Known to the Mission Padres, Crystal Lake is the only natural lake in the San Gabriel Mountains. R.W. Dawson visited the lake in 1876 and later built a cabin nearby. In 1887, Pasadena Judge Benjamin Eaton wrote that "The water is clear as a crystal and our party found it good to drink." That same year Dawson sold out to the Crystal Lake Irrigation Power Co., but insufficient water doomed the company plans. Los Angeles acquired the area in 1928, opened the campground in 1932, and transferred it to the U.S. Forest Service in 1943.