Big Pines Recreation Camp (elevation 6,862) was developed in 1923 by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors and the Department of Parks and Recreation. It became a year-round resort with crowds of up to 10,000 on many weekends. Big Pines is located four miles west of Wrightwood in the Angeles National Forest. In 1940 Los Angeles County transferred the land to the U.S. Forest Service. Big Pines continues to be a popular recreation area, with three ski resorts, campgrounds and Jackson Lake. The Swartout Valley Lodge opened March 1927 at Big Pines Camp, and contained a store, restaurant, soda fountain, and post office. In later years, the lodge housed offices of the U.S. Forest Service, until 1987 when an arson fire destroyed the building. The Big Pines Camp in Los Angeles County, showing an early spring scene on June 30, 1939.
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