General Information
Access
Other Web Information
General Information Follows Camp is located three miles up the East Fork of the San Gabriel River on a broad bench south of the River. The Camp was founded by Ralph Follows in 1896. In 1891, Ralph moved to San Gabriel Canyon from England hoping for, and receiving, a cure for his severe case of tuberculosis
Follows married Jennie Heaton, daughter of canyon miner William Heaton, in 1897. They quickly built Follows Camp into the largest and most famous resort in the Canyon. Guests arrived via the famous four-horse Follows Stage for the 12 mile trip up the Canyon, which required ~40 river crossings.
In 1925 the Canyon road was paved, making the trip too easy and the resort correspondingly less romantic, and the resort declined.
The Ferguson property, just downstream, was combined with the original Follows Camp in 1975 and 1976. The Ferguson property was a religious retreat called "Beulah Land" briefly after World War II, and became "Shady Oaks" in the early 1950s, with a store and picnic area.
In 1990, Follows Camp had 230 permanent residents living in cabins and mobile homes, and 200 campsites on 85 acres.
Source: The San Gabriels, John W. Robinson, p. 222-224, 235-236.
Access Topo Map (34.23371° N, 117.80706° W)
By Car: From I210 take SR39 to its junction with the East Fork Road. Follows Camp is three miles up the East Fork.
Other Web Information
- "Follows Camp, a Los Angeles-area campground noted for its unusual gold prospecting possibilities, has acquired another unusual distinction: Barbecue Cookoff Capital of the West"
- War Between The States Historical Association "The observer/visitor to these presentations can step back in time to circa 1863 and witness the same experiences of the soldiers of the Union Army of the Potomac and of the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia. Follow's Camp has two re-enactment sites (two battle locations), fortifications..."
- Fishing the East Fork from Fishing and Outdoors Los Angeles "...you can pull over any time you'd like and fish the river. Small rainbows are abundant..."
- "The 30 or so children who live in the Follows Camp and elsewhere in the canyon above Azusa won't have to worry about how to get to school in September."
- "Recreational gold panning is a popular hobby in California. Novice and experienced prospectors with gold pans or metal detectors enjoy panning and detecting in the Angeles National Forest north of the greater Los Angeles area."
- Tales from the Hole "It was a cool, drizzly, Memorial Day morning. A group of us decided to go kayaking on a local river..."
Go to Field Guide to the San Gabriel Mountains: Places
Copyright © 2001 by Jane Strong and Tom Chester
Permission is freely granted to reproduce any or all of this page as long as credit is given to us at this source:
http://tchester.org/sgm/places/follows_camp.html
Comments and feedback: Jane Strong | Tom Chester
Updated 5 February 2001.