Abandoned The label
Why Lytle Creek is called a ghost town
Lytle Creek is listed in a long-running ghost town directory for its brief placer gold rush. The label belongs to the mining camp of the 1860s, which San Bernardino County's history office says grew immensely after gold was found and faded when floods ended the large operations in 1891. Lytle Creek is not on Wikipedia's list of ghost towns in California, and Wikipedia describes it as a census-designated place.
History
Lytle Creek then
Lytle Creek drains a long canyon on the east side of the San Gabriel Mountains, above where Fontana and Rialto now spread across its old alluvial fan. The Tongva village of Wa'aachnga stood along the creek. Latter-day Saints reached the valley in 1851, and the settlers of San Bernardino named the stream for their leader, Captain Andrew Lytle.
Gold changed the canyon in 1860. The county's history office says the Harpending Company of New York, one of the large outfits, reportedly took out $2,000 in gold a week. By the early 1870s people were also coming up for fishing, camping and picnics. Floods in 1891 ended most of the large-scale mining and left the canyon to ranchers, and recreation is what lasted. The Lytle Creek Community Center has published a volunteer newspaper, The Canyon, since 1948.
1851. Latter-day Saints arrive in the valley; the San Bernardino settlers name the creek for Captain Andrew Lytle.
1860. Gold is found and the canyon fills with miners.
Early 1870s. The canyon becomes a place for camping, fishing and picnics.
1891. Floods end most of the large mining operations.
1942. The USGS San Antonio sheet marks Apple White Camp in the canyon.
1948. The Lytle Creek Community Center starts The Canyon, a volunteer newspaper.
1955. The Telegraph Peak sheet prints Lytle Creek over a dense grid of cabins.
2020. The census counts 725 people, up from 701 in 2010.
Today
What is there now
A winding canyon road lined with cabins and homes under the trees, the creek running beside it, and steep slopes on both sides. Homes and cabins are private. Our sources describe nothing left of the 1860s mining camp.
The Forest Service's page for the Lytle Creek and Cajon Pass area, updated September 22, 2025, puts the Front Country Ranger District office at 1209 Lytle Creek Road (open Thursday through Monday, phone (909) 382-2851). It lists Applewhite Campground, three miles north of the ranger station, as open, and the Applewhite Picnic Area, which holds up to 184 vehicles, as temporarily closed. Fire danger for the Lytle Creek area was rated High.
The historic maps below show the canyon's forks with no settlement printed on the 1901 sheet, Apple White Camp in 1942, a dense grid of cabins labeled Lytle Creek in 1955, with Scotland down the road, and Interstate 15 in Cajon Canyon to the east by 1982.
Historic maps
Lytle Creek on USGS maps, 1901–1982
Crops from the USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection, centered on the map point. Each sheet shows what surveyors mapped that year; compare them with today's topo and aerial on this page.
Map & directions
Getting there
Fontana is the closest city. Sierra Avenue runs north out of town, crosses I-15 and becomes Lytle Creek Road up the canyon. From Los Angeles, take I-10 east and I-15 north to the Sierra Avenue exit. The routes were computed from OpenStreetMap.
Base map: USGS The National Map (public domain). Routes: OSRM on © OpenStreetMap contributors data (ODbL). Times assume dry roads.
- From downtown Fontana, head north on Sierra Avenue.6.5 mi
- Continue up the canyon on Lytle Creek Road.7.8 mi
- Turn left on Sycamore Drive, then left on Meadow Lane in the community.0.3 mi
- From downtown Los Angeles, take North Main Street and East Aliso Street to US 101 south.1.1 mi
- Take exit 1D and follow I-10 (San Bernardino Freeway) east.40.0 mi
- Take exit 58A to I-15 (Ontario Freeway) north.10.6 mi
- Take exit 119 and turn left on Sierra Avenue.0.7 mi
- Continue up the canyon on Lytle Creek Road.7.8 mi
- Turn left on Sycamore Drive, then left on Meadow Lane in the community.0.3 mi
Road and visiting notes
- In September 2026 San Bernardino County filed for emergency work along Lytle Creek Road ahead of El Niño storms: K-rail, debris removal and culvert, road and guardrail repairs, before, during or after storms. The notice names no closure, but check with the county and the Forest Service before you go.
- Fire danger was rated High for the Lytle Creek area on the Forest Service page. Check fire restrictions before building any fire.
Photos
Lytle Creek in photos
Questions
Common questions
Is Lytle Creek, California a ghost town?
No. Lytle Creek is a mountain community of 725 people (2020 census) in the San Bernardino National Forest. The ghost town label comes from its gold rush of 1860, which faded after the floods of 1891.
Is anything left of the gold camp?
Our sources describe nothing left of the 1860s camp. The canyon has private cabins and homes, a Forest Service ranger station and Applewhite Campground.
How do you get to Lytle Creek?
From Fontana, drive north on Sierra Avenue across I-15; it becomes Lytle Creek Road up the canyon, about 14.7 miles in all.
Nearby
Ghost towns and sites near Lytle Creek
Straight-line distance to other mapped sites in our California index.
- Eldoradoville15.6 mi W · Los Angeles
- Agua Mansa16.9 mi SE · San Bernardino
- La Placita18.6 mi SE · Riverside
- Llano del Rio25.3 mi NW · Los Angeles
- Rancho Temescal33.9 mi S · Riverside
- Belleville35.2 mi E · San Bernardino
- Pinacate37.7 mi SE · Riverside
- Terra Cotta39.1 mi S · Riverside
Sources
Sources and credits
- USDA Forest Service, "Lytle Creek - Cajon Pass Recreation Area", updated September 22, 2025, read October 2026: Applewhite Campground open and its location, Applewhite Picnic Area temporarily closed and its size, the ranger district office address, phone and days, fire danger.
- San Bernardino County, "San Bernardino County history: Lytle Creek monster", October 30, 2025: the 1860 gold discovery, the Harpending Company, the 1891 floods and the ranchers.
- Wikipedia, "Lytle Creek, California", retrieved October 2026: the 1851 settlers, Andrew Lytle, recreation since the early 1870s, census populations, The Canyon since 1948, coordinates.
- Wikipedia, "Lytle Creek (California)", retrieved October 2026: the Tongva village of Wa'aachnga, the alluvial fan.
- Wikipedia, "List of ghost towns in California", read October 29, 2026: Lytle Creek is not listed.
- Ghosttowns.com, "Lytle Creek": the ghost town listing and the brief placer rush; road.
- CEQAnet, "Lytle Creek and Cajon Creek - 2026 El Nino Emergency Road Preparedness", San Bernardino County Department of Public Works, received September 17, 2026: the planned storm work on Lytle Creek Road.
- Routes: OSRM on OpenStreetMap data, October 2026.
Photo and map credits
- The road up Lytle Creek canyon below the San Gabriel peaks, March 2013: inkknife_2000 (7.5 million views +), Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0
- A windmill behind an iron fence in the village of Lytle Creek, March 2013: inkknife_2000 (7.5 million views +), Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0
- Lytle Creek at the Applewhite Picnic Area, October 2007: Pacific Southwest Region 5, Wikimedia Commons, Public domain
- Snow on Lytle Creek and a bridge, December 2008: Pacific Southwest Region 5, Wikimedia Commons, Public domain
- The stone and wood Lytle Creek Ranger Station sign of the San Bernardino National Forest in snow, December 2008: Carol Underhill, US Forest Service Pacific Southwest Region 5, Wikimedia Commons, Public domain
- Topo map, area base map and aerial imagery: USGS The National Map (public domain).
- Historic maps: USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection (public domain): Southern California Sheet No 1 1901, 1:250,000; San Antonio 1942, 1:62,500; Telegraph Peak 1955, 1:24,000; San Bernardino 1982, 1:100,000.