Crest Forest

The Playground of the Sky!

Crest Forest comprises some forty-five square miles of forest wonderland recognized as one of the out-standing beauty spots of the Southland. 

As it's name implies, it is located along the Crest of the famous San Bernardino Mountains in a truly forest primeval that commands the most scenic views of the Orange Empire on one side and the beautiful and awe-inspiring Mohave Desert on the other.

During the Winter Season, a heavy blanket of snow mantles the great oaks and giant pines and makes it an attractive place to enjoy a frolic amid wintry scenes.

Crest Forest Club, Crestline, California. 1920

Valley of Enchantment was a summer home to the Serrano Indians, who came to the mountains to escape the heat of the desert floor.  They moved with the ripening of their favorite nuts and berries. 

Seeing the advantages the Valley of Enchantment and Seeley Creek had to offer, it was one of the first places the Mormons settled. 

As the silent move  industry began, movie producers found the mountains to be an excellent four-season, varied-terrain location not far from Hollywood.  The only movie studio built in San Bernardino Mountains was in Crestline in an area called Skyland Flats by cowboy star Leo Maloney. 

During the depression, Camp Seeley, owned and operated by the City of Los Angeles, was occupied during the summer months by homeless families and during World War II, the area was used by Norton Air Force Base personnel.  After the war, the population boomed again and was quickly named: “The Alps of Southern California”.