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Top 10 Caves in National Forests

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The underground world is fun to explore, especially when you get to bring your own flashlights and go at your own pace.  That is the only option in most National Forests, with a few notable exceptions for guided tours found on this list.  It was the opposite case when I ranked the Top 10 Caves in National Parks back in 2019 (click here to see all our Top 10 Lists).

If you or someone you love are interested in visiting the 155 National Forests, our travel guidebook Out in the Woods makes a great gift!

10. Subway Cave in Lassen National Forest (California)

There are interpretive signs inside this lava tube, including one explaining lavacicles

9. Fulford Cave in White River National Forest (Colorado)

This one and Spring Cave are only accessible April 16 through August 14 and require registration

8. Lava River Cave in Coconino National Forest (Arizona)

This is the first lava tube I ever explored while I was a college student in Flagstaff

7. Mammoth Cave in Dixie National Forest (Utah)

Ice Cave is another option to visit in southwest Utah

6. El Capitan Pit in Tongass National Forest (Alaska)

Prince of Wales Island is mostly karst and includes this deepest pit in the U.S., plus Sophia’s Sinking Stream Cave and Meow Cave

5. Cave of Bells in Coronado National Forest (Arizona)

This cave has a lock on its entry gate, as does Onyx Cave, but are accessible with permission

4. Boyden Cavern in Sequoia National Forest (California)

Guided tours are offered in this show cave outside Kings Canyon National Park

3. Ape Cave in Gifford Pinchot National Forest (Washington)

Timed-entry permits ($2 per vehicle) are required to explore this long lava tube in Mt. St. Helens National Volcanic Monument, but not for Guler Ice Caves

2. Blanchard Springs Caverns in Ozark National Forest (Arkansas)

Limestone springs and caves are all over this region, including this show cave with guided tours

…and finally the #1 cave in a National Forest:

1. Minnetonka Cave in Caribou National Forest (Idaho)

Tickets for a guided tour are required to drive up the narrow road to the parking lot, plus check out nearby Paris Ice Cave 

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Honorable Mentions

Jot Dean Ice Cave in Shasta National Forest (California)  

I stumbled upon this one while visiting Sáttítla Highlands National Monument, also home to lava tubes in Giant Crater

Resurgence Cave in Daniel Boone National Forest (Kentucky)

All caves around here are currently closed to protect bats, including the ones behind Moonshiners Arch

Wind Cave in Cache National Forest (Utah)

Not very dark on this cliffside, but it is a great spot for photographs

Wave Cave in Tonto National Forest (Arizona)

Another one that is more of an amphitheater than a cave, but famous for photos riding the wave

Darby Canyon Wind Cave in Targhee National Forest (Wyoming)

I had not heard of this cave just west of Grand Teton National Park

Sandia Cave in Cibola National Forest (New Mexico)

Located near Albuquerque, it features a unique metal spiral staircase to the entrance

Know someone who loves the National Forests? Gift them our travel guidebook Out in the Woods so they can learn more about all 155 National Forests.

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Top 10 Backpacking Books

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This spring, I completed the 800-mile Arizona National Scenic Trail, so it seemed like a good time for this list.  As is often the case when I start ranking the top 10 books in any given category, I thought to myself that I have not read enough books in the backpacking genre to really leave any off the list.  And again, as usual, I remembered ones that I had forgotten and started making hard decisions about what got shifted to the Honorable Mentions.  There are so many first-person narratives about hiking long trails in the U.S. that I have not really scratched the surface here.  I hope you are inspired to pick up one of them, just as I was to recently read Heather Anderson’s Thirst: 2600 Miles to Home after reading good reviews.  The next backpacking book on my list to read is Carrot Quinn’s Thru-Hiking Will Break Your Heart: An Adventure on the Pacific Crest Trail.  Click here to see all the Top 10 Lists.

If you or someone you love are interested in hiking or backpacking in the 155 National Forests, our travel guidebook Out in the Woods makes a great gift!

10. Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail by Cheryl Strayed (2012)

The most famous book about the Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail can be heartbreaking to read, but it is better than the movie version.

9. Northland: A 4,000-Mile Journey along America’s Forgotten Border by Porter Fox (2018)

The northern U.S. border with Canada is the subject of this autobiography that involves traveling by canoe, freighter, car, and foot.

8. A Walk in the Park: The True Story of a Spectacular Misadventure in the Grand Canyon by Kevin Fedarko (2024)

Mostly a series of off-trail misadventures and a what-not-to-do guide set in Grand Canyon National Park by the author of The Emerald Mile (#2 on the Top 10 Non-Fiction Books Set in a National Park).

7. The Sun Is a Compass: A 4,000-Mile Journey into the Alaskan Wilds by Caroline Van Hemert (2019)

A well-written account of a biologist and her husband’s epic journey by rowboat, ski, foot, raft, and canoe.

6. Grandma Gatewood’s Walk: The Inspiring Story of the Woman Who Saved the Appalachian Trail by Ben Montgomery (2014)

A fun biography of the woman who popularized thru-hiking the Appalachian National Scenic Trail (and was an Honorable Mention for the Top 10 Non-Fiction Books on National Forests)

5. How to Be Alone: an 800-mile hike on the Arizona Trail by Nicole Antoinette (2023)

I read this autobiography before my own trip in the opposite direction on the Arizona National Scenic Trail where I spent the great majority of my hours walking alone.

4. The Pursuit of Endurance: Harnessing the Record-Breaking Power of Strength and Resilience by Jennifer Pharr Davis (2018)

At a library event in Wyoming, I got to meet this author and one-time record holder for the Fastest Known Time (FKT) on the Appalachian National Scenic Trail.

3. Thirst: 2600 Miles to Home by Heather Anderson  (2019)

An engrossing narrative of chasing the FKT for the Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail in 2013, she also wrote Mud, Rocks, Blazes: Letting Go on the Appalachian Trail (2021) and Farther: Eight Months on America’s Triple Crown Trails (2026).

2. A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail by Bill Bryson (1998)

This funny tale of the Appalachian National Scenic Trail was an Honorable Mention on the Top 10 Non-Fiction Books Set in a National Park list (which is by far my most popular Top 10 List).

…and finally the #1 backpacking book:

1. A Walk Across America by Peter Jenkins (1979)

This is the book that inspired that part of Forrest Gump where he walks on roads for years.  I was blown away when I read this as a teenager and I think it had a big impact on me (I even hiked with a Siberian husky like the author).

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Honorable Mentions

You Are Here by David Nicholls (2024)

This book does not fit this list at all because it is the only one that is fiction and it is set in England, but I have not identified with a protagonist this much in decades.

Freedom by Sebastian Junger (2021)

All 400 miles walked on the railroad lines of the east coast during the 2020 pandemic were breaking trespassing laws, which gives this narrative an added sense of danger.

On Trails: An Exploration by Robert Moor (2016)

A reflection on trails of all kinds by a man who thru-hiked the Appalachian National Scenic Trail was an Honorable Mention for the Top 10 Non-Fiction Books on National Forests.

The Last Season by Eric Blehm (2006)

A well-researched investigation into the disappearance of a National Park Ranger in the rugged backcountry of California’s Sierra Nevadas also placed on the Top 10 Non-Fiction Books Set in a National Park list.

A Long Trek Home: 4,000 Miles by Boot, Raft, and Ski by Erin McKittrick (2009)

An Honorable Mention for the Top 10 Non-Fiction Books Set in Alaska, most of this amazing journey was spent paddling on water, not walking under the weight of a pack raft.

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

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Top 10 Backpacking Songs

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This is my first Top 10 list involving music after decades of making mixtapes and playlists.  This month I have been backpacking the Arizona National Scenic Trail, but these songs would be great on any walk.  I have only listened to music on less than 10% of my miles so far, but this was a fun project think about (especially while walking dirt roads which can be tedious and requires less concentration). I included my favorite lyrics from each song and a couple about Alaska in the Honorable Mentions since living there last summer is when I first conceived of attempting this 800-mile trek. Click here for all my Top 10 lists. This link should work to see the playlist on Amazon Music.

10. Beauty In Walking Away by Marié Digby

It’s never quite simple, it’s never that safe

It never seems perfect until it’s too late

It’s never the right time to find a new way

9. Avalanches (Culla’s Song) by A Fine Frenzy

We found ourselves atop of a mountain peak

The air was thin as a beggar’s sleeve

The city lights were miles away

The hush was as thick as your winter coat

8. Above The Timberline by Five For Fighting

Things get slower when it’s harder to breath

I can almost touch the stars that are hanging over me

7. The Climb by Miley Cyrus

Always gonna be an uphill battle

Sometimes I’m gonna have to lose

Ain’t about how fast I get there

Ain’t about what’s waiting on the other side

It’s the climb

6. Walking Slow by Jackson Browne

Don’t know why I’m happy

I’ve got no reason to feel this good

Maybe it’s because I’m all alone and I’ve got no place to go

5. Have You Ever by Brandi Carlile

Have you ever wandered lonely through the woods?

And everything there feels just as it should

You’re part of the life there

You’re part of something good

4. Walk Hard by John C. Reilly

Seen my share of the worst that this world can give

But I still got a dream and a burning rage to live

Walk hard

3. Ends Of The Earth by Lord Huron

No time for ponderin’ why I’m-a wanderin’

Not while we’re both still alive

To the ends of the earth, would you follow me?

There’s a world that was meant for our eyes to see

2. Boulevard Of Broken Dreams by Green Day

I walk a lonely road, the only one that I have ever known

Don’t know where it goes but it’s home to me and I walk alone

…and finally my #1 backpacking song:

1. Keep On Walking by Jem

If it’s true that love makes the world go round, please give some love to me

‘Cause I’m feeling so alone right now, it’s suffocating me

God give me strength to keep on walking

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Honorable Mentions              

Arizona Night by Roger Clyne & The Peacemakers

When the mad sun′s, mad day’s tirade is through

Evening comes to seduce you in diamonds on her dress of velvet blue

Something in the Arizona night

Makes us crazy from the heat and dizzy from the height

Middle Of Nowhere by Kacey Musgraves

Gonna find my own peace, I wanna be

Somewhere in the middle of nowhere

I think maybe I’ll just stay there

More Than This by Roxy Music (especially the cover by Missy Higgins)  

As free as the wind

Hopefully learning

Why the sea on the tide

Has no way of turning

More than this

Alaska by Maggie Rogers       

I was walking through icy streams

That took my breath away

Moving slowly through westward water

Over glacial plains

And I walked off you and I walked off an old me

Winter’s Lament by Jamestown Revival

Pinyon pines, horizon lines, the fading of the snow

Darling it’s a pity all this idle time

Let’s set out for the countryside and see what we can find

Walk the Way the Wind Blows by Kathy Mattea

I think I’ll just go out alone and walk my blues away

I’ve gotta do some thinkin’ of where to go from here

Walk the way the wind blows

Where Did You Sleep Last Night by Lead Belly (cover by Nirvana)             

In the pines, in the pines

Where the sun don’t ever shine

I would shiver the whole night through

To The Wild Country by John Denver

Then my heart turns to Alaska

And freedom on the run

I can hear her spirit calling me

To the mountains, I can rest there

To the rivers, I will be strong

To the forests, I’ll find peace there

To the wild country, where I belong

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

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Top 10 of the 63 National Parks for Multiple Return Visits

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For years I have been helping my Mom visit National Parks and she enjoys seeing new places and adding a sticker to her National Parks water bottle.  In June 2025, together we finally made it to Kobuk Valley National Park in Alaska (my last of the 63 National Parks and 401 of 433 NPS sites).  Recently we went to Big Bend National Park, number 55 of 63 for her.  It was my third visit there, but I hiked several new trails and it made me think about how there are so many different places to explore in some of the National Parks.  I have returned to most of the parks in researching my travel guidebooks, so I thought I would make a list of my favorite ones that I keep going back to.  I was surprised how the list varied from my rankings of the Top 10 National Parks and Top 10 National Parks for Hiking (click here to see all our Top 10 Lists).

If you or someone you love are interested in visiting the 63 National Parks, our travel guidebook A Park to Yourself makes a great gift!

10. Olympic (Washington)

So many trails to hike through ecosystems ranging from the coast to the alpine regions; after multiple visits, I am still hoping to make it to Staircase someday.

9. Yosemite (California)

You have to come in multiple seasons because spring is best for waterfall flow, Glacier Point and Tuolumne Meadows are closed in the winter, Half Dome has chains in the summer (reservations required), and Horsetail Fall only glows at sunset in late February (reservations required).

8. Great Smoky Mountains (Tennessee-North Carolina)

Countless trails to waterfalls (if you can find a parking spot), amazing fall foliage, the seasonal road closure to Clingman’s Dome, and backpacking the Appalachian National Scenic Trail all mean this a year round destination. 

7. Grand Canyon (Arizona)

It takes good planning to visit both the North and South Rims in one trip, plus it is worth the long drive to see Toroweap (free online permit required).  If you are able, hike to the bottom of the canyon or take a long float trip on the Colorado River.

6. Mammoth Cave (Kentucky)

There are many different cave tours to choose from and miles of trails to hike or backpack, plus opportunities to float the Green River.

5. Death Valley (California)

In my many visits I have avoided the summer, which is the only time to drive up to Telescope Peak, so I still need to return for that experience.

4.  Rocky Mountain (Colorado)

The road across the park closes in the winter, when snowshoeing is still possible from many trailheads on both the west and east sides.  High elevations open up for exploration after spring snowmelt, as does the Continental Divide National Scenic Trail.

3. Big Bend (Texas)

A great National Park to hike and drive in the winter, the elevations of Chisos Basin are inviting when the desert heats up the rest of the year.  I still want to canoe part of the Rio Grande Wild and Scenic River.

2. Sequoia (California)

I prefer snowshoeing through the sequoia groves in the winter, when you can also reserve a bed in the Pear Lake Ski Hut.  Summer melts the High Sierra for exploration, including Mt. Whitney (permits required).

…and finally the #1 National Park for multiple return visits:

1. Yellowstone (Wyoming-Montana-Idaho)

If you have never been to the world’s first National Park in the winter, then book your snow coach (or snowmobile) and lodging as soon as possible.  It is very different than a summer visit and wildlife is still abundant (except bears).  I have been to Yellowstone more than a dozen times and plan to return.

Honorable Mentions

Pinnacles (California)

There are two different entrances east and west that are a long drive apart, both have hiking access to different caves (check before going to avoid seasonal closures).

Theodore Roosevelt (North Dakota)

Most of us will not make it back to this remote corner of North Dakota, but it does have a North and South Unit, plus surprisingly good fall foliage.

Channel Islands (California)

Every island is different (I have backpacked overnight at Anacapa and did a kayaking tour of Santa Cruz) and I would like to see them all. 

Hawaiʻi Volcanoes (Hawaiʻi)

The unpredictability of lava flows mean that you might have to come back to see active eruptions, or maybe you want to make the strenuous backpacking trip to the top of Mauna Loa.  Who wouldn’t want to return to the Big Island?

Wind Cave (South Dakota)

This is a personal favorite because of the Wild Caving Tour and free permits to backpack on the prairie with the free-ranging bison herd.  The Black Hills keep calling me back.

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

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Top 10 Visitor Centers in National Forests

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We have now published blog posts on more than half of the 155 National Forests and 20 National Grasslands in America, so it seemed like a good time to do another Top 10 list.  Visitor centers are much rarer in National Forests than sites managed by the National Park Service (plus they seem to mostly be open only on weekdays), but there are still some good ones.  Some are small and tourist-focused like the one at historic Lolo Pass on the Idaho-Montana border, while others are large but mostly serve as the headquarters for employees, like at Black Hills National Forest in South Dakota.  Presented here are the best from our travels, plus check out some of our favorite National Forests in our many other Top 10 lists.  Still struggling to figure out the difference between a National Park and a National Forest?  Read this blog post for help.

10. El Yunque National Forest (Puerto Rico)

The Forest Service’s El Portal Rainforest Visitor Center reopened in January 2022, just weeks after we visited this as our final one of all 155 National Forests.

9. Gila National Forest (New Mexico)

This visitor center is co-managed with the National Park Service due to its proximity to Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument; ask about the hot springs in the area.

8. Ottawa National Forest (Michigan)

An interpretive trail through the forest leaves from this site, a good stop before driving down to Black River Harbor Recreation Area past its many waterfalls.

7. Inyo National Forest (California)

In the White Mountains, a steep paved road leads to a visitor center at the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest, and visit the one on Mono Lake along scenic Highway 395.

6. Gallatin National Forest (Montana)

Earthquake Lake Visitor Center on Highway 287 is open in the summer to tell the tragic story of August 17, 1959.

5. Toiyabe National Forest (Nevada-California)

There are cool stained-glass windows along the top of this modern visitor center outside Las Vegas.

4. St. Francis National Forest (Arkansas)

Mississippi River State Park has an amazing new visitor center that interprets this small neighboring National Forest, and it has a gift shop.

3. Sawtooth National Recreation Area (Idaho)

There are a couple of visitor centers around scenic Redfish Lake and the town of Stanley in both Sawtooth and Challis National Forests.

2. Mt. St. Helens National Volcanic Monument (Washington)

Gifford Pinchot National Forest runs seasonal visitor centers on both the east and west sides of Mt. St. Helens, plus there is one in Seaquest State Park.

…and finally our #1 National Forest visitor center:

1. Tongass National Forest (Alaska)

The Southeast Alaska Discovery Center in Ketchikan accepts America the Beautiful passes, so bring yours along on the cruise ship, which is how most visitors arrive.

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Honorable Mentions

Coconino National Forest (Arizona)

Red Rock Ranger Visitor Center has the best location in the heart of Sedona right off Red Rock Scenic Byway (Highway 179)

Black Kettle National Grassland (Oklahoma)

Located downstairs from the National Park Service visitor center for Washita Battlefield National Historic Site, there is also an excellent interpretive trail outside.

Grand Mesa National Forest (Colorado)

A log cabin atop the mesa shows two films about the region, while the historic Lands End Observatory offers superb views.

Wayne National Forest (Ohio)

Always seem to drive past this Welcome Center on Highway 33 when it is closed, but it looks nice from the outside.

Caribou National Forest (Idaho)

The National Oregon/California Trail Center in Montpelier has a Forest Service flag flying out front, but it does not seem to be run by them at all.

Buffalo Gap National Grassland (South Dakota)

Wall Drug is not the only attraction in the town of Wall, as the National Grasslands Visitor Center serves as the main interpretive site for all 20 National Grasslands (plus Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie, which has its own nice visitor center in Illinois). 

Forest Service Information Center (Washington, D.C.)

We have been inside the historic 1878 Sidney R. Yates building on Independence Avenue SW, but do not recall the animatronic Smokey Bear that now resides there.

Learn more about all 155 National Forests in our travel guidebook Out in the Woods