San Bernardino National Forest

The forest of San Bernardino is managed at a federal level and it covers a total area of over 800,000 acres. The divisions of the forest are the Santa Rosa and San Jacinto in the NE and the mountains of San Bernardino in the East. The area’s elevations will go from 2000 ft and up to 11,499 ft at its highest point. There are 5 wilderness areas in this forest and their names are: Bighorn Mountain, Santa Rosa, Cucamonga, San Gorgonio and San Jacinto. The USDA is the forest service which has this forest under management and the HQ can be found in the San Bernardino city, while ranger offices also exist in Skyforest, Idyllwild and Fontana.

Geography

There are two major portions of the forest, the southern and the northern part. The border from the west is near the Angeles National Forest, for around ten miles, in the vicinity of Interstate 15. In the widest parts, this forest has 57 miles, from east to west, while in the north to south dimension it has around 24 miles. In this forest area you will also find the mountains of San Bernardino.

The southern part of the forest has 27 miles from south to north and 30 miles from west to east. You will find an Indian Reservation and the Toro Peak in the south part of the forest. In the northern part of the forest you will find the Indian Reservation of Morongo and Snow Creek Village. The National Forest lands surround the Idyllwild community.

Besides the many lumber resources found here, in the south and north parts of the forest you will also find a research station of the California University, a number of Indian resources like pictographs and caves, plus resorts and residential communities. In the same area you will also find the Bonita Falls.