Tag Archives: geology

California

Modoc National Forest

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Modoc National Forest

California

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

1,979,327 acres (1,663,401 federal/ 315,926 other)

Website: https://www.fs.usda.gov/r05/modoc

Overview

In the northeast corner of California, Modoc National Forest contains the largest shield volcano in North America: 7,921-foot Medicine Lake Volcano.  This region has a long history of volcanism, as seen at Pumice Stone Mountain, Burnt Lava Flow, High Hole Crater, Hot Spot, and Glass Mountain (composed of rhyolite obsidian and glossy dacite).  The basalt-topped plateau of Devil’s Garden is home to an 800-acre stand of western juniper.  East of Goose Lake, the Warner Mountains rise from 4,300 feet to 9,892-foot Eagle Peak, and are covered by a mixed conifer forest of lodgepole pine, whitebark pine, ponderosa pine, incense-cedar, and red fir. 

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.

Highlights

Sáttítla Highlands National Monument, Volcanic Legacy Scenic Byway, Medicine Lake Recreation Area, Glass Mountain, Devil’s Garden Natural Area, Mill Creek Falls, Highgrade National Recreation Trail, Pine Creek Trail

Must-Do Activity

Medicine Lake offers boat ramps, trails, and campgrounds and nearby is Giant Crater, which has the longest known lava tube system in the world at 18 miles (although it is partially collapsed).  Located up a dirt road often blocked by snowdrifts late into the summer, Glass Mountain has a crater full of sharp pieces of rhyolite obsidian and glossy dacite.  This remote corner of California has some of the darkest skies in the continental U.S., so it is great for stargazing on moonless nights.  In the winter, snowmobiling and cross-country skiing are popular activities on groomed trails.  The South Warner Mountain Wilderness is traversed by the 21-mile Summit Trail that passes Eagle Peak, the Devil’s Knob, and The Slide. Mill Creek Falls is also in the Warner Mountains, accessed by a 3.4-mile out-and-back trail.

Best Trail

In the Warner Mountains near the border with Oregon’s Fremont National Forest, the 5.5-mile one-way Highgrade National Recreation Trail provides excellent views of Goose Lake.  The trailhead is reached by taking paved County Road 9 five miles east from Highway 395 then turning north on the steep and unpaved Del Pratt Spring Road (Forest Road 47N72) for 6.3 miles.  The trail quickly leaves the shade of the forest as it steadily climbs 800 feet through a slope covered in woolly mule’s ears flowers to a saddle west of 8,224-foot Mt. Vida.  It is possible to summit Mt. Vida from this point, but the trail heads away toward Yellow Mountain following Forest Road 48N10.

Watchable Wildlife

Modoc National Forest borders Lower Klamath National Wildlife Refuge, in addition to Tule Lake, Clear Lake, and Modoc National Wildlife Refuges.  These wetlands provide habitat crucial for bird nesting and migration on the Pacific Flyway.  The many lava tubes provide habitat for numerous species of bats, in addition to violet-green swallows and bushy-tailed woodrats.  Larger mammals include mule deer, pronghorn, badger, skunk, raccoon, pika, jackrabbit, yellow-bellied marmot, coyote, bobcat, and mountain lion.  Large birds found here are great horned owl, short-eared owl, and bald eagle (winter resident).  Reptiles are abundant, including the western fence lizard, northern sagebrush lizard, western skink, Rocky Mountain rubber boa, gopher snake, desert night, and western rattlesnake.

Photographic Opportunity

Not far up the steep Highgrade National Recreation Trail there are excellent views of Goose Lake to the west.

Peak Season

Summer

Fees

$5 per vehicle (or the America the Beautiful Pass) at Medicine Lake

Road Conditions

This area receives abundant winter snowfall, and roads can be blocked by snow into July, which we experienced trying to get to Glass Mountain.  The road to Medicine Lake is paved, but almost every other road through the National Monument is unpaved, some requiring a high-clearance vehicle.  Giant Crater is a Geologic Special Interest Area that can be accessed two miles off Medicine Lake Road on Forest Road 43N11. 

Camping

There are multiple Forest Service campgrounds on Medicine Lake, plus two nearby at Blanche Lake and Bullseye Lake.  Dirt roads in Modoc National Forest provide ample dispersed campsites.

Wilderness Areas

South Warner Wilderness

Related Sites

Lava Beds National Monument (California)

Tule Lake National Monument (California)

Sáttítla Highlands National Monument (California)

Butte Valley National Grassland (California)

Nearest National Park

Lassen Volcanic

Highgrade National Recreation Trail
Highgrade National Recreation Trail
Mill Creek Falls

Conifer Tree Species

ponderosa pine, whitebark pine, red fir, incense-cedar, white fir, lodgepole pine, western white pine, Jeffrey pine, incense-cedar, western juniper

Flowering Tree Species

quaking aspen, curlleaf mountain mahogany, elderberry, sagebrush

Explore More – The Modoc Tribe traditionally lived in this area and the Klamath called them “Moadok Maklaks” that translates as what?

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

Wyoming

Medicine Bow National Forest

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Medicine Bow National Forest

Wyoming

Managed by U.S. Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Region

1,403,892 acres (1,096,885 federal/ 307,007 other)

Website: https://www.fs.usda.gov/r02/mbrtb

Overview

Medicine Bow National Forest is spread across three separate units in southern Wyoming and another located to the north between the cities of Laramie and Casper.  Within the latter unit is 10,272-foot Laramie Peak, a major landmark along the historic Oregon Trail.  Snowy Range Scenic Byway (Highway 130) provides access in the summer to the high-elevation recreational opportunities found in the mountains.  In 1995, Medicine Bow National Forest was administratively combined with Routt National Forest and Thunder Basin National Grassland.

Know someone who loves the National Forests? Gift them our travel guidebook Out in the Woods so they can learn more about this and the 154 other National Forests.

Highlights

Snowy Range Scenic Byway, Brooklyn Lake Campground, Medicine Bow Peak, Lake Marie, Sierra Madres, Aspen Alley, Hog Park Reservoir, Happy Jack Recreation Area, Vedauwoo, Laramie Peak Trail, Continental Divide National Scenic Trail

Must-Do Activity

Medicine Bow Peak stands at 12,013 feet within the Snowy Range near the Wyoming-Colorado border and has two steep, rocky trails to its summit which can be combined into a long loop.  The 29-mile-long Snowy Range Scenic Byway cuts across this rugged landscape and is a great place for summer camping, fishing, hiking, horseback riding, mountain biking, and backpacking.  The road closes in the winter, but is still a destination for snowmobiling, downhill skiing, cross-country skiing, and snowshoeing.  Medicine Bow gets its name from annual tribal gatherings when ceremonies were held and mountain mahogany was gathered for bow making.

Best Trail

Vedauwoo Recreation Area is visible from Interstate 80 between Laramie and Cheyenne, but feels worlds apart.  Its maze of boulders is a fun place to visit in the winter or summer (when the campground is open).  The 3.2-mile Turtle Rock Trail circles the area, but it is more fun to climb around off trail.  Near the end of winter, snow drifts pile six-feet-high next to ground swept bare.  In the glens protected by the 200-foot-tall rock outcrops, snowflakes cling to the bare branches of aspen and maple trees, and stick in the needles of junipers, Douglas-firs, and ponderosa pines.  Vedauwoo is an Arapaho word meaning “earthborn,” also the name of a nature spirit character in summer theater performances held here in the 1920s by the University of Wyoming.  This forest was once depleted for telegraph poles and railroad ties before the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) planted 280,000 trees in the 1930s.  It was used for over 50 years of military target practice, significant because there are unexploded munitions still in the ground.  Vedauwoo is located near the Happy Jack Recreation Area, which at 8,640 feet is the highest point along Interstate 80 between San Francisco and New York City.  This cross-country road was originally called the Lincoln Highway, hence the giant sculpture of Abraham Lincoln’s head at the nearby rest area. 

Watchable Wildlife

After a cold day on the National Forest’s cross-country ski trails at Brush Creek (built in the 1930s by the Civilian Conservation Corps) or Chimney Park, we always made it a point to stop in Saratoga where hot springs water is piped into the free outdoor Hobo Pool adjacent to the North Platte River.  This area is a favored wintering ground for bald and golden eagles, so you may witness a flyover during your soak.  Also watch for mule deer in town and a variety of waterfowl along the river.  Moose, elk, and pronghorn (at lower elevations) are found in the National Forest.  Black bears, mountain lions, coyotes, and red foxes reside here, too.  Trout fishing in lakes and streams is a major draw to the mountains. 

Photographic Opportunity

Lake Marie along the Snowy Range Scenic Byway is one of the most widely used photographs for tourism publications in this corner of Wyoming.

Peak Season

Summer

Fees

Day use fees of $5 per vehicle (or America the Beautiful pass) apply at Vedauwoo, Tie City Trailhead, Happy Jack Trailhead, and the western terminus of Headquarters National Recreation Trail, as well as Sugarloaf and West Lake Marie Trailhead along Snowy Range Scenic Byway.

Road Conditions

The gravel Vedauwoo Road (closed in spring) is good enough for RVs, as are some of the side roads off paved Snowy Range Scenic Byway (closed in winter).  Beware the rutted Forest Road 336 near Libby Flats and some other four-wheel-drive-only routes.  Several roads become snowmobile routes in the winter, including most of Snowy Range Scenic Byway west of the ski resort.

Camping

In addition to a large designated campground at the Vedauwoo exit off Interstate 80, Vedauwoo Road has designated free campsites marked by a post and offer dispersed camping along other surrounding roads.  Brooklyn Lake is one of several designated campgrounds along the Snowy Range Scenic Byway where dispersed campsites are harder to find.  Between Casper and Cheyenne, Laramie Peak dominates the prairie landscape and if you hike to its summit you can overlook hundreds of miles of the historic Oregon Trail.  Although much of this section of forest has been affected by wildfires, there is still plenty of natural beauty and out of the way places to pitch a tent along its labyrinthine road system. 

Wilderness Areas

Encampment River Wilderness

Huston Park Wilderness

Platte River Wilderness (also in Routt National Forest)

Savage Run Wilderness

Related Sites

Fort Laramie National Historic Site (Wyoming)

Thunder Basin National Grassland (Wyoming)

Scotts Bluff National Monument (Nebraska)

Nearest National Park

Rocky Mountain

Vedauwoo
Bull moose
Vedauwoo
Cross-country skiing at Chimney Park
Beaver activity
Mule deer
Headquarters National Recreation Trail
Tiff on the Rail Trail
Snow sledding at Happy Jack Recreation Area

Conifer Tree Species

Engelmann spruce, Douglas-fir, subalpine fir, lodgepole pine, limber pine, ponderosa pine, Rocky Mountain juniper

Flowering Tree Species

quaking aspen, eastern cottonwood, balsam poplar, Rocky Mountain maple, curlleaf mountain mahogany, sagebrush               

Explore More – Near Vedauwoo, a 60-foot-tall granite pyramid was built in 1882 to honor whom?

Know someone who loves the National Forests? Gift them our travel guidebook Out in the Woods so they can learn more about this and the 154 other National Forests.

Missouri

Mark Twain National Forest

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Mark Twain National Forest

Missouri

Managed by U.S. Forest Service, Eastern Region

3,012,464 acres (1,491,840 federal/ 1,520,624 other)

Website: https://www.fs.usda.gov/r09/marktwain

Overview

In the 1970s, the more northerly Clark National Forest in Missouri was administratively combined with Mark Twain National Forest, encompassing 11% of the state’s forests across 29 counties.  Much of the forest was planted by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), with their work still visible at the Rolla Ranger Station and Winona Ranger Station Historic Districts.  Spread across nine separate units throughout southern Missouri’s Ozark Mountains, Mark Twain National Forest’s Karst topography is full of caves, sinkholes, streams, and springs.  Greer Spring is the second largest in Missouri with a daily flow of 222-million gallons as it drains 1.25 miles into the Eleven Point National Scenic River.  Greer Spring is accessible by a one-mile trail downhill from Highway 19, but no fishing or wading is allowed.

Know someone who loves the National Forests? Gift them our travel guidebook Out in the Woods so they can learn more about this and the 154 other National Forests.

Highlights

Glade Top Trail Scenic Byway, Blue Buck Knob Scenic Byway, Greer Spring, Table Rock Lake, Council Bluff Recreation Area, Overcup Oak Sink, Silver Mine Recreation Area, Bellevue Trail, Cedar Creek Trail, Devil’s Backbone Trail, Ridge Runner National Recreation Trail, Big Piney Trail, Ozark Trail

Must-Do Activity

Most trails in Mark Twain National Forest are open to hikers, mountain bikers, and equestrians, including Ridge Runner National Recreation Trail that totals 33 miles.  Two areas at Chadwick and Sutton Bluff are designated for ATV, UTV, and motorcycle use.  Fishing is a popular activity on the Eleven Point National Scenic River and numerous lakes, like Noblett Lake and Table Rock Lake.  There are so many recreation areas spread around this massive National Forest, it is impossible to cover them all here.  We recommend you start with one of the spots listed under Highlights above.

Best Trail

Mark Twain National Forest has several long trails that explore its 78,000 acres of Wilderness areas, including sections of the 350-mile Ozark Trail.  Northeast of Branson, Hercules-Glades Wilderness protects 12,413 acres of forested hillsides, limestone outcroppings, and glades of native grasses.  There are three trailheads on the edge of the Wilderness, but we chose Blair Ridge because of its paved access 5.3 miles off Highway 160.  From a small roadside parking area, the trail follows a ridgeline for 1.2 miles to some excellent backpacking campsites that overlook the countryside before it drops 600 feet in the next mile.  At that point the trail intersects with Coy Bald Trail, which can be taken a short distance to a small scenic waterfall on Long Creek.

Watchable Wildlife

The Ozark Mountains provide habitat for common eastern species like white-tailed deer, wild turkeys, gray squirrels, cottontail rabbits, red foxes, and raccoons.  You may also encounter venomous copperheads, timber rattlesnakes, and pygmy rattlesnakes.  The oak savannahs are home to several endemic plants, as well as prickly pear cacti and animals more associated with the Southwest U.S., like roadrunners, collared lizards, scorpions, and tarantulas.  Gamefish include smallmouth bass, largemouth bass, rock bass, walleye, and rainbow trout.

Photographic Opportunity

Between Jefferson City and Columbia, Pine Ridge Recreation Area accesses Cedar Creek Trail, which has multiple trailheads and four loops totaling 36 miles.

Peak Season

Spring and fall

Fees

There are day use fees at several sites, including $5 at Noblett Lake and $2 at Blue Hole Trailhead and North Fork Recreation Area

Road Conditions

Many of the curvy back roads in Mark Twain National Forest are paved, such as Blair Ridge that led to a trailhead 5.3 miles off Highway 160.  There are likely some rough unpaved roads in the Ozarks, so check road conditions before departing.

Camping

There are numerous campgrounds in Mark Twain National Forest, although it can be harder to find good dispersed campsites due to the proximity to private land.  In the northernmost area outside Columbia, we paid to camp in the quiet Pine Ridge Recreation Area.  On the edge of the Hercules-Glades Wilderness at the Hercules Tower (with restrooms) and Coy Bald Trailheads, there are a handful of car camping sites for free. 

Wilderness Areas

Bell Mountain Wilderness

Devils Backbone Wilderness

Hercules-Glades Wilderness

Irish Wilderness

Paddy Creek Wilderness

Piney Creek Wilderness

Rockpile Mountain Wilderness

Related Sites

Ozark National Scenic Riverways (Missouri)

George Washington Carver National Monument (Missouri)

Ozark National Forest (Arkansas)

Nearest National Park

Gateway Arch

Conifer Tree Species

shortleaf pine, eastern redcedar

Flowering Tree Species

sweetgum, water tupelo, sugar maple, red maple, boxelder, honeylocust, Ohio buckeye, red buckeye, black cherry, sassafras, persimmon, Kentucky coffee tree, black gum, blackjack oak, Nuttall oak, overcup oak, white oak, black oak, scarlet oak, post oak, black hickory, shagbark hickory, mockernut hickory, bitternut hickory, brookside alder

Explore More – Mark Twain National Forest’s Greer Spring is the second largest natural spring in Missouri, so which one is in first place?

Know someone who loves the National Forests? Gift them our travel guidebook Out in the Woods so they can learn more about this and the 154 other National Forests.

Montana

Upper Missouri River Breaks National Monument

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Upper Missouri River Breaks National Monument

Managed by Bureau of Land Management

Established 2001

377,346 acres

Website: https://www.blm.gov/programs/national-conservation-lands/montana-dakotas/upper-missouri-river-breaks

Overview

In central Montana, 149 miles of the Upper Missouri River were designated as a National Wild and Scenic River in 1976, upstream from the reservoir in Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge.  This stretch of the river still looks much the way it did when the Lewis and Clark expedition first explored it in 1805 and their former campsites are marked by posts.  The breaks are a topographic area where the Missouri River eroded sedimentary rock that formed as horizontal layers laid down at the bottom of an ancient sea.  The National Monument comprises public land in a matrix with private ranches, with cattle making the water unfit for filtering.  There are a couple places to drive to along the river, but the best way to experience it is by floating a canoe or kayak down the non-motorized sections

Learn more about the other 137 National Monuments in our book Monumental America: Your Guide to All 138 National Monuments. It is now available for sale on Amazon.com.

Highlights

Fort Benton, Decision Point, Neat Coulee, Citadel Rock, Hole-in-the-Wall, Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail

Must-Do Activity

In Fort Benton, start your visit at the free interpretive center run by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), then head downtown to learn more history by walking the riverfront of Fort Benton National Historic Landmark, including its many museums (admission fees charged) and sculptures of Lewis, Clark, Sacagawea and her son Pompey, and Shep (a local dog famous for his faithfulness).  To find out more about the Corps of Discovery, check out the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center upstream in Great Falls.  The most scenic stretch to float lies in the 44 miles between Coal Banks Landing and Judith Landing where there are no rapids and the river current is so strong that paddling is mostly reserved for steering.  A permit (fee) is required from the BLM, and we recommend you purchase a Boaters’ Guide and W.A.G. bags.  Wildlife we spotted along the river included bighorn sheep, bald eagles, white pelicans, great blue herons, and beavers. 

Best Trail

Only accessible by boat, the hike up the slot canyon at Neat Coulee from the Eagle Creek Developed Boat Camp is worth a stop.  It is also possible to scramble up to the eight-foot-tall Hole-in-the-Wall arch that comes into view on the south side of the river just past Citadel Rock.

Photographic Opportunity

One of the few places with road access in Upper Missouri River Breaks National Monument, at Decision Point, Captains Lewis and Clark were not sure which was the main route: the Marias or Missouri River.

Peak Season

Summer

Fees

There is a small fee charged per person per day to be on the river, which helps pay for the maintenance of vault toilets along the route (other waste must be packed out in W.A.G. bags).  An America the Beautiful pass covers the admission fee for the small museum at the BLM visitor center in Ft. Benton.

Road Conditions

Dirt roads doable by passenger vehicles lead to Coal Banks Landing and Judith Landing, while paved roads lead to put-ins at Chouteau County Fairgrounds in Ft. Benton and Kipp Recreation Area at the western edge of Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge.

Camping

There are campgrounds at Chouteau County Fairgrounds, Coal Banks Landing, and Kipp Recreation Area.  Throughout the National Monument developed riverside campgrounds can be accessed by boat, with dispersed camping allowed anywhere on public land (a good map is essential to avoid private land). 

Related Sites

Custer National Forest (Montana)

Pompeys Pillar National Monument (Montana)

Lewis and Clark National Forest (Montana)

Nearest National Park

Glacier

White pelicans
Bald eagle
Bighorn sheep
Hole-in-the-Wall
Hole-in-the-Wall
Neat Coulee
Upper Missouri River Breaks Interpretive Center in Fort Benton

Explore More – Who was Charles M. Russell and why did he get a National Wildlife Refuge named after him?

Learn more about the other 137 National Monuments in our book Monumental America: Your Guide to All 138 National Monuments

New Mexico

Kiowa National Grassland

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Kiowa National Grassland

New Mexico

Managed by U.S. Forest Service, Southwestern Region

137,131 acres

Website: https://www.fs.usda.gov/r03/cibola/recreation/kiowa-national-grasslands-0

Overview

Kiowa National Grassland encompasses two discrete units in northeast New Mexico, the eastern one bordering Texas and Oklahoma’s Rita Blanca National Grassland.  This patchwork of public and private lands is administered together with the larger Cibola National Forest and Black Kettle National Grassland.  Elevations range from 4,500 up to 6,300 feet in the western unit where La Frontera del Llano Scenic Byway (NM 39) runs north to south.  Shortgrass prairie is the dominant cover type, with sand sagebrush and pinyon-juniper woodland mostly found in the west.  Ponderosa pines are dispersed on wetter hill faces and riparian areas support Fremont cottonwoods and willows. 

Highlights

Mills Canyon, Santa Fe National Historic Trail

Must-Do Activity

Melvin Mills (an attorney, territorial legislator, and entrepreneur) established the Mills Orchard and Ranch along the Canadian River in 1881.  Flash flooding devastated the orchard in 1904, leading to the ranch’s abandonment a decade later.  In 2005, the U.S. Forest Service and National Park Service collaborated to restore three ranch buildings, and for their efforts they won the Windows on the Past Award for historic preservation.  There are also interpretive signs and a free campground at the bottom of Mills Canyon, located nine miles down unpaved Mills Canyon Road.

Best Trail

A three-mile stretch of the Santa Fe National Historic Trail’s Cimarron Route is marked by rock posts 17 miles north of Clayton, and it is open for walking and horseback riding.  There are interpretive signs along the route and wagon ruts remain visible. 

Watchable Wildlife

An introduced herd of Barbary sheep are thriving in the Mills Canyon area.  The Canadian River supports largemouth bass and channel catfish.  Nomadic Naturalists blog reported seeing swift foxes, spiny softshell turtles, black-chinned sparrows, and pinyon jays on their visit.

Photographic Opportunity

Mills Canyon was cut by the Canadian River through sedimentary rocks ranging in age from 200-million to 90-million years old. 

Peak Season

Summer

Fees

None

Road Conditions

Past Mills Canyon Rim Campground, the unpaved Mills Canyon Road #600 is not recommended for trailers or passenger vehicles as it switchbacks down into Mills Canyon.  A high-clearance vehicle is also recommended for the two-track paralleling the Santa Fe National Historic Trail’s Cimarron Route.

Camping

Both the Mills Canyon Rim Campground (6 campsites) and Mills Canyon Campground (12 sites) are free with vault toilets, but no water.  Dispersed camping is allowed in the eastern unit around the Santa Fe National Historic Trail.

Related Sites

Cimarron National Grassland (Kansas)

Bent’s Old Fort National Historic Site (Colorado)

Comanche National Grassland (Colorado)

Fort Union National Monument (New Mexico)

Nearest National Park

Great Sand Dunes

Scott exploring Mills Canyon
Tiff exploring the Canadian River
Heading out of Mills Canyon

Explore More – As an attorney, Melvin Mills’ work often involved outlaws, American Indians, and politicians; who saved his life when he was nearly hanged by an angry mob?