This 384-acre natural area is located at the western end of the Rager Mountain Forest Area near Cramer in Indiana County.

The Charles F. Lewis Natural Area is located in a small section of the Galitzin State Forest located along the Conemaugh River, spanning the Indiana /Cambria county line. Named for a newspaperman and the first president of the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy, this natural area is located just across the river from the northern terminus of the Laurel Highlands Hiking Trail.

The Valley of Ghosts trail is iconic for its conifers buried in snow in winter. Snow accumulates from the first week of October. The temperature only rises above zero degrees two and a half months a year and the landscape transforms with the precipitation. Annual snowfall is 5.5 meters on average in the Vallée des Fantômes. This quantity has even reached 7 meters in some years. It is a trail which is inside the Monts-Valin National Park. It has been accessible by snowcat minibus for 25 years.

The Sisquoc Loop is a classic Los Padres backpacking route in the San Rafael Wilderness. Starting at Nira Campground, you first travel along the Manzana trail, then along the Sisquoc Trail, and then again on the Manzana trail before reaching the end of the journey. The route loops around the Hurricane Deck which is one of the iconic features in the area and can be completed in either direction (Clockwise or Counterclockwise).

Sandstone Peak is the highest summit in the Santa Monica Mountains at 3114’.

Though there are many ways to approach the peak, this is an iconic route that begins at the historically significant Satwiwa Native American Cultural Center which celebrates and remembers the Chumash people who settled here 13,000 years ago.

This route also offers a public water refill station…a helpful resource as the out and back is 20 miles from the parking lot.