Cleveland National Forest

You'll find many special places on the Cleveland National Forest: Wilderness areas, recreation areas, peaks and popular travel corridors!


Park Photo

Photo credit: Alexander S. Kunz

The Cleveland National Forest is the southern-most National Forest in California. Consisting of 460,000 acres, the forest offers a wide variety of terrains and recreational opportunities. Until the arrival in San Diego of Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo, the lands now within the Cleveland National Forest were known only to the desert and coastal Indian tribes who used them. The Kumeyaay, Luiseños, Cahuilla and Cupeño found a good living on the abundant acorns and game. Many of our trails today follow those routes first used by these early dwellers.

https://www.fs.usda.gov/cleveland

Wilderness Areas/Wild & Scenic Rivers

Agua Tibia Wilderness - Come explore the Qgua Tibia Wilderness and enjoy various recreational activities and extraordinary opportunities for solitude!

Hauser Wilderness - Come explore Hauser Wilderness with day hikes, backpacking opportunities, and horse riding trails.

Pine Creek Wilderness - The Pine Creek Wilderness is a gently sloping area ranging from 2,000 feet elevation in the south to 4,000 feet in the north.

San Mateo Canyon Wilderness - It is a place for solitude and rest from the busier forest areas in southern California. It is surrounded by large urban population centers. As a result, you may still heard noises from surrounding development in some areas of the wilderness.

Invasive Species

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