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California

Sáttítla Highlands National Monument

April 22, 2026 Raven About The Parks Leave a comment

Sáttítla Highlands National Monument

California

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

Established 2025

224,676 acres

Website: https://www.fs.usda.gov/visit/national-monuments/sattitla-highlands-national-monument

Overview

In the northeast corner of California is the largest shield volcano in North America: 7,921-foot Medicine Lake Volcano. Sáttítla Highlands National Monument is spread across Klamath, Shasta, and Modoc National Forests just south of Lava Beds National Monument and features numerous cinder cones and lava fields. Part of the Volcanic Legacy Scenic Byway loops around Medicine Lake, which the Modoc people view as a place of healing. The Pit River Tribe opposed development of geothermal energy sources in this area, spearheading its protection. In the 1960s, NASA astronauts trained at Pumice Crater, four of whom eventually landed on the moon. Sáttítla Highlands National Monument is also important for biodiversity, providing habitat for wildlife species like the Cascades frog, long-toed salamander, and gray-headed pika, as well as numerous fungi, the parasitic sugarstick plant, and Pacific fuzzwort (a rare liverwort).

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Highlights

Medicine Lake Recreation Area, Giant Crater lava tube, Glass Mountain, Black Lava Butte, Fourmile Hill Tree Molds Geologic Area

Must-Do Activity

Most of the developed recreation opportunities surround Medicine Lake, which offers boat ramps, trails, and campgrounds. Giant Crater has the longest known lava tube system in the world at 18 miles, although it is partially collapsed. This Geologic Special Interest Area can be accessed two miles off Medicine Lake Road on Forest Road 43N11. Another unpaved road leads up Glass Mountain, which 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.

Best Trail

There is a 4.4-mile loop around Medicine Lake, as well as the one-mile out-and-back Medicine Lake Glass Flow Trail that gains 68 feet of elevation on the north shore. For a more challenging route, Little Mt. Hoffman Trail gains 666 feet over three miles to the fire lookout, which can be rented overnight. Summitting the actual Mt. Hoffman is over 13 miles roundtrip with a 2,000-foot cumulative climb.

Photographic Opportunity

Sáttítla literally translates as “obsidian place” and the volcanic glass prevalent at Glass Mountain has provided humans sharp blades for at least 5,000 years.

Peak Season

Summer

Fees

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

Road Conditions

Camping

There are multiple Forest Service campgrounds on Medicine Lake, plus two nearby at Blanche Lake and Bullseye Lake. Dirt roads in Modoc, Shasta, and Klamath National Forests have ample dispersed camping opportunities.

Related Sites

Lava Beds National Monument (California)

Tule Lake National Monument (California)

Lassen National Forest (California)

Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument (California)

Nearest National Park

Lassen Volcanic

Explore More – Sáttítla translates as “obsidian place” from which indigenous language?

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

California

Modoc National Forest

April 15, 2026 Raven About The Parks 9 Comments

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

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

Arizona, Update

Arizona Trail Days 24 to 34

April 9, 2026 Raven About The Parks 7 Comments

After two “zero days” I returned to the Gila River at the lowest point on the Arizona Trail (AZT) where temperatures had cooled considerably from two weeks before. In 36 days (including six zeroes), I have now completed the southernmost 713 miles on the 800-mile AZT since starting on March 4, 2026. Good news is the National Park Service is planning to reopen the North Kaibab Trail on May 15, so I plan to wait to do the final 100 miles through the Grand Canyon and up to the Utah border.

This journey has exceeded my expectations as my first “long trail.” I have seen amazing wildlife and scenery. I met some interesting people. I had days where I did not see another person. It has been introspective and healing. I have walked further and faster than I imagined possible. I’m thankful that past thru-hikers have made this a socially acceptable (even laudable) activity. Mostly, it’s just really fun and feels like an accomplishment to walk between two arbitrary borderlines. I could not have done it without my parents and friends driving all across the state to resupply me. I cannot say thank you enough!

Arizona Trail Day 26, Mile 265 to 291 plus 2 when I took a wrong turn from the Gila River where I took an afternoon dip. So many grasshoppers! Tried out a sun umbrella then didn’t need it when clouds rolled in for an awesome sunset hour. This was my restart point after avoiding desert heat for two weeks.

Arizona Trail Day 27, Mile 291 to 321 across Highway 60 climbing steeply into the Superstition Wilderness. Started at 5 a.m. when it was sprinkling and my sun umbrella worked well for rain. Saw my first ever Gila monster, which was amazing.

Arizona Trail Day 28, Mile 321 to 347 down from Reavis Ranch in Tonto National Forest to Roosevelt Lake. It was nice to hike a while with Michelle and Adam from Seattle. I saw my second ever Gila monster, which was also amazing! Big thanks to my parents who drove down from Pine to resupply me before sunset.

Arizona Trail Day 29, Mile 347 to 366 across Roosevelt Lake Bridge up into the Four Peaks Wilderness. Shake Spring was flowing nicely this afternoon so I decided to camp nearby and cut my day short to enjoy the shade.

Arizona Trail Day 30, Mile 366 to 387 down the mountain from Four Peaks Wilderness to the Beeline Highway 87. At some point Saturday I surpassed 600 miles on the 800-mile Arizona National Scenic Trail! My parents brought me a milkshake down from Payson, which tasted amazing.

Arizona Trail Day 32, Mile 387 to 417 into the Mazatzal Wilderness after a zero day to spend Easter with family in Chandler. Cloudy and drizzly weather helped me stay cool and I didn’t have to drink much. Cumulative 6,500-foot ascent and 4,000-foot descent over the 30 miles! Great sunset over Horseshoe Lake.

Arizona Trail Day 33, Mile 417 to 442 out of the Mazatzal Mountains down to the East Verde River where I took an afternoon swim. I met a lot of friendly people backpacking today, including one volunteer doing trail maintenance who provided trail magic in the form of a delicious cheese stick.

Arizona Trail Day 34, Mile 442 to 459 back home to Pine. I have now completed the southernmost 713 miles of the AZT since March 4. I plan to finish the final 100 miles when North Kaibab Trail through Grand Canyon National Park opens after May 15. I could not have done this without the help of my parents and friends along the way. Thank you so much!

I have also been updating my Instagram account daily with photos: https://www.instagram.com/ravenabouttheparks/

California

Mendocino National Forest

February 11, 2026 Raven About The Parks 4 Comments

Mendocino National Forest

California

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

1,079,850 acres (911,733 federal/ 168,117 other)

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

Overview

Originally called California National Forest in 1908, this area between Interstate 5 and Highway 101 was renamed Mendocino National Forest 24 years later. It stretches north-south along the Coast Range covering parts of six counties north of San Francisco. Similar to Los Padres National Forest, it contains rocky serpentine ridgelines where only specially adapted plants can tolerate the heavy metals in the soil, like Sargent cypress and the shorter McNab cypress. Both species can be found along Frenzel Creek near Little Stoney Campground. In 1953, a Forest Service employee and 14 volunteer firefighters died in the Rattlesnake Fire and a memorial overlooking Rattlesnake Canyon is located off Forest Highway 7 on Alder Springs Road. Mendocino National Forest includes the northern portion of Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument (see our full blog post), established in 2015 and administered in cooperation with the Bureau of Land Management.

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

Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument, Lake Pillsbury, Thomes Gorge, Hull Mountain, Frenzel Creek, Harvey Peak, Ide’s Cove Trail

Must-Do Activity

There are 18 National Forests in California (the most of any state), but Mendocino is the only one not crossed by a paved highway. It is a wonderful destination for outdoor recreation, both motorized and non-motorized, including Hull Mountain which is popular with hang gliders. Lake Pillsbury is 2,280 acres and offers boat ramps, campgrounds, and a resort, while 35-acre Letts Lake has a campground and access to hiking trails.

Best Trail

As we drove the winding road from Stonyford to the tiny roadside pullout for Deafy Glade Trail, we passed campgrounds full of RVs that were getting ready for a motorcycle event. Our hike took us far from any road noise, as we dropped down to and waded across the frigid South Fork of Stony Creek and then climbed steeply to 5,300 feet in elevation. The trail continued to the summit of 7,056-foot Snow Mountain, but we already had great views of the Rice Valley and decided to turn around at the 4.5-mile point, just inside the official boundary of the Snow Mountain Wilderness. We expected a desolate landscape after reading about recent fires, but about three-quarters of the trees along the trail were still alive and showed only minor charring at their bases.

Watchable Wildlife

Mendocino National Forest protects a biodiverse area home to tule elk, black-tailed deer, river otters, black bears, and mountain lions. Rivers that drain these highlands are used by California coastal chinook salmon and Northern California steelhead. Fishing in the lakes is a popular activity and a chance to see ospreys and bald eagles.

Photographic Opportunity

On Deafy Glade Trail, there were congregations of lady bugs that numbered in the hundreds along the South Fork of Stony Creek.

Peak Season

Summer

Fees

None

Road Conditions

Fouts Springs Road (Forest Road M10) is a well-maintained gravel road that crosses the National Forest west of Stonyford. That area is popular with motorcycles and OHVs, so keep an eye out for them while driving.

Camping

Mendocino National Forest manages Bear Creek Campground and Lower Nye Dispersed Campground among many others, plus there are countless places for dispersed camping.

Wilderness Areas

Sanhedrin Wilderness

Snow Mountain Wilderness

Yolla Bolly-Middle Eel Wilderness (also in Six Rivers and Trinity National Forests)

Yuki Wilderness (also run by the Bureau of Land Management)

Lassen National Forest (California)

Point Reyes National Seashore (California)

Nearest National Park

Redwood

Conifer Tree Species

Douglas-fir, red fir, white fir, ponderosa pine, sugar pine, gray pine, Sargent cypress, McNab cypress

Flowering Tree Species

western redbud, interior live oak, tanoak, Pacific madrone

Explore More – In 1542, Cape Mendocino was named by explorer Roderiques de Cabrillo to honor whom?

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

Wyoming

Medicine Bow National Forest

January 21, 2026 Raven About The Parks 5 Comments

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

Thunder Basin National Grassland (Wyoming)

Scotts Bluff National Monument (Nebraska)

Nearest National Park

Rocky Mountain

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.

Sáttítla Highlands National Monument

Modoc National Forest

Mendocino National Forest

Medicine Bow National Forest

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