Cleveland National Forest

San Diego County's backyard wilderness, Cleveland National Forest covers 460,000 acres across the Laguna, Palomar, and Trabuco mountain ranges in the southernmost national forest in California. The forest is divided into three ranger districts stretching from Orange County to the Mexican border, providing critical watershed protection and recreation for the rapidly growing Southern California coast. The iconic Palomar Observatory, home to the famous 200-inch Hale Telescope, sits atop Palomar Mountain within the forest, while the scenic Sunrise Highway along the Laguna Mountains offers sweeping views from the Pacific coast to the Anza-Borrego Desert thousands of feet below. Chaparral-covered peaks and oak-studded valleys support populations of mule deer, mountain lion, golden eagle, and the rare arroyo toad in riparian corridors. The forest manages popular recreation areas including Laguna Mountain Recreation Area, Dripping Springs, and the Noble Canyon National Recreation Trail, one of the premier mountain biking trails in Southern California. Cleveland's location in one of the most fire-prone regions in the country has led to devastating wildfires including the 2003 Cedar Fire, which burned over 273,000 acres and remains one of the largest fires in California history.