It was nearly two years ago that heavy equipment rolled up Santa Anita Canyon Road to start refurbishing Chantry Flat Picnic Area. Steve Rogers, a veteran of Forest Service contract work, was hired at an initial price of around $480k to overhaul the facilities and to repave the parking lots. The road was closed to you, the hiking public, "for your own safety", and work began at a feverish pitch.
   By Christmas, 2004, all of the old equipment was removed, new picnic tables and BBQ's had been delivered, and the new concrete "SST2" (2-seat Sweet-Smelling Toilet) installed. A new sign board was erected at the trailhead and weed-free soil was imported for grading. Then disaster struck early in January, 2005.
   Chantry Flat received 28 inches of rain in a single weekend. The road was a wreck. 20-plus landslides covered the pavement and two large ones took the road with them. It was nine months before the road was passable and work on the picnic area could resume.
   One more year and nearly a million dollars later, the grounds are finally complete. The number of sites was increased from 24 to 35; most are wheelchair accessible. Each has a new concrete table & double-sided BBQ. Water faucets were added throughout for clean-up and dog water. The concrete pathways were dyed to blend in and were cleverly stamped with wild animal tracks.
Hours are from 6am to 10pm. No overnight camping is allowed.