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Louisiana

Kisatchie National Forest

July 31, 2024 Raven About The Parks Leave a comment

Kisatchie National Forest

Louisiana

Managed by U.S. Forest Service, Southern Region

1,022,373 acres (603,360 federal/ 419,013 other)

Website: https://www.fs.usda.gov/kisatchie

Overview

There are eight parcels that constitute Kisatchie National Forest, the only National Forest in Louisiana, which has over 40 developed recreation sites and 100 miles of trails. It encompasses several lakes for boating and swimming, plus baldcypress-lined bayous for canoeing and fishing. The National Forest protects some of the state’s last acreage of calcareous prairie and a diversity of plant species, including wild orchids and carnivorous plants. We saw a television news report that somewhere in Kisatchie National Forest they grew a loblolly pine tree from a seed that NASA took to the moon (which grew normally), then planted a comparison tree that was accidentally a different species.

Highlights

Longleaf Trail Scenic Byway, Saline Bayou, Fullerton Lake, Gum Springs Recreation Area, Kincaid Lake, Wolf Rock Cave, Castor Creek Scenic Area, Corney Lake, Camp Packard, Wild Azalea National Recreation Trail, Glenn Emery Trail, Stuart Nature Trail, Longleaf Vista Interpretive Trail, Sugar Cane National Recreation Trail

Must-Do Activity

Kisatchie National Forest is divided into five Ranger Districts: Caney, Calcasieu, Catahoula, Kisatchie, and Winn. In Winn Ranger District, Saline Bayou is a National Wild and Scenic River featuring a 13-mile-long designated water trail. Boating, fishing, and camping are also popular activities at the developed recreation areas at Caney Lake, Corney Lake, Kincaid Lake, Kisatchie Bayou, and Stuart Lake. Calcasieu is the southernmost Ranger District and contains the state’s longest trail (31-mile Wild Azalea Trail) and the only known cave in Louisiana (Wolf Rock Cave) off Parish Road 455.

Best Trail

In Kisatchie Ranger District’s Longleaf Scenic Area, a 1.5-mile-long interpretive loop at Longleaf Vista is a good place to start, since it has signs that introduce plants that inhabit ecosystems from rocky buttes to bottomland hardwood forests. Longer trails like the seven-mile Backbone Trail and 10.5-mile Caroline Dorman Trail enter the Kisatchie Hills Wilderness, an 8,700-acre area that is one of only three designated Wildernesses in Louisiana.

Watchable Wildlife

Old-growth longleaf pine forests provide habitat for endangered red-cockaded woodpeckers, areas that are easily identified by white paint markings on boundary trees. We also saw an armadillo and wild turkey in the Longleaf Scenic Area. Other rare species of management concern are the Louisiana pine snake, black bear, and Louisiana pearlshell mussel. We saw signs warning of alligators, so if you do enter the water be aware of that, especially in the roadless Cunningham Brake and Saline Bayou. Winn Ranger District and Catahoula National Wildlife Refuge are popular destinations for fishermen and hunters of white-tailed deer, turkeys, and waterfowl. The Catahoula Hummingbird and Butterfly Garden is located near the Catahoula Ranger District Office in Bentley. Iatt Lake Observation Pier in the Catahoula Ranger District is a good place to watch for migratory birds in the spring and fall.

Photographic Opportunity

Louisiana is not known for its vertical topography, so it is worth stopping at Longleaf Vista Overlook for the panorama, though hopefully without the thick smoke we saw from a controlled burn.

Peak Season

Spring and fall

Fees

None

Road Conditions

Longleaf Scenic Area is accessed by the paved 17-mile-long Longleaf Trail Scenic Byway, just off Interstate 49. To the west of Longleaf Scenic Area, a plethora of roads run through the Red Dirt National Wildlife Management Preserve, accessing Kisatchie Bayou Recreation Area and numerous campgrounds and trails. There are designated ATV trails in the Catahoula (at Stuart Lake) and Calcasieu Ranger Districts.

Camping

Official campgrounds are located throughout Kisatchie National Forest, including three at Kincaid Lake, two at Valentine Lake, three at Corney Lake, Stuart Lake Campground, Beaver Dam Campground on Upper Caney Lake, and Turtle Slide Campground on Lower Caney Lake. Specific campgrounds for equestrian use include Amus Melder Camp in Calcasieu Ranger District and Gum Springs Recreation Area in Winn Ranger District.

Wilderness Areas

Kisatchie Hills Wilderness

Poverty Point National Monument (Louisiana)

Jean Lafitte Historical Park and Preserve (Louisiana)

Nearest National Park

Hot Springs

Conifer Tree Species

baldcypress, longleaf pine, shortleaf pine, loblolly pine

Flowering Tree Species

water tupelo, American beech, white oak, post oak, Shumard oak, white ash, mockernut hickory, nutmeg hickory, southern magnolia, flowering dogwood, redbud, red buckeye, red bay, fringe tree, chalk maple, wax myrtle, raisin tree, dahoon holly, yaupon holly, sweetbay magnolia, brookside alder

Explore More – How many acres of calcareous prairie remain in Louisiana, noting that Kisatchie National Forest’s historic Tancock Prairie (45 acres) and historic Bartram Prairie (1,190 acres) have been taken over by forests since the initial 1836 survey?

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Idaho, Montana, Washington

Kaniksu National Forest

July 24, 2024 Raven About The Parks 1 Comment

Kaniksu National Forest

Idaho, Montana, Washington

Managed by U.S. Forest Service, Northern Region

1,833,582 acres (1,628,024 federal/ 205,558 other)

Website: https://www.fs.usda.gov/ipnf

Overview

In the mountainous tip of the Idaho pandhandle bordering Canada, Kaniksu National Forest stretches into three states. Recreational opportunities surround three major rivers and two large natural bodies of water: Lake Pend Oreille and Priest Lake. As you might imagine in a place this wet, waterfalls abound (see Must-Do Activity). Coeur d’Alene National Forest is located on both sides of Interstate 90, east of the city of Coeur d’Alene, which was the French name given to the indigenous people. In 1973, Kaniksu National Forest was joined with Coeur d’Alene and St. Joe National Forests to form Idaho Panhandle National Forests.

Highlights

Priest Lake, Northeast Peak Scenic Area, Lake Pend Oreille, Bottle Lake, Snow Creek Falls, Chimney Rock, Huff Lake, Canyon Creek Natural Area, Copper Falls, Gunsight Peak, Hahn Lake, Hanna Flats Nature Trail, Gold Hill Trail

Must-Do Activity

As you might imagine in a place this wet, waterfalls abound, including 160-foot Copper Falls, 150-foot Jeru Creek Falls, 75-foot Wellington Creek Falls, and 75-foot Char Falls. South of Bonners Ferry, a forest road leads to Snow Creek Falls with an upper drop of 125 feet and a lower plunge of 75 feet. Rapid Lightning Falls, Grouse Creek Falls, and Torelle Falls are also in Kaniksu National Forest. If you want to see more waterfalls, Moyie Falls drops 140 feet in a series of cascades located just outside the National Forest and there is a roadside pullout at Albani Falls Dam on the Pend Oreille River. A paved scenic byway follows the north shore of Lake Pend Oreille and the Clarks Fork River into Montana.

Best Trail

First discovered by a forester in 1919, the Roosevelt Grove of Ancient Cedars Scenic Area in Washington was named in honor of Theodore Roosevelt. A 1926 fire killed three-quarters of the trees, leaving two smaller remnant patches. Most of the western redcedars are around 800 years old, but some of them are estimated to be more than 2,000 years old. Of course, since this is Kaniksu National Forest there is also a trail here to a waterfall, with a one-mile loop climbing 200 feet to an overlook. From that point it is only a half-mile walk to the 20-acre Upper Grove. The trail leaves from the colorfully-named Stagger Inn Trailhead, which gets its moniker from a 1926 fire camp located an exhausting 14-mile hike from the nearest road.

Watchable Wildlife

Kaniksu National Forest is home to mule deer, elk, moose, black bears, bobcats, coyotes, and mountain lions. This close to Canada, it is also possible to find grizzly bears and gray wolves. The Selkirk Mountains represent the sole place in the contiguous U.S. where you might see mountain caribou. Common large birds include ospreys, golden eagles, bald eagles, wild turkeys, and ravens. The National Forest borders Lake Pend Oreille and Priest Lake, plus it contains many of the rivers and creeks that feed them, which provide incredible fishing opportunities.

Photographic Opportunity

At the Roosevelt Grove of Ancient Cedars Scenic Area, a one-mile loop trail climbs to a vista above Lower Granite Falls where Upper Granite Falls may be viewed.

Peak Season

Summer

Fees

None

Road Conditions

A long dirt road (FR 302) leads to the Roosevelt Grove of Ancient Cedars Scenic Area in Washington (and continues west into neighboring Colville National Forest), but it is maintained in good condition for passenger vehicles, although not all forest roads are.

Camping

There are numerous campgrounds on the west side of Priest Lake and around Lake Pend Oreille, plus dispersed campsites along the dirt roads near the Roosevelt Grove of Ancient Cedars Scenic Area.

Wilderness Areas

Cabinet Mountains Wilderness (also in Kootenai National Forest)

Salmo-Priest Wilderness (also in Colville National Forest)

Related Sites

Coeur d’Alene National Forest (Idaho)

Clearwater National Forest (Idaho)

Nez Perce National Historical Park (Idaho-Oregon-Montana)

Nearest National Park

Glacier

Conifer Tree Species

western redcedar, ponderosa pine, lodgepole pine, western white pine, whitebark pine, Douglas-fir, grand fir, subalpine fir, Engelmann spruce, western hemlock, mountain hemlock, western larch

Flowering Tree Species

Rocky Mountain maple, quaking aspen, Pacific dogwood, balsam poplar, dwarf birch, paper birch, Piper’s hawthorn, boxelder, Bebb willow, western mountain-ash, choke cherry, western serviceberry, red alder, mountain alder

Explore More – Kaniksu is derived from a Kalispel Indian word meaning what?

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

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South Dakota

Fort Pierre National Grassland

June 26, 2024 Raven About The Parks 2 Comments

Fort Pierre National Grassland

South Dakota

207,017 acres (115,890 federal/ 91,127 other)

Website: https://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/nebraska/recarea/?recid=10637

Overview

Fort Pierre National Grassland is located south of the state capital of Pierre, north of Interstate 90, and west of the Lower Brule Indian Reservation. The topography ranges from gently rolling hills to steeper slopes along creeks that flow into the Bad River and the Missouri River. Portions of the movie Dances with Wolves were filmed here in the early 1990s. If there is abundant spring precipitation, wildflower blooms of goldenrod, spiderwort, purple coneflower, and daisy fleabane are supposed to be incredible.

Highlights

Richland Wildlife Area, Sheriff Dam Recreation Area

Must-Do Activity

Before arriving, download the maps of Fort Pierre National Grassland through the U.S. Forest Service Visitor Maps app, or pick up a paper map at the visitor center in Wall, South Dakota. Look online for the publication South Dakota Fishing Guide to the National Grasslands, which provides information on 41 fishing ponds in Fort Pierre National Grassland. Originally built in 1934, Richland Dam was renovated in 2014 and now features handicapped-accessible fishing and a concrete boat ramp. The reservoir contains largemouth bass, yellow perch, bluegill, black crappie, and bullhead catfish. Fishing ponds are generally open December 1 to August 31 to avoid overlap with hunting season.

Best Trail

We did not see any defined trails, but you could walk cross-country, on the dirt roads, or circle around the many ponds.

Watchable Wildlife

Richland Wildlife Area is 540 acres managed to provide nesting cover for greater prairie chickens, sharp-tailed grouse, and ring-necked pheasants. Black-tailed prairie dog towns provide habitat for prairie rattlesnakes and burrowing owls. Both mule and white-tailed deer are found here, in addition to pronghorns, jackrabbits, badgers, and coyotes. We saw a prairie falcon, bald eagle, and northern harrier hunting from the air.

Instagram-worthy Photo

Look for muskrat activity along the banks of Sherriff Dam Reservoir. This is also where we saw more than 200 red-winged blackbirds take flight from a field of sunflowers (see photos below).

Peak Season

Spring and fall

Fees

None

Road Conditions

The clay soils of Fort Pierre National Grassland can make the unpaved roads impassable to passenger vehicles when muddy, plus the deep ruts make it easy to get high-centered.

Camping

It is free to camp at Richland Dam or Sheriff Dam Recreation Areas, and dispersed camping is allowed anywhere on public land parcels (so be sure to consult maps).

Related Sites

Cedar River National Grassland (North Dakota)

Jewel Cave National Monument (South Dakota)

Minuteman Missile National Historic Site (South Dakota)

Nearest National Park

Badlands

Explore More – Now considered a suburb of the capital city of Pierre (although it is in a different time zone), when was Fort Pierre originally constructed on the Missouri River?

Kentucky, Virginia, West Virginia

Jefferson National Forest

June 12, 2024 Raven About The Parks 3 Comments

Jefferson National Forest

Virginia, West Virginia, Kentucky

Managed by U.S. Forest Service, Southern Region

1,670,846 acres (723,531 federal/ 947,315 other)

Website: https://www.fs.usda.gov/g w j

Overview

In western Virginia, Jefferson National Forest contains Mt. Rogers, the state’s highest point at 5,729 feet (see our post on Mt. Rogers National Recreation Area). There are 17 designated Wildernesses in Jefferson National Forest, second only to the 19 in Alaska’s massive Tongass National Forest. In 1995, George Washington and Jefferson National Forests were administratively combined. Is it just us, or does that name seem to celebrate George Jefferson from the 1970s sitcom? It is supposed to commemorate native-Virginian Thomas Jefferson who was the original author of the 1776 Declaration of Independence and the third President of the U.S. The Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009 created both the Bear Creek (5,503 acres) and Seng Mountain (6,455 acres) National Scenic Areas as specially designated parts of Jefferson National Forest.

Highlights

Blue Ridge Parkway, Mt. Rogers National Recreation Area, Seng Mountain National Scenic Area, Bear Creek National Scenic Area, Settlers Museum of Southwest Virginia, James River Gorge, Mountain Lake, Apple Orchard Falls, Cave Mountain Lake, Glenwood Iron Furnace, High Knob, Little Stony Creek, Lake Keokee, Olinger Gap Trail, Virginia Creeper Trail, Virginia Highlands Trail, Appalachian National Scenic Trail

Must-Do Activity

We have only visited the Mt. Rogers National Recreation Area (which made it on our Top 10 List) portion of Jefferson National Forest, which sits just north of the North Carolina border. One popular day trip there is to bike the 33-mile-long Virginia Creeper Trail, which is also open to hikers and horse riders. Last used in 1977, the former railroad grade runs 18 miles downhill from Whitetop Station Visitor Center to the town of Damascus, and local outfitters can provide shuttles to the trailheads and rental bikes. The trail drops 1,600 feet in total (sometimes at a 7% grade); no wonder those steam locomotives were “creeping” up the hill. Outside the National Forest, another 15 miles of railroad bed runs to Abingdon and includes the lowest point on the trail at the scenic South Holston Trestle.

Best Trail

Apple Orchard Falls has a drop of 200 feet and can be accessed from Sunset Fields Overlook at Milepost 78 on the Blue Ridge Parkway. Considered the most popular hike in Jefferson National Forest, the steep trail is only 1.3 miles long one-way, but gains more than 1,000 feet in elevation. A six-mile loop can be completed by connecting to the Cornelius Creek Trail with a total elevation gain of 1,438 feet. Olinger Gap Trail is another short, scenic route that connects the 3.7-mile Lake Keokee Loop Trail and the 14-mile Stone Mountain Trail.

Watchable Wildlife

Jefferson National Forest has elevations ranging from 649 feet at the James River up to 5,729 feet, offering a variety of habitats. Its most famous residents may be the wild miniature ponies that hang out in the heath balds around Mt. Rogers. Like George Washington National Forest, there are several types of rare salamanders found here, including the golden pygmy salamander. Noteworthy mammals are white-tailed deer, black bears, bobcats, raccoons, river otters, martens, and weasels. Large birds found in Jefferson National Forest include wild turkeys, turkey vultures, bald eagles, peregrine falcons, and several types of hawks.

Instagram-worthy Photo

Spring and early summer are a great time to visit to see blooming azalea, mountain laurel, and rhododendron bushes.

Peak Season

Spring and fall

Fees

$5 day-use fee at Beartree Recreation Area

Road Conditions

The Peaks of Otter Visitor Center on the paved Blue Ridge Parkway is managed by the National Park Service adjacent to Jefferson National Forest. There are unpaved roads scattered throughout the mountains, including a rough road off Forest Road 606 that comes close to the 15-foot-tall Falls of Dismal (also accessible by hiking trail).

Camping

Beartree, Hurricane, Cane Patch, Laurel Falls, Cave Springs, Bark Camp Lake, Cave Mountain Lake, Pines, and White Rocks are only a selection of the many designated campgrounds in Jefferson National Forest. There is a 25-foot right-of-way for backpack camping on both sides of the Virginia Creeper Trail, except on private property.

Wilderness Areas

Barbours Creek Wilderness (also in George Washington National Forest)

Beartown Wilderness

Brush Mountain East Wilderness

Brush Mountain Wilderness

Garden Mountain Wilderness

Hunting Camp Creek Wilderness

James River Face Wilderness

Kimberling Creek Wilderness

Lewis Fork Wilderness

Little Dry Run Wilderness

Little Wilson Creek Wilderness

Mountain Lake Wilderness

Peters Mountain Wilderness

Raccoon Branch Wilderness

Shawvers Run Wilderness (also in George Washington National Forest)

Stone Mountain Wilderness

Thunder Ridge Wilderness

Booker T. Washington National Monument (Virginia)

Cumberland Gap National Historical Park (Kentucky-Tennessee-Virginia)

Nearest National Park

New River Gorge

Conifer Tree Species

eastern hemlock, eastern white pine, Virginia pine, shortleaf pine, pitch pine, Table Mountain pine, red spruce, Fraser fir

Flowering Tree Species

American beech, yellow birch, mountain maple, sugar maple, white oak, black oak, northern red oak, rock chestnut oak, bear oak, hickory, basswood, sweet buckeye, American elm, sourwood, mountain laurel, azalea, rhododendron

Explore More – What is the scientific name for Virginia creeper, the native vine with palmately compound leaves?

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

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Michigan

Huron National Forest

April 17, 2024 Raven About The Parks Leave a comment

Huron National Forest

Michigan

Managed by U.S. Forest Service, Eastern Region

694,056 acres (438,584 federal/ 255,472 other)

Website: https://www.fs.usda.gov/hmnf

Overview

Huron National Forest occupies a strip of land in eastern Michigan that follows the Au Sable National Wild and Scenic River to near its confluence with Lake Huron. The National Forest was established in 1909 after logging in the area went into decline. In 1945, it was administratively combined with the Manistee National Forest, which is on the western side of the state. Two years later, the first Au Sable River Canoe Marathon was held when 46 teams entered, but only 15 teams finished the 120-mile-long race. Held annually the last weekend of July, thousands of spectators watch the event, but if you are not there then at least stop by the Canoer’s Memorial. In the winter, snowmobiling and cross-country skiing are popular activities in Huron National Forest.

Highlights

River Road Scenic Byway, Lumberman’s Monument, Canoer’s Memorial, Iargo Springs Interpretive Site, Cooke Dam Pond, Tuttle Marsh, Bull Gap ORV Trail, Hoist Lakes Foot Travel Area, Highbanks Trail, Eagle Run Cross-Country Ski and Hiking Trail

Must-Do Activity

The 22-mile-long River Road Scenic Byway follows the Au Sable National Wild and Scenic River with 18 stops at memorials, overlooks, dams, ponds, trailheads, and campgrounds. The National Forest’s most developed area surrounds the Lumberman’s Monument, a 14-foot bronze statue dedicated in 1932. The site also has a museum, gift shop, interactive visitor activities, hiking trails, and a campground. Three other popular stops along the River Road Scenic Byway are the Iargo Springs Interpretive Site, Kiwanis Monument, and Foote Pond Overlook where visitors might spot a bald eagle.

Best Trail

A day use fee is charged to park at the two entrances to Hoist Lakes Foot Travel Area in the northern part of Huron National Forest. We started at the west entrance, just 1.8 sandy miles off paved Aspen Alley Road, and hiked a half-mile to Carp Lake, which had a large beaver hut in its center. There are many loop options in this forest that is being managed for old-growth conditions, which makes it ideal for cross-country skiing.

Watchable Wildlife

Huron National Forest manages its jack pine forests to provide summer nesting habitat for the formerly-endangered Kirtland’s warbler. After being placed under protection of the Endangered Species Act when its population fell to 167 nesting pairs in 1974, it was delisted in 2019 after rebounding to 2,300 pairs. Since dense, young stands of jack pine are unsuitable habitat, Kirtland’s warblers need old-growth forests, which are extremely susceptible to crown fires. Other species prefer old-growth forests, too, like pileated woodpeckers, saw-whet owls, and pine martens. We saw one of the rare Kirtland’s warblers at Au Sable Scenic River Highbanks Overlook, in addition to spotting a trumpeter swan, hairy woodpecker, raven, black squirrel, porcupine, and white-tailed deer. The Au Sable River offers trout fishing for people and bald eagles.

Instagram-worthy Photo

We stopped at Au Sable Scenic River Highbanks Overlook and were able to photograph a Kirtland’s warbler.

Peak Season

Summer

Fees

A day use fee is charged to park at the two entrances to Hoist Lakes Foot Travel Area, or you can use the America the Beautiful pass. Access to the Lumberman’s Monument is free.

Road Conditions

The unpaved roads are very sandy, but they were mostly flat without deep sand and easily drivable with a passenger vehicle in the summer.

Camping

There were signs prohibiting camping at the Hoist Lakes Foot Travel Area trailhead and Au Sable Scenic River Highbanks Overlook, and the dense forest offered no dispersed camping options that we noticed. A developed campground is available at the Lumberman’s Monument, as well as at Algona Dam Pond, Loud Dam Pond, Cooke Dam Pond, and Foote Dam Pond.

Wilderness Areas

None

Related Sites

Hiawatha National Forest (Michigan)

Manistee National Forest (Michigan)

River Raisin National Battlefield Park (Michigan)

Nearest National Park

Isle Royale

Conifer Tree Species

jack pine, red pine, eastern white pine, eastern hemlock, balsam fir, eastern redcedar, northern white-cedar, tamarack

Flowering Tree Species

red maple, sugar maple, American elm, black ash, quaking aspen, paper birch, northern red oak, pin cherry, shadbush

Explore More – When the first 120-mile-long Au Sable River Canoe Marathon was held in 1947, who were the two paddlers that won with a time of 21 hours and 40 minutes?

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

Kisatchie National Forest

Kaniksu National Forest

Fort Pierre National Grassland

Jefferson National Forest

Huron National Forest

Start your U.S. National Forests, National Parks, and National Monuments adventure here!