It's a huge lake park located in Irwindale, and its facilities including picnic tables and bike…read moretrails, which offers affordable family activities and scenic mountain views. However, the park is often crowded, and lack of maintenance, for instance, restroom was in bad condition. They charge a vehicle entrance fee of $15 per car, and from my experience you'd better prepare with cash as the reception there is bad, and their mobile card readers are often slow or not working.

As of October 2025, the price of admission has increased to $15. At least it was for the weekend of…read morethe annual dragon boat festival. Many cars were lined up before the recreation area opened for the day, so it took a while to find parking. Many teams found their patch of grass to pitch up tents for the better half of the day, while it seems those who weren't part of the festival were partitioned off. From around 7am to 4pm, a lively environment of DJs and live music, jersey vendors, drumming competitions, costume contests, and even Zumba, a nice mix of distractions between all the waiting between heats. The park's maintenance team were on hand cleaning the restrooms, emptying trash cans, and driving to and from whenever they were needed. Some of the dragon boat teams and vendors also drove into the booth areas which made it kinda dangerous with so many people. There was even a close call of an infant almost getting run over. In terms of dragon boat, participating in 250m sprints was a positive experience. Much different sense of urgency compared to the usual 500m.

Great park, played pickleball for the first time at this park. The courts are tennis and pickleball…read morehybrid. It's clean and used frequently by the neighborhood. There's also a running/bike trail so you can exercise and not worry about cars. The Duarte Run Club runs this trail route every Wednesday in the summertime evenings.

A really nice and clean park! People there are also really friendly and pick up after their dogs…read more Also seems like almost every dog there is really well behaved. My dog is small and gets scared of larger dogs, so he'll start growling. But every time we encountered a large dog, he didn't growl or bark! I was surprised, maybe he sensed the dogs were nice too. I also really appreciate that there's police that drive around and patrol the park area. Made me feel much more safe knowing that if I needed to alert the police of anything, they were nearby.

This is a very good park. I only hung out here a few times when I lived here,. Its more a family…read morepark, but people come here to workout, play sports, bring their pets, and so on. Plenty of parking, and its a good place to hang out.

a very safe and fun park to be with family and friends! great community all around. my friends took…read moreme here for the pickleball courts (basically the tennis courts) and i lov it. nothing negative to say about this park at all! lots of parking in the neighborhood area

Plenty hiking opportunities, refreshing air, and a nice scenic drive in. Be sure to have a full…read moretank, as there is no gas services. There is a cafe/ convenience store across from the campground where you can also purchase your day use park pass for $5. I experienced a foggy day, which gave a cooling effect to my hiking. Restrooms are vault toilets, so unpleasant smells and a mess are a given. The lake has lots of swampy algae, therefore not appropriate for swimming or water sports. However, they do allow fishing with permit. I am a nature enthusiast and it was saddening to see the lack of humans respect for nature, with graffiti and trash in some areas of the park. Crystal lake definitely could use more funding to preserve its natural beauty. The loveliest part is listening to woodpeckers as they work, watching an eagle fly above with a fish in its talons, and treading quietly not to startle the squirrel who is crossing my path. I suggest picking up a map with hiking trails from the rangers post or convenience store, before planning your day!

Very beautiful place. Just an hour's drive from La Crescenta, much closer than Big Bear…read more There's still snow there, the road is clear, and along the way, there's a mountain stream and a reservoir where you can stop. Download a map in advance, as there's no signal there. There's a small lake where you can take a walk, and a forest with a cozy family café where you can grab a snack.

Definitely a 4.25 star trail. From a 5 mile to a 10 mile long trail - for walks, jogs runs bikes,…read moreskating- etc for individuals to groups ... and family outings... the scenic views are gorgeous...inspiring. from low to higher elevation, the trails are clean and encouraging. The river flows can be heard and seen. As the trail advances up north, less and less people and homes can be seen or heard...Just nature... as a runner, I was drawn to the beauty of the sounds and scenery. Along the way, wooden gateways lined the trails, rest stops along the way and up to the turn around point. Only thing missing is restrooms but I can see why. Have fun enjoy. Parking can be done at the wilderness point ...Last stop by north or park along the roadway , along the housing track.

Easy hike, lots of entry points to River. The family and I had a great time. I'd recommend wearing…read morebug spray and bringing water shoes if you plan to take a dip. It was quite dirty with people leaving trash everywhere (so sad)! A few of us plan to return and clean it (we didn't have the time or supplies to do a deep cleaning of the place yesterday). I will say that the only thing that was strange was toward the end of the day (approx 5pm), there were two elderly ladies walking. One of them had long curly gray/white hair with the most creepiest looking face (best described as a corpse with yellowish eyes). The family (and kids) who seen her all got very creeped out. It didn't look like they were going to film anything. Anyone else ever see her???

I write this review exactly 25 years to the day from hiking it. I had to make sure it was perfect…read more No, actually, I am just checking my journals and discovered on April 12, 2000, I hiked the trail. My journal says something worth sharing: "Went to Monrovia Canyon Park and hiked the Ben Overturff Trail*.  There was a little waterfall. Took pic.  There was also a little rattlesnake, a baby that I almost stepped on.  Turns out baby rattlesnakes are more deadly because it's like venom concentrate.  I could tell it was a baby snake because it had a rattle." Point is, watch out for rattlesnakes, especially the babies.

Maybe more of a 3.5 than 4 stars…read more Location- I like that it isn't too far to get to (at least for me)...conveniently located near the 210 & 605 fwys Parking- $6 fee; rangers don't open the gate until 7 am on weekends but you can park down in the residential area for free and walk a little less than a mile to access the trail and start it earlier *btw this is the same entrance you use to do the Monrovia falls hike We parked near the Trask Scout Reservation sign (see attached pic) and there is a paved road with a sign that says authorized vehicles only...we took that steep road up and passed the dam and got to the trailhead about a mile later. You can pick either of two trails at this point (see attached pic). The one to the left which we took has little stone columns to pass through and is a narrow somewhat steep trail that you stay on for about 2 miles until you reach an area with other trails connecting and we opted to go right and it had an arrow with the word bathroom and that led us back down to complete the loop on the wider fire access type of road so we did the loop clockwise and it took us back down to the trailhead (I used the All Trails app). You then take the same road down past the dam to the parking lot Distance- 6.7 miles RT Elevation gain- about 1,600 ft Duration- between 2-3 hrs Difficulty- moderate

This review is of the HQ office. If you are coming for a pass make sure you call to confirm they…read morehave it in stock. I've come here twice to purchase on short notice when it's sold out at other retailers. Interior is very nice. If you buy an America the beautiful annual pass it is good until the end of the next same month the following year so best to buy at the beginning of a month. Only issue was when I went to do tap to pay it didn't work with my iPhone and I had to use my physical card

Known for their expansive hikes and gorgeous views, the Los Angeles National Forest is my go-to for…read morescenic walks and morning exercise! I love choosing between trail heads to try out, and seeing all the sweet dogs on the trail!

Amazing! Everyone was so kind and welcoming. It was a bit of uncertainty making my way to the top,…read morebut once the road ends and the parking lot begins you've arrived! Amazing experience. Thank you Primo and staff!

Today's the 4th of July & they are CLOSED. The entrance gate was locked when we got there! We…read morewaited around about 15 minutes before seeing another person trying to come out of the gate and could not. (Hope she didn't wait long for police to get there & let her) It would have been nice if the site didn't say open. Another hiker said that someone told her they didn't want anyone in the area just in case they wanted to set off fireworks. Hopefully, I can review it again and have a personal experience. But for now just wanted to make others aware that it's closed today.