Nature & Science

San Dimas Experimental Forest

Established in 1933, the San Dimas Experimental Forest is the only such forest in southern California. It covers 6,945 ha in the front range of the San Gabriel Mountains, located about 50 km northeast of Los Angeles. The San Dimas Experimental Forest is within the boundary of the Angeles National Forest - San Gabriel Mountains National Monument. Originally established as an outdoor hydrologic laboratory to document and quantify the water cycle in semi-arid steep lands, most of the facilities were constructed by the Depression-era Civilian Conservation Corps and Work Projects Administration labor programs. San Dimas has a long history as a research site in the fields of hydrology and ecology and is recognized as a Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO's Man and the Biosphere program. San Dimas also contains the Fern Canyon Research Natural Area.