Forest Festival Celebrates the Great Outdoors July 18th

Try your hand at using a two-person crosscut saw, test your fly-casting skills, and learn how to pan for gold at the San Gorgonio Wilderness Association’s annual Forest Festival on Saturday, July 19.

The free, family-friendly event, scheduled from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., is a celebration of forests and the outdoors at the Barton Flats Visitor, located on Highway 38 about seven miles east of Angelus Oaks.

Visitors will be able to use a crosscut saw to create a “tree cookie” that will be branded with U.S. Forest Service and Smokey Bear logos; pan for gold; learn about the work of Friends of Big Bear Valley and their eagle cam; make a nature craft; hear what various outdoor and conservation groups do to protect our natural resources; visit with SGWA members, who patrol and maintain trails in the San Gorgonio and Cucamonga wilderness areas, and provide interpretive programs; and more. Smokey Bear will make appearances throughout the day, and SGWA musicians will perform. Snacks and beverages will be available to purchase.

SGWA is a nonprofit organization that works with the U.S. Forest Service to protect the forest in and around the San Gorgonio Wilderness and Cucamonga Wilderness, and educates the public about these natural resources. Every year SGWA volunteers donate thousands of hours to the San Bernardino National Forest in a variety of activities, including interacting with the public on wilderness trails and at interpretive programs, clearing fallen trees that block trails and repairing damaged trail tread, and removing illegal fire rings in wilderness areas.