MILEPOSTS #1044

By Ken Brafman, Image from Ken Brafman Collection

TITLE: LAKE ARROWHEAD RANCH OUTDOOR SCIENCE CAMP: The motto of Lake Arrowhead Ranch Outdoor Science Camp was, ‘Where life is an adventure, not a race.’ The camp was located on Cottage Grove Road about a mile from the Village. The Los Angeles Unified School District set up the camp in 1947. It functioned as a nature camp for kids who could escape from the city to enjoy the mountains, with swimming, various sports and camp activities. In 1988 Walter and Carol Probst, having reestablished the Ice Castle in Blue Jay, built the Ice Castle International Training Center on the adjoining property above the camp compound. The Probsts purchased the compound, turning it into housing for the professional skaters in training. Olympic champions such as Robin Cousins and Michelle Kwan came out of the Castle. The camp had a 12-room dorm and numerous small cabins on 12 acres, all built in the 1950s, and accommodated 108. Walter Probst died in 1994, and then in 2001 the roof at the Blue Jay facility collapsed under heavy snow and was not rebuilt. Prior to selling the International Ice Castle Carol Probst sold the campground facility to Kathy Graves Farley in 2003. The new camp hosted weekend escapes and operated a weekday outdoor science school for kids, taught by trained naturalists. The fifth and sixth graders used a hands-on learning process. The goal was to have the children interact with nature and the natural forest surroundings, beyond the confines of a regular classroom. The study program focused on botany, geology, astronomy, meteorology and many more classes. There was a swimming pool, and in addition to the numerous hiking trails, horseback riding was offered. This week’s image shows the last original building on the property which is the barn where horses were kept. Farley sold the camp to the Abundant Living Family Church in Rancho Cucamonga in 2019 which is renovating it for use as a retreat, ensuring that the adventures on this historic property will live on and continue.

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