The LPFA promotes safe, sustainable forest use through education and boots on the ground projects and programs.
Founded in 1979, the LPFA is an official non-profit 501(c)(3) partner of the Los Padres National Forest. Our mission is to care for the Los Padres Forest, ensuring it thrives and remains safe and open for the people to use and enjoy.
The LPFA shares the Forest Service motto of “Caring for the Land and Serving the People.” We love nothing more than to help people enjoy their time in the Los Padres in a sustainable and respectful manner. If you have any questions about the forest, trails, camps or anything Los Padres related – we are more than happy to help!
While we have you, feel free to browse around and check out all the cool things we have going on across the forest……….
The Los Padres National Forest is the second largest forest in California. It stretches across the central coast from Los Angeles County up to Monterey. There are 10 designated wilderness areas within the Los Padres, along with thousands of miles of trails and some of the most spectacular natural wildlife and scenery. With elevations ranging from sea level to almost 9,000ft, the Los Padres offers a wide assortment of recreational activities including surfing, skiing, hunting, backpacking, mountain biking, bird watching or sitting next to a creek reading a book. It is also home to thousands of black bear, mountain lion, steelhead trout and of course the iconic California condor.
Maybe the most amazing thing about the Los Padres is that it is located within a few hours of over 25,000,000 people! In today’s hurried world of devices pinging at you, urban sprawl and constant availability; having the option to get out of town and spend time in the mountains away from the chaos is something so simple, yet so hard to achieve. We need places like the Los Padres and these places need groups like the LPFA helping keep them wild and open.
The LPFA helps coordinate volunteer projects across the Los Padres Forest. Our volunteers work to keep trails open, report and assess forest conditions and provide public education on how to safely use the forest.
