This is a beautiful picnic area along Hwy-18 between Lake Arrowhead and Running Springs near the small forest community of Skyforest. It is a convenient stop along the highway, and it has majestic views of the San Bernardino Valley below. The Switzer Day Use Area was named after the Switzer family, early pioneers in the Lake Arrowhead area. Bert Switzer served as the first Arrowhead Ranger District Ranger from 1902 to 1926 and Switzer’s wife Sara served as an early postmistress for the Twin Peaks post office. Sara Switzer in 1936 proposed to the Women’s Club of Lake Arrowhead that the club team up with the Forest Service to develop a park. Since that time, the club has built a fountain and a barbecue in the park and has planted Dogwoods, Ash and Redwood trees. In 1937 the classic movie “Heidi” starring Shirley Temple was filmed near Switzer Park, and many years later Shirley Temple-Black purchased a home in Lake Arrowhead.
