A record number of people visited the Angeles National Forest recently, the onslaught fueled by 20 million Southern Californians who live within a short car ride of “L.A.’s backyard playground” itching to escape into nature during the pandemic.
New numbers released by the U.S. Forest Service in May counted 4.6 million visitors in 2021, easily surpassing the previous high from 10 years ago.
The forest drew 1 million more people than in 2011, when 3.6 million visited. And it far exceeded the 3 million visitors counted in 2006, according to the Forest Service. The 2021 count is the most recent, with the next one planned for 2026 as counts are done every five years.
Forest visits boom during pandemic
The vast, 700,000-acre untamed wilderness that stretches west-to-east from Santa Clarita to Upland had more visitors than the Grand Canyon, which amassed 4.5 million, and Yosemite National Park, with 3.3 million, both in that same year, the Forest Service reported.
“I probably didn’t expect it to be quite that high, but it is not surprising considering we are one of the closest land management agencies next to a large, metropolitan area,” said Ramon “Ray” Torres, supervisor of the Angeles National Forest. Torres replaced temporary fill-in Tom Torres last August, who replaced Jerry Perez who was supervisor for 3 1/2 years.
Other forest watchers, nonprofit conservation groups and hiking enthusiasts were pleased that “the Angeles,” which takes in most of the San Gabriel Mountains and forms almost a postcard backdrop for Los Angeles County, satisfied a need to safely get outside during a time of COVID-19 stay-at-home orders and school shutdowns.
“In the height of the pandemic, it made people realize how much we need to be outdoors, just for our sanity,” said Bryan Matsumoto, program manager for Nature For All, an organization that takes underprivileged youth into the Angeles, performs service projects and advocates for forest amenities.
Outdoors…
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