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Washington

Gifford Pinchot National Forest

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Gifford Pinchot National Forest

Washington

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

1,409,966 acres (1,321,506 federal/ 88,460 other)

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

Overview

First set aside as Mt. Rainier Forest Reserve in 1897, nearly one-million acres were renamed Columbia National Forest in 1908.  It became Gifford Pinchot National Forest in 1949 to honor the chief of the U.S. Division of Forestry (1898-1905) and first chief of the U.S. Forest Service (1905-1910).  The Yale graduate studied forestry in Europe and his family founded the Yale Forest School (see Grey Towers National Historic Site).  Gifford Pinchot National Forest borders the Columbia River to the south, across from Oregon’s Mt. Hood National Forest.  It stretches north to Mt. Rainier National Park and contains 12,276-foot Mt. Adams (the state’s second tallest volcano) and Mt. St. Helens, which was designated a National Monument after its eruption on Sunday, May 18, 1980.  There are 1,475 miles of trails and more than 4,000 miles of roads in the National Forest, so there is plenty to explore outside the volcanoes. 

Highlights

Mt. St. Helens National Volcanic Monument, Silver Star Scenic Area, Lower Falls of the Lewis River, Tatoosh Range, Packwood Lake, Quartz Creek, Ape Cave, Langfield Falls, Horseshoe Lake, Panther Creek Falls, Ice Cave, Mt. Adams, Midway High Lakes Area, Takhlakh Lake, Lava Canyon Trail, Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail

Must-Do Activity

We will cover Mt. St. Helens National Volcanic Monument in a separate post, so here we will focus on the National Forest’s other attractions.  North of Mt. St. Helens, a half-mile trail follows Quartz Creek through an old-growth forest of huge Douglas-firs.  To the south, check out Lava Canyon Trail and Cedar Flats Research Natural Area where old-growth western redcedar trees are draped in lichen.  There are numerous waterfalls in the National Forest, including dual Panther Creek Falls that drops 175 feet side by side and the triple Falls Creek Falls that cascades 150 feet.  This lush region is also known for its berry picking, especially the renowned Sawtooth Berry Fields. 

Best Trail

Ape Cave is a lava tube located south of Mt. St. Helens, which at 2.5 miles is the third longest in North America.  The cave is not named for a fossil discovery, but rather the local Boy Scout troop that explored its interior in the 1950s after its discovery.  It is believed that the lava tube formed during a basaltic flow 1,900 years ago.  Ape Cave Trail is a National Recreation Trail receiving approximately 170,000 visitors annually (a timed reservation is required).  There are two layers to the cave, a smoother 0.8-mile upper level and a rougher 1.5-mile lower level that requires scaling an eight-foot lava wall.  Bundle up if you visit, as the underground temperature is 42°F year round.  The 650-foot-long Ice Cave is another lava tube known for its ice stalactites in spring (reservation required).

Watchable Wildlife

Located on the rainy side of the Cascades, Gifford Pinchot National Forest receives plenty of precipitation to feed its many rivers, including the glacier-fed White Salmon National Wild and Scenic River.  Four species of fish identified as threatened inhabit this region’s waters: bull trout, steelhead, chinook salmon, and coho salmon.  Another threatened species, the northern spotted owl requires buffer zones around its nests.  Mammals of Gifford Pinchot National Forest include elk, black-tailed deer, black bears, bobcats, and several species of marmots.  The wettest parts of the forest, especially in riparian corridors, have a variety of frogs, salamanders, and newts.

Instagram-worthy Photo

There are numerous waterfalls in this forest due to its high annual rainfall and steep elevation gradients.

Peak Season

Summer

Fees

An America the Beautiful Pass or Northwest Forest Pass ($5 day use) is required at many parking areas in the National Forest, including Ice Cave and Ape Cave (where a timed reservation is required from recreation.gov). 

Road Conditions

The major roads are paved to viewpoints in Mt. St. Helens National Volcanic Monument, but there are plenty of unpaved roads throughout the National Forest, some requiring high-clearance vehicles. 

Camping

Iron Creek Campground north of Mt. St. Helens has two short trails, a quarter-mile trail through old-growth forest and one that follows a river 1.5 miles under a canopy of Douglas-fir and western redcedar.  Dispersed camping is allowed throughout the National Forest, and we have camped here to avoid the crowds while visiting the beautiful waterfalls of Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area, part of Oregon’s Mt. Hood National Forest.

Wilderness Areas

Dark Divide Roadless Area

Glacier View Wilderness

Goat Rocks Wilderness (also in Wenatchee National Forest)

Indian Heaven Wilderness

Mount Adams Wilderness

Tatoosh Wilderness

Trapper Creek Wilderness

William O. Douglas Wilderness (also in Wenatchee National Forest)

Related Sites

Mt. St. Helens National Volcanic Monument (Washington)

Ross Lake National Recreation Area (Washington)

Fort Vancouver National Historic Site (Washington)

Nearest National Park

Mount Rainier

Border with Mount Rainier National Park
Hiking a washed out road near the Nisqually Entrance to Mount Rainier NP
Bigleaf maple
Mt. St. Helens
Mt. Adams
Grand fir cones
Pacific rhododendron

Conifer Tree Species

Douglas-fir, western redcedar, Pacific silver fir, noble fir, subalpine fir, mountain hemlock, western hemlock, whitebark pine, lodgepole pine, Alaska yellow-cedar

Flowering Tree Species

balsam poplar, paper birch, willow, red alder, bigleaf maple, Pacific rhododendron

Explore More – In addition to the White Salmon River, which four other waterways in the National Forest have been recommended to be added to the Wild and Scenic River System?

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

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Alaska

Lake Clark National Park and Preserve

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Lake Clark National Park and Preserve

Alaska

Managed by National Park Service

Established 1978 National Monument, 1980 National Park

4,030,025 acres

Website: nps.gov/lacl

Overview

Lake Clark National Park and Preserve is inaccessible by road and receives only about 15,000 visitors annually.  It sits at the northern end of the massive Alaska Peninsula southwest of Anchorage, home to the twin 10,000-foot volcanoes Redoubt and Iliamna.  Cloaked in the whitest of snow, on a clear day they dominate the skyline view from a boat bobbing in Cook Inlet or a vehicle driving the Sterling Highway.  Behind the mountains lies massive Lake Clark itself, as well as the Twin Lakes made famous in the film Alone in the Wilderness and the book One Man’s Wilderness that both documented Richard “Dick” Proenneke’s cabin building and backcountry lifestyle (see our list of the Top 10 Non-Fiction Books Set in a National Park and Alaska).  Many visitors take flightseeing tours and never step foot on the ground, but that does not make their experience any less extraordinary. 

Learn more in the expanded 2nd edition of our guidebook to the National Parks— A Park to Yourself: Finding Solitude in America’s 63 National Parks.

Highlights

Redoubt Volcano, Iliamna Volcano, Port Alsworth, Lake Clark, Richard Proenneke Historic Site, Double Glacier

Must-Do Activity

You can easily see the twin 10,000-foot volcanoes (Redoubt and Iliamna) within the park from Anchorage or Homer on a clear day, but getting to them is no easy task.  Your best bet is to take a float plane charter service and land on one of the big, glacier-fed lakes.  While you are over there try to do some salmon fishing; that is why the brown bears and bald eagles like it here.  The park’s visitor center is in Port Alsworth on Lake Clark, and another popular destination is Richard Proenneke Historic Site on Twin Lakes.  The park’s best attraction may be the massive glaciers that cling to the peaks of the Alaska and Aleutian Ranges and the Chigmit and Neacola Mountains.  Flying over a jagged glacial field offers a unique perspective on these giant rivers of ice and the boulder strewn valleys where gray, milky streams follow the wide pathways left by receded glaciers. 

Best Trail

At the park’s visitor center in Port Alsworth, 2.5-mile Tanalian Falls Trail is the only officially maintained trail and a popular destination for backpackers.  At Richard Proenneke Historic Site, we hiked the scenic and steep Teetering Rock Trail less than a mile up to its namesake boulder that moves when you push on it.

Instagram-worthy Photo

Viewed from above, Double Glacier appears cracked and fissured like the skin on the back of a human hand.  Rocky debris in lines of black accentuate the frozen white that hint at the slow flow of the ice river down the valley.  Deeper crevasses reflect a cerulean shade that bewilders the eye in this otherwise monochrome landscape.

Peak Season

Summer

Hours

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

Fees

None, but it is expensive to access by airplane. We took Kachemak Air Service to Twin Lakes and Talon Air Service to Double Glacier and Big River Lakes/Wolverine Creek.

Road Conditions

Essentially, there are no roads in Lake Clark National Park and Preserve.

Camping

No designated campgrounds exist within the park, so backcountry campers must come prepared with everything they need, plus the supplies required to wait an extra week for pickup should the weather turn bad.

Related Sites

Katmai National Park and Preserve (Alaska)

Chugach National Forest (Alaska)

Kenai Fjords National Park (Alaska)

Upper Twin Lake
View from the floatplane flying to Twin Lakes
Lower Twin Lake
Proenneke cabin
Scott’s mother on Upper Twin Lake
Brown bear hair on a back-scratching spruce tree
Scott’s nephew on the Teetering Rock Trail
Scott nudging Teetering Rock
Proenneke cabin on Upper Twin Lake
Proenneke cabin
Proenneke cabin on Upper Twin Lake
Iliamna Volcano and glacier
Lake Clark
A brown bear sow and her three cubs fish for sockeye salmon in shallow Wolverine Creek
Big River Lakes
Redoubt Volcano from Cook Inlet
Black bear at Wolverine Creek
Iliamna Volcano from Cook Inlet

Explore More – Before this area was a National Park, when did Richard “Dick” Proenneke arrive at Twin Lakes to begin building his cabin?

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Oklahoma, Texas

Black Kettle National Grassland

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Black Kettle National Grassland

Oklahoma, Texas

Managed by U.S. Forest Service, Southern Region

33,113 acres (31,286 federal/ 1,827 other)

Website: https://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/cibola/home/?cid=stelprdb5397425

Overview

Like Cimarron National Grassland in Kansas, Black Kettle National Grassland was purchased by the federal government during the 1930s Dust Bowl.  This is one of the only National Grasslands with a visitor center, shared with the National Park Service (NPS) who manages Washita Battlefield National Historic Site at the site of an 1868 massacre that took the life of Chief Black Kettle of the Southern Cheyenne.  Even though the downstairs U.S. Forest Service office was closed on our Saturday visit, the NPS ranger at the desk provided a map and information on the National Grassland.  We also walked the paved interpretive trail at the visitor center that explained homesteading, prescribed burning, and preserving the rare shinnery oak species. 

Highlights

Black Kettle Recreation Area, Lake Marvin, Spring Creek Lake, Croton Creek Watchable Wildlife Area, Skipout Lake, Cheyenne Nature Walk

Must-Do Activity

Recreation here surrounds four reservoirs, including a tiny parcel around 63-acre Lake Marvin in Texas.  In Oklahoma, there are 60-acre Skipout Lake, 50-acre Spring Creek Lake, and 80-acre Dead Warrior Lake.  Fishing, picnicking, and free primitive camping are allowed at all four reservoirs, with a 1.75-mile trail circling Skipout Lake and wooded trails south of Dead Warrior Lake in Black Kettle Recreation Area. 

Best Trail

Unlike some other National Grasslands, there are multiple marked and maintained trails here, including two loops totaling 1.6 miles at Croton Creek Watchable Wildlife Area (south of Highway 47) lined by small signs describing native grasses, trees, and birds.  A slightly hidden trail is shown on the Forest Service app in the town of Cheyenne where a sidewalk heads into the woods leaving from the parking lot at the high school baseball field.  The Cheyenne Nature Walk is paved and has a gazebo and boardwalk crossing a wetland area that was dry during our May visit.

Watchable Wildlife

Three unique bird species we spotted during our May visit were Mississippi kites, northern bobwhite quail, and scissor-tailed flycatchers.  In addition, we saw cardinals and woodpeckers, and heard whippoorwills, barn owls, and barred owls overnight.  Wild turkeys, cedar waxwings, and lesser prairie chickens are also among the 277 bird species identified.  Tracks of white-tailed deer and raccoons were abundant on the Croton Creek Trail, plus there are bobcats, mountain lions, and beavers in the area.  Fishermen can catch black bass, saugeye, catfish, and other types of pan fish. 

Instagram-worthy Photo

This area is more heavily wooded than some other prairie National Grasslands, which can be experienced on the Croton Creek Trail and Cheyenne Nature Walk (watch for poison-ivy).

Peak Season

Spring and fall

Fees

None

Road Conditions

Highways 283, 33, and 47 are paved roads that run through the National Grassland, and despite abundant spring rainstorms, we did not have any difficulty with the unpaved roads.

Camping

All four lakes offer free primitive campsites with some picnic tables, as does Croton Creek Watchable Wildlife Area where we stayed only six miles west of Cheyenne.  RV campsites with hookups at Lake Marvin cost $20 a night.

Related Sites

Washita Battlefield National Historic Site (Oklahoma)

Alibates Flint Quarries National Monument (Texas)

Cimarron National Grassland (Kansas)

Nearest National Park

Great Sand Dunes

Skipout Lake
Blanket flower
Skipout Lake
Croton Creek Watchable Wildlife Area
Croton Creek Watchable Wildlife Area
Croton Creek Watchable Wildlife Area
Northern bobwhite quail
Tiff on the Cheyenne Nature Walk
Tiff on the Cheyenne Nature Walk
Scissor-tailed flycatcher
NPS and USFS visitor center
Inside visitor center
Snakeskin
Shinnery oak

Explore More – The South Canadian River flows north of Black Kettle National Grassland, but what is the river that runs through the middle of it?

South Carolina

Francis Marion National Forest

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Francis Marion National Forest

South Carolina

Managed by U.S. Forest Service, Southern Region

414,700 acres (258,864 federal/ 155,836 other)

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

Overview

Located on South Carolina’s coast between Myrtle Beach and Charleston, Francis Marion National Forest was devastated by the 130-mile-per-hour winds of Hurricane Hugo in 1989.  Young and damaged trees have grown back in the subtropical coniferous and maritime forests, although some attractions like the Sewee Shell Ring Boardwalk have never been rebuilt.  Other historic sites in the National Forest include the 1768 St. James Church, Battery Warren from the Civil War, and Watahan Historical Area, which has colonial plantations and the site of a 1782 Revolutionary War battle.  On the Santee River, Guilliard Lake Scenic Area has three trails that visit an old-growth baldcypress forest, but the National Forest’s four Wildernesses are mostly inaccessible wetlands. 

Highlights

Sewee Visitor and Environmental Education Center, Buck Hall Recreation Area, Battery Warren Historic Site, Huger Recreation Area, Honey Hill Recreation Area, I’on Swamp Interpretive Trail, Shell Ring Trail, Palmetto Trail

Must-Do Activity

Sewee Visitor and Environmental Education Center is a good place to start a visit, and includes an exhibit on reintroducing red wolves.  Not far away, Sewee Shell Ring Boardwalk was never rebuilt after Hurricane Hugo in 1989, but the trail to the boardwalk remains open (despite what you might read online).  A one-mile loop trail takes visitors to a 4,000-year-old ceremonial ring made of oyster shells and a 600-year-old shell midden, but no longer out into the salt marsh.  Another historic walk is the I’on Swamp Interpretive Trail where signs explain the embankments and ditches built by slaves to create rice paddies.

Best Trail

A free permit is required to backpack the Palmetto Trail on its 47-mile stretch through Francis Marion National Forest.  The easternmost seven miles of this statewide trail was opened in 2003 running from the Swamp Fox Trailhead to Buck Hall Recreation Area (fee) on the Intracoastal Waterway bordering Cape Romain National Wildlife Refuge.  Both trailheads are easily accessible from Highway 17.  This sandy section of the Palmetto Trail is known as the Awendaw Passage because it follows Awendaw Creek for most of its length.  There are bridges and boardwalks built over the wettest areas, but very few good places to set up a campsite due to the density of the forest understory. 

Watchable Wildlife

We saw a variety of wildlife in Francis Marion National Forest, including coastal species you do not find in any other National Forest, like crabs and mussels.  The salt marshes provide habitat for large birds like Mississippi kites, ospreys, little blue herons, and great egrets.  We spotted red-headed woodpeckers and pileated woodpeckers, and there are also endangered red-cockaded woodpeckers.  While backpack camping, we saw fireflies, bats, fox squirrels, and a seldom-seen whippoorwill, a bird known for its distinctive, repetitive calls at night.  In Awendaw Creek, we saw a muskrat and four-foot-long rat snake, but did not find any alligators or river otters. 

Instagram-worthy Photo

Battery Warren was built by slaves during the Civil War so soldiers could defend the railroad bridge across the Santee River.  The earth embankments are still visible at the end of a short trail maintained by the U.S. Forest Service.

Peak Season

Spring

Fees

There is a fee to park and launch a boat at Buck Hall Recreation Area.  A free permit (available online) is required to backpack camp on the Palmetto Trail in Francis Marion National Forest.

Road Conditions

The main roads cutting through the National Forest are paved, and even the unpaved roads we drove were flat, packed sand.

Camping

Buck Hall Campground is located at a boat launch on the Intracoastal Waterway, while scenic Edmund Campground has Spanish moss-draped trees near the northern end of Wambaw Creek Wilderness.  Huger Campground and Halfway Campground are located along the Palmetto Trail.  Extensive wetlands and thick woodlands make dispersed camping and backpacking difficult in Francis Marion National Forest.

Wilderness Areas

Hell Hole Bay Wilderness

Little Wambaw Swamp Wilderness

Wambaw Creek Wilderness

Wambaw Swamp Wilderness

Related Sites

Fort Sumter and Fort Moultrie National Historical Park (South Carolina)

Reconstruction Era National Historical Park (South Carolina)

Charles Pinckney National Historic Site (South Carolina)

Croatan National Forest (North Carolina)

Nearest National Park

Congaree

Palmetto Trail
Scott on the Shell Ring Trail
Shell midden
Remains of boardwalk on the Shell Ring Trail
Great egret
Palmetto leaf
Whippoorwill
Kitin’ about the forest

Conifer Tree Species

baldcypress, longleaf pine, shortleaf pine, loblolly pine

Flowering Tree Species

tulip-poplar, sweetgum, American holly, yaupon holly, live oak,  overcup oak, water oak, cherrybark oak, willow oak, southern red oak, white oak, American beech, green ash, red bay, red buckeye, swamp cottonwood, water tupelo, water locust, water hickory, bitternut hickory, sweet bay magnolia, Carolina willow, titi, southern bayberry

Explore More – What was Francis Marion’s nickname earned by employing guerilla tactics against the British during the American Revolutionary War?

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

We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.

Utah

Fishlake National Forest     

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Fishlake National Forest           

Utah

Managed by U.S. Forest Service, Intermountain Region

1,539,737 acres (1,461,226 federal/ 78,511 other)

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

Overview

Much of Fishlake National Forest is at high elevation in central Utah, which is also true of its namesake Fish Lake that sits at 8,800 feet.  Fish Lake is the largest natural mountain lake in Utah and lent its name to the Fish Lake Cutoff on the Old Spanish Trail, which ran from Santa Fe to Los Angeles.  There are hundreds of miles of trails open to ATVs in the National Forest, including the 238-mile Paiute ATV Trail and the Gooseberry ATV Trails accessible from Interstate 70.  There are also plenty of trails for hikers, backpackers, mountain bikers, and equestrians, including the trail that crosses the South Fork of North Creek Trail 60 times as it covers ten miles leaving from beautiful Blue Lake at the base of Mt. Baldy.

Highlights

Beaver Canyon Scenic Byway, Wildcat Guard Station, Tushar Mountains, Delano Peak, Bullion Falls, Pistol Rock, Koosharem Canyon, Fishlake Scenic Byway, Fool Creek Canyon petroglyphs, Blue Lake, Bullion Canyon Trail System, Skyline National Recreation Trail, Lakeshore Trail, Old Spanish National Historic Trail

Must-Do Activity

Fish Lake’s most famous resident is the aspen clone dubbed Pando (meaning “I spread” in Latin).  Connected by a single root system, stems of Pando cover 106 acres and it is estimated to have started growing 80,000 years ago, arguably making it the oldest and heaviest living organism on the planet.  Campers enjoy the popular Lakeshore Trail that is in four discontinuous sections adding up to about 15 miles.  We found the road to Pelican Promontory on the north side of the lake too rough for our passenger vehicle and the five-mile Pelican Canyon Trail too overgrown to follow after a mile, although we did see (and hear) a northern goshawk on nest. 

Best Trail

In the Tushar Mountains, Beaver Canyon Scenic Byway (Highway 153) switchbacks its way up to several trailheads for the 8.3-mile-long Skyline National Recreation Trail.  We attempted to access Lake Stream Trailhead in the middle, but found the road at Puffer Lake required high-clearance.  Instead, we drove the rough quarter-mile spur road to Big Flat Trailhead (at 10,220 feet in elevation) and hiked two miles to a rocky outcrop with good views.  We did not attempt to drive to the trail’s western terminus at Big John Flat Trailhead that sits beneath 12,173-foot Delano Peak.

Watchable Wildlife

We first heard and then saw a northern goshawk on a nest (see photos) as we struggled to follow the overgrown Pelican Canyon Trail at Fish Lake.  Additional birds of note are bald eagles, kestrels, several species of owls, turkey vultures, Canada geese, white pelicans, and wild turkeys.  Ungulates found here are elk, mule deer, pronghorns, bighorn sheep, mountain goats, and even some moose.  Other large mammals include black bears, bobcats, mountain lions, red foxes, coyotes, pine martens, minks, badgers, porcupines, beavers, snowshoe hares, and pika.  As you might expect from a National Forest named Fishlake, fishing is a popular activity in the lakes and streams for rainbow trout, lake trout, splake, and other species, even in the winter.

Instagram-worthy Photo

Stop at the informational pullout on the Fishlake Scenic Byway to read about the Fish Lake Cutoff of the Old Spanish Trail, then get your photo with the metal cutouts of a pack train in the sagebrush flats near Zedd’s Meadow.

Peak Season

Summer

Fees

$5 day use fee at Ponderosa Picnic Area or America the Beautiful pass

Road Conditions

There are some rough roads in this area that require high-clearance vehicles, including the ones to Pelican Promontory and Puffer Lake.  Fishlake Scenic Byway and Beaver Canyon Scenic Byway are paved, but connecting between the two required driving some good gravel roads that were already snow free during our mid-June visit.

Camping

The Aquarius Ranger Station is available for rental from May through October, as are the historic cabins at the Gooseberry Administrative Site.  There are several campgrounds at Fish Lake and others located throughout the National Forest, in addition to one scenic spot on a ridge adjacent to the Second Crossing of Salina Creek in the White Mountains.

Wilderness Areas

None

Related Sites

Dixie National Forest (Utah)

Bryce Canyon National Park (Utah)

Cedar Breaks National Monument (Utah)

Nearest National Park

Capitol Reef

Mule deer
Fish Lake from Pelican Promontory
White pelicans on Fish Lake
Canada geese on Fish Lake
Mule deer fawn
Northern goshawk
Skyline National Recreation Trail
Dispersed campsite with quaking aspen
Ground squirrels
Ponderosa Picnic Area
Sunset

Conifer Tree Species

subalpine fir, white fir, Engelmann spruce, Douglas-fir, ponderosa pine, singleleaf pinyon pine, Utah juniper

Flowering Tree Species

quaking aspen, Gambel oak, bigtooth maple, Fremont cottonwood, sagebrush

Explore More – Which famous American explorer named the Old Spanish Trail in the 1840s (hint: he has a National Forest named after him, but maybe not the one you first think)?

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

We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.