Chantry Flat
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Chantry Flat is a designated "Recreation Area" within the
Angeles National Forest The Angeles National Forest (ANF) of the United States Forest Service, U.S. Forest Service is located in the San Gabriel Mountains and Sierra Pelona Mountains, primarily within Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County in southern Calif ...
, about three miles (5 km) into Big
Santa Anita Canyon Santa Anita Canyon is a canyon in the San Gabriel Mountains, within the City of Arcadia, CA in Los Angeles County, California. Geography Above Irwindale its main stem is known as Santa Anita Creek, which extends another 10 miles (16 km) nort ...
, and is closely associated with the towns of
Arcadia Arcadia may refer to: Places Australia * Arcadia, New South Wales, a suburb of Sydney * Arcadia, Queensland * Arcadia, Victoria Greece * Arcadia (region), a region in the central Peloponnese * Arcadia (regional unit), a modern administrative un ...
and Sierra Madre, CA. The flat itself houses a large public picnic area, and is the starting point for several historic trails of the
San Gabriel Mountains The San Gabriel Mountains ( es, Sierra de San Gabriel) are a mountain range located in northern Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County and western San Bernardino County, California, United States. The mountain range is part of the Tr ...
, including the
Gabrielino Trail The Gabrielino Trail is a United States National Recreation Trail that runs through the Angeles National Forest with trailheads at Windsor Avenue in Altadena, California on the west end and Chantry Flat, just north of Arcadia, California, on the e ...
. The
US Forest Service The United States Forest Service (USFS) is an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture that administers the nation's 154 national forests and 20 national grasslands. The Forest Service manages of land. Major divisions of the agency inc ...
estimates the road to Chantry as the third busiest entry into the Angeles, next to CA State Highways 2 and 39.


Significance

Chantry Flat is home to the last
pack station A pack station is the base of operations for transporting freight via pack animals in areas that do not allow for other forms transportation, either due to difficult access or use restrictions as defined in Wilderness Act. The station facilitates ...
in
Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most po ...
. It is also the trailhead to Sturtevant's Camp, the oldest resort in the San Gabriels and one of a handful that still exist. The Chantry Flat/Big Santa Anita Canyon area boasts the last magneto-type crank phone system in the United States. The entire watershed is a living museum to the great hiking era in the first half of the twentieth century.


History

In 1905
Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to the ...
-born Charley Chantry arrived in Sierra Madre, CA. He prospected his way there from the
Black Hills The Black Hills ( lkt, Ȟe Sápa; chy, Moʼȯhta-voʼhonáaeva; hid, awaxaawi shiibisha) is an isolated mountain range rising from the Great Plains of North America in western South Dakota and extending into Wyoming, United States. Black Elk P ...
of the
Dakotas The Dakotas is a collective term for the U.S. states of North Dakota and South Dakota. It has been used historically to describe the Dakota Territory, and is still used for the collective heritage, culture, geography, fauna, sociology, econom ...
by way of the San Gabriel back country. He erected a sturdy tent cabin in Little
Santa Anita Canyon Santa Anita Canyon is a canyon in the San Gabriel Mountains, within the City of Arcadia, CA in Los Angeles County, California. Geography Above Irwindale its main stem is known as Santa Anita Creek, which extends another 10 miles (16 km) nort ...
from which he rented riding donkeys to kids staying at nearby Carter's Camp. Soon his stock was packing into all of the area's
mountain resort A mountain resort is a place to holiday or vacation located in an elevated and typically at least relatively isolated area. The term resort implies integral hotel or inn accommodations, restaurants, and either or both sports facilities or scen ...
s from his Mount Wilson
Stables A stable is a building in which livestock, especially horses, are kept. It most commonly means a building that is divided into separate stalls for individual animals and livestock. There are many different types of stables in use today; the ...
. While packing to Sturtevant's Camp, Charley passed through an oak-studded bench above Big Santa Anita Canyon's bottom at the San Olene Gap. With a reliable spring in adjoining San Olene Canyon (a corruption of the original Santa Oline) and the relatively flat land of an ancient slide, Chantry imagined this to be an ideal site for a small ranch. The details of his official occupation of the flat are unclear, even from John Robinson's ''The San Gabriels''. The 1977 edition suggests that his plans for a home and orchard were thwarted by enactment of th
Forest Homestead Act (1906)
which forbade such development. The 1991 edition reports that he was granted a permit for in 1907, that he failed to act on his plans and that he allowed the permit to lapse, returning control to the Forest Service. Glen Owens, author of ''The Heritage of the Big Santa Anita'' believes the latter to be true and substantiates his claim with the witness of a Forest Service agricultural permit in Charley's name. In any event, Charley and his dog, Patch, did occasionally occupy a tent here, graze his stock here, and spend enough time here to have his name permanently attached to the area now known as Chantry Flat (formerly Poison Oak Flat). Charley died in 1936, one year after
Los Angeles County Los Angeles County, officially the County of Los Angeles, and sometimes abbreviated as L.A. County, is the most populous county in the United States and in the U.S. state of California, with 9,861,224 residents estimated as of 2022. It is the ...
paved a road to his old stomping grounds from the top of Santa Anita Ave. The road in was originally planned as a highway to join the
Angeles Crest Highway The Angeles Crest Highway is a two-lane (one lane of travel in each direction) highway over the San Gabriel Mountains, in Los Angeles County, California. Its route is to/through the San Gabriel Mountains National Monument and the Angeles Nationa ...
(State Hwy 2) at Shortcut Canyon. The Forest Service never allowed it. It would have been a largely unwelcome introduction of modern civilization and would have obliterated the charm and beauty of both the Big Santa Anita and the West Fork of the San Gabriel River. The county was permitted, however, to build a road into Winter Creek. They stopped short with a less intrusive terminus at Chantry Flat. The
Civilian Conservation Corps The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was a voluntary government work relief program that ran from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men ages 18–25 and eventually expanded to ages 17–28. The CCC was a major part of ...
built a campground here that was later remodeled by the Forest Service in 1958 and designated a picnic area. Also in 1958, the USFS built the existing
firehouse __NOTOC__ A fire station (also called a fire house, fire hall, firemen's hall, or engine house) is a structure or other area for storing firefighting apparatuses such as fire apparatus, fire engines and related vehicles, personal protective eq ...
with
barracks Barracks are usually a group of long buildings built to house military personnel or laborers. The English word originates from the 17th century via French and Italian from an old Spanish word "barraca" ("soldier's tent"), but today barracks are u ...
and
information center A visitor center or centre (see American and British English spelling differences), visitor information center, tourist information center, is a physical location that provides tourist information to visitors. Types of visitor center A visit ...
, the two 3-bedroom houses to house employees, and a
water system A water supply network or water supply system is a system of engineered hydrologic and hydraulic components that provide water supply. A water supply system typically includes the following: # A drainage basin (see water purification – source ...
( capacity) drawn from a lateral
well A well is an excavation or structure created in the ground by digging, driving, or drilling to access liquid resources, usually water. The oldest and most common kind of well is a water well, to access groundwater in underground aquifers. The ...
. The lateral well was later replaced by the vertical well now in use.Kevin Hunt - Water Inspector, USFS, ANF


The Picnic Area

The
picnic A picnic is a meal taken outdoors ( ''al fresco'') as part of an excursion, especially in scenic surroundings, such as a park, lakeside, or other place affording an interesting view, or else in conjunction with a public event such as preceding ...
grounds of Chantry Flat, known to locals as The Picnic Grove'','' are authorized for day use only. A full renovation was completed in August 2006. The site offers 35 tables, each with a
charcoal Charcoal is a lightweight black carbon residue produced by strongly heating wood (or other animal and plant materials) in minimal oxygen to remove all water and volatile constituents. In the traditional version of this pyrolysis process, cal ...
barbecue Barbecue or barbeque (informally BBQ in the UK, US, and Canada, barbie in Australia and braai in South Africa) is a term used with significant regional and national variations to describe various cooking methods that use live fire and smoke t ...
; most are
wheelchair accessible Accessibility is the design of products, devices, services, vehicles, or environments so as to be usable by people with disabilities. The concept of accessible design and practice of accessible development ensures both "direct access" (i.e ...
.
Water Water (chemical formula ) is an inorganic, transparent, tasteless, odorless, and nearly colorless chemical substance, which is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known living organisms (in which it acts as a ...
spigots are installed throughout, and there are two
flush toilet A flush toilet (also known as a flushing toilet, water closet (WC) – see also toilet names) is a toilet that disposes of human waste (principally urine and feces) by using the force of water to ''flush'' it through a drainpipe to another lo ...
restrooms. Image:Chantry_Picnic_01.jpg, Large double picnic site Image:Chantry_Picnic_02.jpg, Southwest view of picnic area Image:Chantry_Picnic_05.jpg, West view of picnic area Image:Chantry_Picnic_03.jpg, Northwest view of picnic area Image:Chantry_Picnic_04.jpg, Wheelchair ramps Image:Chantry_Picnic_06.jpg, Lower picnic sites Image:Gabrielino_Trailhead_East.jpg, East end of
Gabrielino Trail The Gabrielino Trail is a United States National Recreation Trail that runs through the Angeles National Forest with trailheads at Windsor Avenue in Altadena, California on the west end and Chantry Flat, just north of Arcadia, California, on the e ...
Image:Gabrielino_Trailhead_02.jpg, Bench with a view


Trails

Several hiking and mountain biking trails are accessible from Chantry Flat. They include the Upper Winter Creek and Lower Winter Creek trail loop as well as the Sturtevant Falls trail along
Santa Anita Creek Santa Anita Creek (Santa Anita Wash on federal maps) is a long stream in Los Angeles County, California. It flows southwards from its headwaters in the south ridge of the San Gabriel Mountains, to form the beginnings of the Rio Hondo near Irwin ...
, which is also the East end of the
Gabrielino Trail The Gabrielino Trail is a United States National Recreation Trail that runs through the Angeles National Forest with trailheads at Windsor Avenue in Altadena, California on the west end and Chantry Flat, just north of Arcadia, California, on the e ...
. These trails connect with a broad network of trails throughout the
San Gabriel Mountains The San Gabriel Mountains ( es, Sierra de San Gabriel) are a mountain range located in northern Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County and western San Bernardino County, California, United States. The mountain range is part of the Tr ...
. Most of these trails are heavily forested, as they did not burn during the Station Fire in 2009.


Pack station

Adams' Pack Station is a permitted outfitter and general store that has operated at Chantry Flat since 1936. It sells the
National Forest Adventure Pass The National Forest Adventure Pass is a recreation fee pass issued by the United States Forest Service that permits bearers in designated regions of four National Forests in Southern California to park their cars for the purpose of recreation. T ...
, and also offers food and gear as well as additional parking for visitors. The Pack Station General Store is open to the public on weekends and holidays until 5:00 PM.


Parking fee

The road to Chantry Flat is open daily from 6:00 AM to 8:00 PM. Car parking at Chantry Flats, and many places in the Angeles National Forest, requires a National Forest Adventure Pass. National Forest Adventure Passes may be obtained online or from forest visitor centers and local sporting good merchants. The fee is $5.00 a day or $30 for a yearly pass. The parking lot fills quickly in the morning on the weekends.


Driving Directions

From the Foothill Freeway (I-210) take the Santa Anita Avenue exit north. Follow Santa Anita Ave. through the residential neighborhood until it ends at the foot of the mountains. Pass the yellow pipe gate and continue into the mountains to the end of Santa Anita Canyon Road.


See also

*
Henninger Flats Henninger Flats is a small hanging basin above sea level in the San Gabriel Mountains in the Angeles National Forest. It was part of the Mount Wilson Toll Road. The trailhead to reach the flats is at the top end of Eaton Canyon in Pasadena, Cali ...


External links


National Forest Adventure PassesAdams' Pack StationSturtevant's CampBig Santa Anita Canyon
*http://www.canyoncartography.com


References

{{coord, 34.1955, -118.0224, type:landmark_region:US-CA, display=title San Gabriel Mountains Protected areas of Los Angeles County, California Civilian Conservation Corps in California Angeles National Forest