Mt. Baker National Forest

July 15, 2026 Raven About The Parks 1 Comment

Mt. Baker National Forest

Washington

Managed by U.S. Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Region

1,330,316 acres (1,302,215 federal/ 28,101 other)

Website: https://www.fs.usda.gov/r06/mbs

Overview

Mt. Baker National Forest’s namesake is the 10,781-foot glacier-covered stratovolcano that dominates the skyline of northwest Washington. It is surrounded by the 119,989-acre Mt. Baker Wilderness and the specially designated 8,473-acre Mt. Baker National Recreation Area that allows snowmobiling on the southern slope. About half of this National Forest is designated Wilderness, which also encompasses another active volcano within 566,057-acre Glacier Peak Wilderness. In 1968, part of Mt. Baker National Forest turned into North Cascades National Park and five years later its remaining acres were administratively merged with Snoqualmie National Forest.

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Highlights

Mt. Baker National Recreation Area, Heather Meadows, Glacier Public Service Center, Nooksack Falls, Mountain Loop Scenic Byway, Baker Hot Springs, Boulder River Trail, Bagley Lakes Trails, Fire and Ice Trail, Baker Lake Trail, Pacific Northwest National Scenic Trail, Shadow of the Sentinels National Recreation Trail

Must-Do Activity

Mt. Baker Scenic Byway (Highway 542) passes Nooksack Falls as it heads east to Artist Point (open after snow melts). Be sure to stop at photogenic Picture Lake and the Heather Meadows Visitor Center, built in the 1930s by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC). A recreation pass is at most trailheads around nine-mile-long Baker Lake, a reservoir popular with campers and fishermen. On the lake’s east side, boat-in or hike-in Maple Grove Campground provides amazing views of Mt. Baker on a clear day.

Best Trail

Mt. Baker Scenic Byway accesses several trailheads before dead ending in a huge parking lot at Artist Point, surrounded by snowy mountains. Snow often covers the 4.2-mile one-way trail to Lake Ann well into July. The first two miles share a path with the Pacific Northwest National Scenic Trail, dropping 800 feet to a junction with Swift Creek Trail. From there, a 700-foot climb begins to Lake Ann, a popular destination for backpackers within Mt. Baker Wilderness, which in addition to the normal restrictions prohibits campfires and requires all human waste to be packed out. On clear days, the payoff is unsurpassed views of Mt. Baker and Mt. Shuksan, a 9,131-foot peak in North Cascades National Park reached by continuing up the trail.

Watchable Wildlife

Mountain goats can be seen at high elevations, alongside marmot, pika, and snowshoe hare. Other large mammals include black bears, mountain lions, bobcats, Columbian black-tailed deer, and elk. In 1978, the Skagit Wild and Scenic River System was established along 125 miles of rivers, providing habitat for one of the nation’s largest winter populations of bald eagles. Two types of sea-run trout and five species of salmon are anadromous fish found in the lakes and streams.

Photographic Opportunity

Picture Lake near the Heather Meadows Visitor Center creates wonderful reflections of the surrounding snowy mountains. Plus, it is a good spot for huckleberries in September.

Peak Season

Summer

Fees

$5 Northwest Forest Pass (or America the Beautiful pass) required at the end of Mt. Baker Highway and at trailheads around Baker Lake; Washington State Sno-Park permit is required November 1 through April 30 at some sites

Road Conditions

Mt. Baker Highway (542) received the National Forest Scenic Byway designation in 1988. The 57-mile-long paved route from Interstate 5 is open most of the year between Bellingham and Mt. Baker Ski Area, but it is usually closed beyond that from October well into July because of heavy snowfall.

Camping

There are several campgrounds around Baker Lake, including the boat-in or hike-in Maple Grove Campground. Marble Creek and Mineral Park are two free campgrounds on the Cascade River Road. There are no campgrounds in the Heather Meadows area, but at lower elevations on the Mt. Baker Scenic Byway are Douglas-Fir and Silver Fir Campgrounds.

Wilderness Areas

Alpine Lakes Wilderness (also in Wenatchee National Forest)

Boulder River Wilderness

Clearwater Wilderness

Glacier Peak Wilderness (also in Wenatchee National Forest)

Henry M. Jackson Wilderness (also in Wenatchee National Forest)

Mt. Baker Wilderness

Noisy-Diobsud Wilderness

Norse Peak Wilderness

Pasayten Wilderness (also in Okanogan National Forest)

Wild Sky Wilderness

Lake Chelan National Recreation Area (Washington)

Ebey’s Landing National Historical Reserve (Washington)

Gifford Pinchot National Forest (Washington)

Nearest National Park

North Cascades

Conifer Tree Species

Douglas-fir, western hemlock, mountain hemlock, Pacific silver fir, western redcedar, yellow-cedar, Pacific yew

Flowering Tree Species

bigleaf maple, vine maple, black cottonwood

Explore More – When was this area first protected within the 3,594,240-acre Washington Forest Reserve?

Learn more about this and the 154 other National Forests in our guidebook Out in the Woods

itinerary, Missouri

Missouri Road Trip Itinerary

July 8, 2026 Raven About The Parks 2 Comments

43,994,573 acres

Statehood 1821 (24th)

Capital: Jefferson City

Population: 6,154,913 (18th)

High Point: Taum Sauk Mountain (1,772 feet)

Best time of year: Spring and fall

After publishing the guidebook 50 States of Great: Road Trip Guide to America, I have been creating blog posts with a travel itinerary for every state. After starting with Kansas, Georgia, Idaho, Rhode Island, Minnesota, Hawai‘i, Arizona, Louisiana, South Dakota, Indiana, Montana, Mississippi, and Wyoming, I decided to do a central state that borders the most other states (eight). I made an ambitious seven-day plan starting in St. Louis, with plenty of options to extend the trip.

Day 1

Gateway Arch National Park (click here for our blog post)

Formerly Jefferson National Expansion Memorial, in 2018, this 193-acre site was named the country’s 60th (and smallest) National Park. It has a new museum and theater, and the claustrophobia-inducing tram cars still take visitors to the top of the arch for excellent views of St. Louis and across the Mississippi River into Illinois. The city is also home to 1,371-acre Forest Park (site of the 1904 World’s Fair), with many attractions like a zoo, art museum, ice skating rink, outdoor musical theater, history museum, and science center.

Optional stop at Ulysses S. Grant National Historic Site (click here for our blog post)

The antebellum plantation of White Haven is where the future General and President raised a family in the 1850s following his initial resignation from the U.S. Army. A thought-provoking museum is housed in the former horse stables, while access inside the house is only on a free ranger-guided tour. It is located next to Grant’s Farm that offers free Budweiser brewery tours and a chance to see the famous Clydesdale horses.

Day 2

Mark Twain Boyhood Home and Museum

The celebrated author’s hometown of Hannibal on the Mississippi River is a pilgrimage site for a half-million visitors annually. The museum has eight buildings, including the house his father built in 1843. Across the street is the Becky Thatcher House, where Twain’s childhood sweetheart (Laura Hawkins) lived. Held every July, National Tom Sawyer Days features frog-jumping and fence-painting contests.

Optional stop at Clarence Cannon National Wildlife Refuge

Named in honor of a U.S. Congressman, these 3,750 acres provide a variety of wetland habitats for migratory birds along the Mississippi River floodplain.

Day 3

Jefferson City

The capitol building is known for its stained glass, murals, carvings, and statuary, as well as being home to the Missouri State Museum. Nearby, Jefferson Landing State Historic Site preserves the Lohman Building and Union Hotel that were restored along the Missouri River.

Optional stop at Mark Twain National Forest (click here for our blog post)

Spread across nine separate units, this sprawling jurisdiction used to be two National Forests until 1976 when the more northerly Clark National Forest was administratively combined. Between Jefferson City and Columbia, Pine Ridge Recreation Area accesses Cedar Creek Trail, which has multiple trailheads and four loops totaling 36 miles.

Day 4

Kansas City

The city that crosses the western state border has more than 200 fountains, the most of anywhere outside Rome, Italy. Kansas City is best known for its barbecued meats slathered in thick, tangy sauce, a tradition dating back to 1908. The two oldest contenders for best barbecue in K.C. are Arthur Bryant’s Barbecue and Gates and Sons Bar-B-Q, but it is hard to find a bad restaurant due to the stiff competition.

Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art

The most photographed spot in the city might be the giant shuttlecock sculptures on the lawn of the free art museum (where there’s also a free mini-golf course). Near Union Station, the National World War I Museum at Liberty Memorial features a 217-foot-tall Art Deco tower with an Egyptian motif.

Harry S Truman National Historic Site (click here for our blog post)

The visitor center in downtown Independence offers a film and a few artifacts, as well as first-come, first-served tickets for ranger-guided tours of the Truman Home. About a 30-minute drive from Independence, take a self-guided cell phone tour around the ten acres surrounding the 1894 Truman Farm Home, which once stood on a 600-acre farm that is now the suburb of Grandview.

Optional stop at National Frontier Trails Museum

If you make it to Independence, pay to visit this museum located where emigrants once departed to begin their long journeys on the Santa Fe, Oregon, and California National Historic Trails.

Day 5

George Washington Carver National Monument (click here for our blog post)

When Carver died in 1943, this site became the first National Park Service unit to honor an African-American. The scientist was born into slavery on this farm but went on to earn a master’s degree in botany from Iowa State University in 1896 and to work at Tuskegee Institute for 47 years where he popularized peanut, sweet potato, and soy agriculture. There is a museum with interactive exhibits and a self-guided one-mile loop trail with interpretive signs.

Wonders of Wildlife National Museum & Aquarium

The original Bass Pro Shops in Springfield has almost 500,000 square-feet dedicated to outdoor recreation, including the Archery Hall of Fame and this impressive aquarium (fee).

Optional stop at Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield (click here for our blog post)

Missouri stayed in the Union throughout the Civil War despite the $10-million in property damage caused by guerrilla fighters, making it the third most fought-over state. Start your visit by watching a short film, then peruse the excellent museum before taking the five-mile driving route that provides an overview of the battle at eight interpretive stops.

Day 6

Branson

The entertainment capital of the central U.S. has a main strip lit up like Las Vegas without the casinos. The main draw is the variety of live music and magic shows offered every day of the week in 37 theaters, but do not miss the historic downtown with the iconic Dick’s 5 & 10 Cent Store on Main Street. There are also mini-golf courses, a wax museum (topped by King Kong), an amusement park, a Ripley’s Believe It or Not! Odditorium, and a building shaped like the bow of the Titanic hitting a giant iceberg.

Mark Twain National Forest (click here for our blog post)

Spread throughout the Ozark Mountains, 1.5-million-acre Mark Twain National Forest is full of caves, sinkholes, springs, and streams. Greer Spring is the second largest in Missouri, with a daily flow of 222-million gallons as it drains 1.2 miles into the Eleven Point National Scenic River. Several long trails explore the National Forest’s seven designated Wilderness areas, including sections of the 350-mile Ozark Trail. Mark Twain National Forest also has three designated Scenic Byways: Blue Buck Knob, Sugar Camp, and Glade Top Trail.

Optional stop at the “Tri-Lakes”

The reservoirs of Table Rock, Taneycomo, and Bull Shoals offer opportunities for boating, fishing, and water sports. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers runs a museum at 252-foot-tall Table Rock Dam on the White River.

Day 7

Ozark National Scenic Riverways (click here for our blog post)

The Jacks Fork and Current Rivers flow freely within Ozark National Scenic Riverways. The best way to explore the serpentine park boundaries is on the water, but roads access several swimming holes and the bright red Alley Mill. The dolomite and limestone karst underneath this park is riddled with caves and sinkholes, like Devils Well, Round Spring Cave (offering ranger-guided tours for a fee), and Jam Up Cave (only accessible from the Jacks Fork River).

Optional stop at Johnson’s Shut-Ins State Park

After suffering catastrophic damage from a 2005 dam breach, this park has been redeveloped and still has the chutes and waterfalls that provided its name. Its campground is considered one of the nation’s best for RVs on public land.

Day 8+

Ste. Genevieve National Historical Park (click here for our blog post)

Established in 2020 to protect the French colonial-era houses of Missouri’s first permanent settlement where residents still go all out to celebrate Bastille Day. The oldest standing structure is the Bolduc House that dates back to 1792, while the Old Brick House from 1804 is now a restaurant.

Ha Ha Tonka State Park

This geologic wonderland features a natural bridge, caves, sinkholes, limestone bluffs, and a large natural spring, but may be best known for the burned-out ruins of a mansion.

Katy Trail

The M-K-T (Missouri-Kansas-Texas) Railroad has been converted into the 240-mile-long Katy Trail, running across the state from north of St. Louis to Clinton (75 miles southeast of Kansas City). Camping along the trail is an option, but it passes through many towns with hotels.

Taum Sauk Mountain State Park

Accessed from the same trailhead as the state’s high point, Mina Sauk Falls is a 132-foot cascade accessed via a three-mile out-and-back hike that gains 430 feet in elevation. Missouri’s tallest waterfall typically flows best during the spring season; otherwise, it is reduced to a trickle.

Elephant Rocks State Park

The park’s billion-year-old granite rocks are broken into vertical cracks and eroded into huge “elephants” like 680-ton Dumbo (27 feet tall and 35 feet long). The park even has a one-mile paved path designed specifically for the visually impaired with signs in Braille.

Loess Bluffs National Wildlife Refuge

In northwest Missouri, winter is the time to visit to see nearly one-million snow geese, plus trumpeter swans, bald eagles, and a variety of shorebirds and waterfowl.

Learn more about Missouri’s Most Scenic Drive, Wonderful Waterfall, Top State Park, and other categories in our new travel guidebook 50 States of Great: Road Trip Guide to America.

Update

600th Blog Post

July 1, 2026 Raven About The Parks 12 Comments

Not only is the United States of America celebrating the 250th anniversary of the vote to approve the Declaration of Independence (it was not signed until August), Raven About the Parks is celebrating reaching its 600th blog post milestone. Big changes have happened since the 500th blog post two years ago, including my completion of the 800-mile Arizona National Scenic Trail, visiting National Park number 63 of 63, and the publication of Monumental America: Your Guide to All 138 National Monuments.

Currently, I am working on finishing American History 101, a guidebook that tells the story of America by detailing 101 National Park Service sites across all 50 states. I recently climbed Mt. Hood with my cousin and hiked to the top of Boundary Peak in Nevada, my 39th state high point. In August, I have permits to summit Mt. Whitney in Sequoia National Park and continue north to complete the 214-mile John Muir Trail through California’s Sierra Nevada to Yosemite National Park. Over the next 100 blog posts, I plan to start writing about National Wildlife Refuges, which I have been visiting across the country over the years (including one in all 50 states).

Please check out the article I wrote to celebrate the 500th blog post and the Top 10 lists from the first 100, 200, 300, and 400 posts (or click here if you want to see all the Top 10 Lists, including our “meta” Top 10 of Our Top 10 Lists).

I appreciate your time as readers and plan to continue producing quality blog posts and guidebooks to America’s public lands for you all in the coming years.

Safe travels!

Scott

Pine, Arizona

Know someone who loves National Parks? Gift them our travel guide A Park to Yourself: Finding Solitude in America’s 63 National Parks.

Missouri

Ste. Genevieve National Historical Park

June 24, 2026 Raven About The Parks 4 Comments

Ste. Genevieve National Historical Park

Missouri

Managed by National Park Service

Established 2020

13 acres

Website: nps.gov/stge

Overview

This park was established to protect the French colonial-era houses of Missouri’s first permanent settlement where residents still go all out to celebrate Bastille Day. Originally colonized by Canadians in the 1750s, the original site of Ste. Genevieve was abandoned and moved three miles away after Mississippi River flooding in 1785. The oldest standing structure today is the Green Tree Tavern that dates back to 1790 based on dendrochronology. The Bolduc House (built in 1792) was restored in 1957 and is managed by the National Society of The Colonial Dames of America, while the Old Brick House from 1804 is now a restaurant.

Highlights

Jean Baptiste Vallé House and Gardens, film, Bauvais-Amoureux House, Green Tree Tavern, Levee Trail

Must-Do Activity

Start at the Ste. Genevieve Welcome Center at 66 South Main Street to watch the film and pick up a Junior Ranger booklet. Across the street, the Jean Baptiste Vallé House (built in 1794) can be entered for ranger-led programs, while what is believed to be the first rose garden west of the Mississippi River is open dawn to dusk. The Bauvais-Amoureux House (built in 1792) is one of only five surviving poteaux-en-terre (“post in ground”) style houses in North America. It is open daily for self-guided visits, as is the Green Tree Tavern.

Best Trail

The 3.5-mile-long Levee Trail follows the Mississippi River from a gravel parking lot about a mile from the Ste. Genevieve Welcome Center.

Photographic Opportunity

Dating back to 1790, Green Tree Tavern served as a home, inn, tobacco shop, and Masonic Lodge, and it is one of the few buildings where the vertical logs used in construction are clearly visible.

Peak Season

Spring and fall

Hours

https://www.nps.gov/stge/planyourvisit/hours.htm

Fees

None

Road Conditions

From Interstate 55, Missouri Highway 32 heads east for about four miles. From southern Illinois, the Ste. Genevieve-Modoc Ferry takes cars across the Mississippi River. While most roads in town are paved, there are narrow gravel drives for parking at Green Tree Tavern and Bauvais-Amoureux House that may not be suitable for RVs.

Camping

Mark Twain National Forest and Ozark National Scenic Riverways both offer numerous campgrounds, and Johnson’s Shut-Ins State Park is renowned for the RV campsites in its campground.

George Washington Carver National Monument (Missouri)

Mark Twain National Forest (Missouri)

Ozark National Scenic Riverways (Missouri)

Nearest National Park

Gateway Arch

Explore More – Who was Ste. Genevieve and what famous French city is she the patron saint of?

Arizona

Arizona National Scenic Trail

June 17, 2026 Raven About The Parks 4 Comments

Arizona National Scenic Trail

Arizona

Managed by U.S. Forest Service, National Park Service, Bureau of Land Management

Established 2009

800 miles

Website: aztrail.org

Overview

The Arizona National Scenic Trail (AZT) runs 800 miles from Coronado National Memorial on the Mexican border to Stateline Campground in Utah (where Vermilion Cliffs and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments meet). The AZT has a cumulative elevation gain of more than 100,000 feet and goes above 9,000 feet in several locations, with the low point at 1,646 feet on the Gila River around Mile 270. Credit for developing and promoting the AZT began in 1985 with Dale Shewalter, a Flagstaff teacher who has a memorial in Buffalo Park on the urban alternate route of the AZT. There is also a mountain biking AZT that avoids Wilderness areas and an equestrian route that is mostly the same except for some road crossings and a loop around Flagstaff.

I completed the AZT northbound in spring 2026 and you can read my series of short daily blog posts here:

Highlights

Huachuca Mountains, Mica Mountain, Upper Sabino Canyon, Gila River, Four Peaks Wilderness, East Verde River, Mogollon Rim, Anderson Mesa, Grand Canyon National Park

Must-Do Activity

Must keep moving! How many miles to do in a day is entirely up to the individual backpacker, but the less distance covered the more food carried. Water filtration is also a must-do activity because caches are few and far between, so springs, cattle tanks, and creeks provide the majority of liquid (the FarOut app is the most updated source of information). Popular resupply towns along the route are Patagonia, Tucson, Summerhaven, Oracle, Kearney, Superior, Roosevelt Lake, Pine, Flagstaff, Tusayan, and Jacob Lake.

Best Trail

My favorite section of the trail was west of Gordon Hirabayashi Campground in Coronado National Forest’s Upper Sabino Canyon at the base of the Santa Catalina Mountains (before it started steeply climbing up to Mt. Lemmon). The southernmost section that immediately ascends above 9,000 feet in the Huachuca Mountains was also surprising, pleasantly for the scenery and unpleasantly for the steep grades and loose rocks (and blisters).

Photographic Opportunity

The AZT goes from “spines to pines” and then back and forth between the two again and again. I was excited that after living in Arizona for 11 years of my life, I finally saw my first wild desert tortoise and two Gila monsters in the Sonoran Desert.

Peak Season

March and October

Fees

The only fee required is to pass through 18 miles of Saguaro National Park (an America the Beautiful pass also works)

Road Conditions

A few trailheads are on paved roads, but most require dirt roads and some are no longer accessible at all. A good but narrow dirt road climbs to Montezuma Pass at Mile 2, while House Rock Valley Road at Mile 800 requires a high-clearance vehicle (and can be impassable when wet). Shuttle services are available by reservation for thru-hikers at both ends.

Camping

If thru-hikers wish to camp in the 18 miles of Saguaro National Park that climbs Mica Mountain, they must pay to make a reservation at Grass Shack or Manning Camp. Grand Canyon National Park does not charge for thru-hikers to stay at the hiker-biker campsites on either rim or for a permit to camp at Bright Angel or Cottonwood Campgrounds at the bottom of the canyon. Stateline Campground on the Utah border is small but free with no water available.

Related Sites

Coronado National Memorial

Coronado National Forest

Saguaro National Park

Tonto National Forest

Coconino National Forest

Walnut Canyon National Monument

Kaibab National Forest

Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni–Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon National Monument

Grand Canyon National Park

Vermilion Cliffs National Monument

Explore More – One of only 11 National Scenic Trails in the U.S., what year was the first official thru-hike on the AZT once the final gap was completed along the Gila River?