San Bernardino National Forest  

Welcome - A Quick Overview

Fog-shrouded San Bernardino Mountains from Rim of the World Scenic Byway.

Wherever you live in Southern California, you're just a short drive away from a spectacular wildland adventure—recreating in the Angeles, Cleveland, Los Padres, and San Bernardino National Forests! Here you will find mountains as high as 11,500 feet, canyons, vast forests, lakes, waterfalls, rivers and streams, and a wealth of recreation activities from cycling to skiing—all waiting for you. These precious lands are a unique resource, ours to enjoy and take care of so that they will always be there...for us, for our children, and for their children.

The Recreation Fee Program, which includes the Adventure Pass, helps:

• Conserve, protect, and restore natural and heritage resources
• Enhance the visitor experiences by improving recreation opportunities and services

Where do I need an Adventure Pass or other recreation permits?

Where? - Recreation passes and permits, like the Adventure Pass, are required for use of certain recreation sites and areas in the forest, and for certain facilities and services. Page links to lists of these areas and sites are below. We also have a new map program for your use, where you may view and print maps of Recreation Areas and Sites. Visit the following pages in this website for detailed information about where a fee is required:

View & print Recreation Area Maps 

High Impact Recreation Areas (list)

Designated Recreation Sites (list)

At sites and areas listed at the links above, passes must be displayed upon the visitor's parked vehicle. Camping may require a separate fee, usually paid on-site. Some special fees and services may require a per person fee. Private concessionaires operating Forest Service facilities charge their own fees on-site. The links above contain information about these other passes and permits.

How will I know where the fee is required when I'm in the Forest?
Look for the signs shown below to be posted near the entry to designated fee Sites & Areas.

Where do I obtain passes & permits? - You can buy Adventure Passes and America the Beautiful Interagency Passes at all Forest Service Offices in southern California or through this website. Just click these buttons for more information.

El Cariso Visitor Center

Why? - The national forests of Coastal and Southern California are heavily used, requiring more up-keep and maintenance to the thirty-four (34) Recreation Areas. Day-use fees are established for use of these areas and the facilities and services that support heavy visitation. Since these are recreation "use" fees and not fees for "entry" to the national forest, no pass is required for travel through, nor for activities that are "incidental" to thru-travel, such as stopping to take a photograph, use of developed overlooks or use of a restroom. Individual developed recreation sites like campgrounds may require a separate overnight camping fee. Adventure Passes cover all day-use fees in Recreation Areas, even in many developed recreation sites. Forest Officers will enforce program compliance. Vehicles not displaying a valid pass in the windshield may receive a warning called a Notice of Required Fee - repeat violators (persons having received more than one notice of required fee) could receive a Violation Notice ($100 fine). During 2008 3 Free Days are authorized. There are exemptions to the requirement for passes and permits (see Questions & Answers). Some developed sites, particularly the larger campgrounds are operated by a private concession company under separate agreement. Concessionaires are not required to accept Forest Service issued passes in payment for the services they provide or use of the sites they manage - exception: Concessionaires may accept the America the Beautiful Interagency Senior and Access Passes for 50% discount on camping fees (call ahead).