Wild Backcountry

National Forests

110 PLACES

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National Forests cover over 190 million acres of mountains, old-growth timber, rivers, and backcountry wilderness across 44 states. Unlike National Parks, they operate under a multiple-use mandate -- meaning hiking, camping, hunting, fishing, and even limited logging are all permitted. Most trailheads are free or require only a small recreation pass. If you want solitude and room to roam, the National Forests are where you will find it.

110 places

PA1923

Allegheny

Forests

Pennsylvania's only national forest — the Allegheny Reservoir, Hickory Creek Wilderness, and hardwood forests in the state's northwest corner.

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CA1908

Angeles

Alpine

The "Mountain Playground of Los Angeles" — 650,000 acres of chaparral, pine, and high peaks rising directly above one of the world's great cities.

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TX1936

Angelina

Forests

East Texas piney woods on the shores of Sam Rayburn Reservoir — loblolly pine, bald cypress, and the Neches Bluff overlook.

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AZ1898

Apache-Sitgreaves

Alpine

The Mogollon Rim's ponderosa pine belt and the White Mountains — Arizona's cool escape from desert heat, trout streams, and the Blue Range Wilderness.

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FL1936

Apalachicola

Forests

Florida's largest national forest — flatwoods, seeps, swamps, and rare endemic species in the Florida panhandle near Tallahassee.

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CO1897

Arapaho and Roosevelt

Alpine

Front Range forests north and west of Denver — Rocky Mountain National Park's neighbor, with Pawnee National Grasslands and the Indian Peaks Wilderness.

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UT1908

Ashley

Alpine

The Uinta Mountains — the only major east-west trending range in the lower 48 — and Kings Peak, Utah's highest point at 13,534 feet.

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MT1897

Beaverhead-Deerlodge

Alpine

Montana's largest national forest — the Continental Divide winds through the Beaverhead Mountains and headwaters of the Missouri River.

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WY1897

Bighorn

Alpine

The Bighorn Mountains rising from the Wyoming plains — Cloud Peak Wilderness, Medicine Wheel National Historic Landmark, and dramatic canyon drives.

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MT, ID1898

Bitterroot

Alpine

The Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness — one of the largest roadless areas in the lower 48 — along the Montana-Idaho border's rugged divide.

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SD, WY1897

Black Hills

Forests

The sacred Paha Sapa of the Lakota — Mount Rushmore's backdrop, Harney Peak, and ponderosa pine rising from the Great Plains like a forested island.

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ID1905

Boise

Alpine

The Sawtooth foothills rising above Idaho's capital — hot springs, the Boise River, and remote wilderness within an hour of downtown.

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WY1888

Bridger-Teton

Alpine

The Tetons' eastern neighbor — Gros Ventre, Wind River Range, and Wyoming Range wilderness areas surrounding Jackson Hole.

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ID, WY, UT1903

Caribou-Targhee

Alpine

Yellowstone's Idaho border — the west slope of the Tetons, Island Park caldera, and Henry's Fork of the Snake River.

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NM1898

Carson

Alpine

The Sangre de Cristo and Jemez Mountains north of Santa Fe — Wheeler Peak (New Mexico's highest), Taos Ski Valley, and the Rio Grande gorge edge.

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GA1911

Chattahoochee-Oconee

Alpine

North Georgia's mountain forests — Brasstown Bald (Georgia's highest peak), Tallulah Gorge, and the headwaters of the Chattahoochee River.

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WI1933

Chequamegon-Nicolet

Forests

Wisconsin's two combined national forests — Northwoods lakes, the Penokee Range, and the headwaters of the Flambeau and Chippewa rivers.

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TN1920

Cherokee

Alpine

Two units flanking Great Smoky Mountains National Park — Appalachian Trail corridor, Ocoee River whitewater, and southern Appalachian old-growth.

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MN1908

Chippewa

Forests

Minnesota lake country — Leech Lake and Cass Lake among hundreds of lakes in the nation's first designated national forest east of the Mississippi.

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AK1907

Chugach

Alpine

Glaciers, fjords, and coastal rainforest surrounding Prince William Sound — the second-largest national forest, home to the Columbia Glacier.

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NM1908

Cibola

Alpine

Sky island mountain ranges rising above the Rio Grande — Manzano, Sandia, Magdalena, and Zuni Mountains surrounding Albuquerque.

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ID1911

Clearwater

Forests

The Selway-Bitterroot and Gospel Hump Wilderness — the Lochsa River cuts through one of the largest roadless areas in the lower 48.

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CA1908

Cleveland

Alpine

Three ranger districts of chaparral, oak woodland, and pine forest in the mountains east of San Diego and the Inland Empire.

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AZ1898

Coconino

Alpine

Flagstaff's surrounding forest — the San Francisco Peaks, Red Rock Country near Sedona, and ponderosa pine that circles the Grand Canyon South Rim.

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WA1906

Colville

Forests

The northeast corner of Washington — quiet ponderosa pine and larch forests of the Selkirk Mountains, home to woodland caribou.

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AZ, NM1902

Coronado

Alpine

Twelve sky islands rising from the Sonoran Desert — the Chiricahuas, Huachucas, and Rincons tower above Tucson with exceptional bird diversity.

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MT, WY1899

Custer Gallatin

Alpine

Yellowstone's northern neighbor — the Beartooth Highway, Crazy Mountains, and Absaroka Range bordering the park's northeast and north.

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KY1937

Daniel Boone

Forests

Rugged Red River Gorge, natural arches, and the Sheltowee Trace across the Kentucky Appalachian foothills — one of the East's premier climbing destinations.

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TX1936

Davy Crockett

Forests

The Big Slough Wilderness and 4C Trail through East Texas longleaf pine forest — one of four national forests in Texas's piney woods region.

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OR1908

Deschutes

Volcanic

Newberry Volcano, obsidian flows, and Three Sisters Wilderness in the high desert of central Oregon — the Cascade Range at its most dramatic.

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UT1905

Dixie

Canyons

Utah's largest national forest bordering Zion, Bryce Canyon, and Capitol Reef — colorful cliffs, ponderosa plateaus, and the Pink Cliffs.

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CA1910

Eldorado

Alpine

Sierra Nevada forest stretching from the foothills to the Crystal Range — hiking, lakes, and the famous Mokelumne Wilderness.

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UT1902

Fishlake

Alpine

Fish Lake and Pando — the heaviest known organism on Earth, a massive quaking aspen clone — in Utah's high country above Capitol Reef.

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MT1897

Flathead

Alpine

Glacier National Park's western neighbor — the Bob Marshall Wilderness complex, the Middle Fork Flathead Wild and Scenic River.

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SC1936

Francis Marion and Sumter

Forests

South Carolina's coastal plain longleaf pine and the Upstate piedmont — red-cockaded woodpecker habitat and cypress swamps near Charleston.

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OR1908

Fremont-Winema

Forests

Vast ponderosa pine forests and Klamath Basin wetlands in southern Oregon — critical habitat for migrating waterfowl on the Pacific Flyway.

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VA, WV1917

George Washington and Jefferson

Alpine

The Appalachian backbone of Virginia — Shenandoah Valley views, Appalachian Trail miles, and the Mount Rogers high country of the Blue Ridge.

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WA1897

Gifford Pinchot

Volcanic

Named for the first US Forest Service chief — Mount St. Helens rises from its heart, surrounded by lava fields, old-growth, and recovering forest.

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NM1899

Gila

Alpine

Home to the Gila Wilderness — the world's first designated wilderness area (1924) — where the Gila River begins in the Black Range mountains.

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CO1892

Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre and Gunnison

Alpine

Three combined forests covering the western slope — Grand Mesa (the world's largest flat-topped mountain), Black Canyon, and the Weminuche Wilderness.

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VT1932

Green Mountain

Alpine

Vermont's backbone — the Long Trail (America's oldest long-distance hiking trail), Bread Loaf Wilderness, and fall foliage in the Green Mountains.

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MT1897

Helena-Lewis and Clark

Alpine

The Gates of the Mountains, Gates of the Mountains Wilderness, and the Little Belt Mountains surrounding Montana's capital city.

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MI1931

Hiawatha

Forests

The eastern Upper Peninsula bordered by Lake Superior, Lake Michigan, and Lake Huron — Pictured Rocks shoreline access and Tahquamenon Falls headwaters.

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IN1935

Hoosier

Forests

Indiana's only national forest — the knobstone escarpment, hardwood ridges, and the Charles C. Deam Wilderness in the state's south-central hills.

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NV, CA1907

Humboldt-Toiyabe

Alpine

The largest national forest in the lower 48 — Basin and Range mountain islands rising from Nevada's Great Basin, including Spring Mountains near Las Vegas.

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MI1909

Huron-Manistee

Forests

Michigan's Lower Peninsula national forests — the Manistee River, Nordhouse Dunes Wilderness, and the Pine River canoe corridor.

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ID1954

Idaho Panhandle

Forests

Three combined forests — Coeur d'Alene, Kaniksu, and St. Joe — in the Idaho Panhandle's lake-dotted forests and Selkirk Mountains.

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CA, NV1907

Inyo

Alpine

From the Alabama Hills to the summit of Mount Whitney — including the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest, home to the world's oldest living trees.

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AZ1893

Kaibab

Forests

The plateaus north and south of Grand Canyon — the famous Kaibab mule deer and ponderosa forests connecting the canyon's two rims.

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LA1930

Kisatchie

Forests

Louisiana's only national forest — longleaf pine flatwoods, bayous, and the Kisatchie Hills Wilderness in central and northwest Louisiana.

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CA, OR1905

Klamath

Forests

Wild and scenic rivers, rugged Klamath Mountains, and exceptional biodiversity in a forest where the Pacific meets the continent's interior.

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MT, ID1907

Kootenai

Forests

The Cabinet Mountains Wilderness and Kootenai River valley in the extreme northwest corner of Montana — grizzly bear country.

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CA1905

Lassen

Volcanic

Volcanic peaks, cinder cones, and lava plateaus surrounding Lassen Volcanic National Park — a landscape still shaped by geothermal forces.

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NM1902

Lincoln

Alpine

The Sacramento Mountains of southern New Mexico — Smokey Bear's birthplace in the Capitan Mountains, White Mountain Wilderness, and Cloudcroft.

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MT1906

Lolo

Alpine

Missoula's backyard and Lewis and Clark's crossing route — the Rattlesnake Wilderness, Seeley Lake, and the Clark Fork River corridor.

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CA1898

Los Padres

Alpine

A coastal mountain range from Big Sur to the Santa Monica Mountains — California condor habitat, hot springs, and wild chaparral.

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OR1908

Malheur

Alpine

The Blue Mountains of eastern Oregon — Strawberry Mountain Wilderness, old-growth ponderosa, and the headwaters of the John Day River.

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UT, CO1903

Manti-La Sal

Canyons

Two sky islands — the Wasatch Plateau and La Sal Mountains — rising above the canyon country of Moab and Price in a dramatic contrast.

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MO1939

Mark Twain

Forests

Nine units across the Missouri Ozarks — Current River, Eleven Point, and the Irish Wilderness in the rolling chert hills of southern Missouri.

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CO, WY1902

Medicine Bow-Routt

Alpine

Wyoming's Snowy Range and Colorado's Park Range — Steamboat Springs ski country, the Zirkel Wilderness, and the high Medicine Bow peaks.

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CA1907

Mendocino

Forests

The only national forest in California with no paved through-roads — remote oak woodland, chaparral, and clear-running streams in the Coast Ranges.

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CA1904

Modoc

Grasslands

High desert, sagebrush, and lava rock plateaus in the remote northeast corner of California — pronghorn, sage grouse, and dramatic solitude.

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WV1920

Monongahela

Alpine

West Virginia's highland wilderness — Spruce Knob, Seneca Rocks, Dolly Sods, and the headwaters of five major river systems.

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OR1908

Mount Hood

Volcanic

Oregon's most visited forest wraps around Mount Hood — year-round skiing, Timberline Lodge, the Columbia River Gorge, and the Pacific Crest Trail.

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WA1897

Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie

Alpine

The Cascade Range's most accessible wilderness — North Cascades glacier approaches, the Enchantments, and Snoqualmie Pass ski areas.

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NC1920

Nantahala

Alpine

Nantahala Gorge whitewater, the Appalachian Trail through the Smokies approach, and some of the most botanically diverse hardwood forests in North America.

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MS1934

National Forests in Mississippi

Forests

Six units of longleaf pine, hardwood bottomlands, and cypress swamps — De Soto, Holly Springs, Homochitto, Bienville, Delta, and Tombigbee.

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NE1902

Nebraska

Grasslands

The largest hand-planted forest in the US — ponderosa pine planted on Nebraska Sandhills prairie by Civilian Conservation Corps workers in the 1930s.

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ID1908

Nez Perce-Clearwater

Alpine

The Nez Perce Tribe's ancestral homeland — the Selway, Gospel Hump, and Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness areas.

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FL1908

Ocala

Forests

The world's largest sand pine scrub — springs, lakes, and the Florida National Scenic Trail through central Florida's ancient landscape.

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OR1911

Ochoco

Alpine

Rolling central Oregon hills of ponderosa pine and juniper — Painted Hills viewshed, fossil beds, and the Lookout Mountain Wilderness.

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WA1905

Okanogan-Wenatchee

Alpine

The rain shadow east side of the Cascades — dry ponderosa and the vast Lake Chelan, Glacier Peak, and Pasayten Wilderness areas.

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MI1931

Ottawa

Forests

The western Upper Peninsula of Michigan — waterfalls, hardwoods, and the Sylvania Wilderness among Lake Superior's inland lakes.

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AR, OK1907

Ouachita

Forests

The largest national forest in the South — the Ouachita Mountains of Arkansas and Oklahoma, with the Ouachita and Womble National Recreation Trails.

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AR1908

Ozark-St. Francis

Forests

Buffalo National River headwaters, the Blanchard Springs Caverns, and the rugged Boston Mountains of the Arkansas Ozarks.

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ID1906

Payette

Alpine

The Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness and Hells Canyon — Salmon River whitewater and McCall ski country in central Idaho.

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CO1892

Pike and San Isabel

Alpine

Pikes Peak, the Sangre de Cristo Range, and Great Sand Dunes' backdrop — 58 Colorado fourteeners cluster within or near this forest.

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NC1916

Pisgah

Alpine

America's first managed forest — Black Balsam Knob, Shining Rock Wilderness, and Looking Glass Falls near Asheville in the Blue Ridge.

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CA1905

Plumas

Alpine

Sierra Nevada feather rivers, granite peaks, and Quincy meadows — the headwaters of major California rivers in a diverse mountain landscape.

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AZ1898

Prescott

Alpine

Central Arizona's mountain retreat — Granite Dells, Lynx Lake, and chaparral-covered hills above Prescott offering cool relief from the desert.

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CO1908

Rio Grande

Alpine

The headwaters of the Rio Grande rise from the San Juan Mountains — the Weminuche Wilderness and the San Luis Valley overlooks.

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OR, CA1932

Rogue River-Siskiyou

Alpine

The wild Rogue River corridor and Siskiyou Mountains — exceptional biodiversity where California and Oregon's plant communities collide.

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TX1936

Sabine

Forests

The Toledo Bend Reservoir forms the eastern boundary of this East Texas forest — water recreation, bald eagles, and longleaf pine restoration.

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ID1904

Salmon-Challis

Alpine

The River of No Return — the largest roadless area in the lower 48 and the free-flowing Salmon River cutting through the Idaho Batholith.

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TX1936

Sam Houston

Forests

Lake Conroe and the Lone Star Hiking Trail in the East Texas piney woods — closest national forest to Houston, just 70 miles north of the city.

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CA1893

San Bernardino

Alpine

The San Bernardino, San Jacinto, and San Gabriel mountain ranges rising above Southern California — including Big Bear Lake and the Pacific Crest Trail.

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CO1905

San Juan

Alpine

The Weminuche Wilderness, Durango, and the Needle Mountains — Colorado's most rugged high country with the longest stretch of the Colorado Trail.

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NM1892

Santa Fe

Alpine

The Jemez and Sangre de Cristo Mountains surrounding Santa Fe — Valles Caldera, Pecos Wilderness, and the headwaters of the Rio Pecos.

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ID1905

Sawtooth

Alpine

The jagged Sawtooth Range reflected in alpine lakes — the Sawtooth National Recreation Area, Sun Valley, and the Minidoka National Historic Site.

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CA1908

Sequoia

Forests

Home to 38 giant sequoia groves including the Boole Tree — the largest tree by volume in any national forest — in the southern Sierra Nevada.

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CA1905

Shasta-Trinity

Volcanic

The largest national forest in California — Mount Shasta dominates a landscape of glaciers, old-growth, and wild Trinity and Sacramento rivers.

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IL1939

Shawnee

Forests

The "Illinois Ozarks" at the southern tip of the state — Garden of the Gods, Giant City, and the rare post oak flatwoods between the Ohio and Mississippi rivers.

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WY1891

Shoshone

Alpine

The nation's oldest national forest — Yellowstone's eastern neighbor, the Absaroka Range, Beartooth Plateau, and five designated Wilderness areas.

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CA1893

Sierra

Alpine

Yosemite's southern neighbor — cascading rivers, alpine meadows, and the John Muir and Ansel Adams Wilderness areas of the central Sierra Nevada.

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OR1908

Siuslaw

Forests

Oregon's coast range — the only national forest with an ocean coastline, including the dramatic Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area.

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CA1947

Six Rivers

Forests

Named for the six rivers running through it — Eel, Mad, Van Duzen, Trinity, Klamath, and Smith — a wild salmon stronghold in the north coast ranges.

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CA1897

Stanislaus

Alpine

Central Sierra Nevada forest from the Mother Lode foothills to the Cathedral Range — Pinecrest Lake and the Emigrant Wilderness among its highlights.

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MN1909

Superior

Forests

The Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness — over 1,000 lakes along the Minnesota-Canada border, one of the most visited wilderness areas in the US.

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CA1905

Tahoe

Alpine

Gold rush country meets Sierra Nevada peaks in a forest straddling the I-80 corridor — rivers, reservoirs, and the rugged Granite Chief Wilderness.

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AL1918

Talladega

Forests

The Appalachian foothills of Alabama — Cheaha Mountain (the state's highest point) and the Dugger Mountain Wilderness in east-central Alabama.

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AK1907

Tongass

Rainforests

The largest national forest in the US at 17 million acres — a vast temperate rainforest of Sitka spruce, hemlock, and fjords in southeast Alaska.

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AZ1899

Tonto

Deserts

The largest national forest in Arizona — saguaro desert, Roosevelt Lake, the Superstition Wilderness, and Phoenix's primary recreation watershed.

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UT, WY1897

Uinta-Wasatch-Cache

Alpine

The Wasatch Front's backyard — seven ski resorts, the high Uintas, and the most concentrated heavy-use recreation forest in the intermountain west.

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OR, WA1905

Umatilla

Alpine

The Blue Mountains spanning the Oregon-Washington border — ponderosa pine, the North Fork Umatilla Wilderness, and the Wenaha-Tucannon backcountry.

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OR1908

Umpqua

Forests

Crater Lake's western neighbor — the North Umpqua River, Diamond Lake, and waterfalls along the Oregon Cascade Range.

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OR, ID1905

Wallowa-Whitman

Alpine

The Eagle Cap Wilderness, Hells Canyon, and the Wallowa Mountains — the "Oregon Alps" rivaling anything in the American West.

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OH1935

Wayne

Forests

Ohio's only national forest — the unglaciated Appalachian Plateau, the Little Muskingum River, and hardwood forests in the state's southeast.

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NH, ME1918

White Mountain

Alpine

Mount Washington and the Presidential Range — the highest peaks in the Northeast, the most dangerous weather on Earth, and the Appalachian Trail's heart.

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CO1891

White River

Alpine

The most visited national forest in the US — Aspen, Vail, and eight ski resorts surrounded by the Flat Tops, Maroon Bells, and Eagles Nest Wilderness.

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OR1908

Willamette

Alpine

The most visited forest in the Pacific Northwest — three Sisters, Mount Jefferson, and McKenzie River Trail through old-growth Douglas fir.

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