.angeles.
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Jarret Liotta is a Los Angeles-area-based freelance writer and photographer.