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Mono Basin National Scenic Area

Mono Basin National Scenic Area

California

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

128,303 acres

Website: https://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/inyo/specialplaces/?cid=stelprdb5129903

Overview

Established in 1984, this portion of Inyo National Forest is a geological wonderland that was once part of the former Mono National Forest.  Along the edge of this ancient salt lake are ten-foot-tall tufa towers exposed after water levels dropped beginning in 1941 when river water was diverted to Los Angeles.  Tufa is limestone that precipitated when the alkaline lake water combined with calcium from underground springs.  Paoha Island in the center of Mono Lake is also a nesting area for snowy plovers and California gulls, giving its salty waters even more of a Pacific Ocean impression.  This entire region is volcanically active as evidenced by isolated hot springs, cinder cones that erupted as recently as 350 years ago, and the forest devastation caused by a 1989 release of carbon dioxide from Horseshoe Lake.  It is also rich in minerals, showcased by the mines at Bodie State Historic Park, a ghost town conserved in “arrested decay.” 

Highlights

Mono Basin National Forest Scenic Area Visitor Center, film, Mono Lake Tufa State Natural Reserve, Panum Crater, Mono Craters, Bodie State Historic Park, South Tufa Trail

Must-Do Activity

Open May through October, the Mono Basin National Forest Scenic Area Visitor Center is located on Highway 395, just east of Tioga Pass (the eastern entrance to Yosemite National Park).  It features interactive displays on geology and human history, the 20-minute film Of Ice and Fire: A Portrait of the Mono Basin, photo exhibits, and a bookstore.  Situated atop a hill on the lake’s western shore, it offers an overlook of Mono Lake, Paoha Island, and the Mono Craters.

Best Trail

On the lake’s south side is the fascinating Mono Lake Tufa State Natural Reserve, established in 1981.  A short trail leads from the unpaved parking area to the shoreline.  Just to the west, the 0.7-mile Plug Trail enters the cone of Panum Crater, a 650-year-old plugged dome volcano.

Instagram-worthy Photo

The fragile tufa formations are a great resting place for violet-green swallows and other migratory birds that come to feed on the lake’s abundant brine shrimp and alkali flies.

Peak Season

Summer

Fees

$3 per person at South Tufa Trail or America the Beautiful pass; $8 per person to enter Bodie State Historic Park

Road Conditions

There are well-graded dirt roads to Panum Crater, South Tufa, and Bodie State Historic Park.  However, the routes on the north and east sides of Mono Lake are loose sand that require a four-wheel-drive vehicle.

Camping

There are campgrounds at June Lake and along Highway 120 to Tioga Pass, but that road is closed in the winter.  Dispersed camping is allowed in Inyo National Forest, but be careful on the sandy roads around Mono Lake.

Related Sites

Inyo National Forest (California-Nevada)

Manzanar National Historic Site (California)

Devils Postpile National Monument (California)

Death Valley National Park (California-Nevada)

Nearest National Park

Yosemite

Explore More – Most of the 27 Mono Craters are phreatic volcanoes that have been plugged or over-topped by rhyolite domes and lava flows; what does “phreatic” mean?

Inyo National Forest

Inyo National Forest

California, Nevada

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

2,048,459 acres (1,948,726 federal/ 99,733 other)

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

Overview

Inyo National Forest was established by President Teddy Roosevelt in 1907 to accommodate the Los Angeles Aqueduct, so it is mostly sagebrush slopes without much dense forest cover.  We added it to our Top 10 Movies Filmed in National Forests after reading its history as a filming location.  Inyo National Forest offers the shortest route to Mt. Whitney, the tallest peak in the contiguous U.S. at 14,495 feet in elevation.  Its proximity to Badwater Basin (282 feet below sea level) in Death Valley National Park makes its rise all the more impressive.  You will need a permit to summit, since this popular peak lies within Sequoia National Park.  One added benefit is you will learn all about how to use a “W.A.G. bag.”  In addition to accessing the eastern Sierra Nevada (see Best Trail), Inyo National Forest also offers a portal to the beautiful White Mountains along the California-Nevada border (see Must-Do Activity) and 800,000 acres of designated Wilderness. 

Highlights

Mono Basin National Scenic Area (see our blog post), Lee Vining Canyon Scenic Byway, Tioga Pass, Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest, Convict Lake, Hot Creek Geologic Site, Mammoth Lakes, Minaret Summit Vista, Crystal Lake, Mt. Whitney Trail, Minaret Falls, Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail

Must-Do Activity

In the White Mountains, a paved road leads to the U.S. Forest Service visitor center at the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest, where a 4.5-mile loop trail through the Methuselah Grove passes one live Great Basin bristlecone pine tree recorded at over 5,000 years of age.  That ranks it as the oldest living single-stem tree on the planet based on annual tree-ring measurements.  You can continue to drive above 11,000 feet in elevation along a narrow gravel road famous for puncturing tires (so bring a spare).  The route offers awesome views of the Owens Valley and Mt. Whitney, then takes you to the Patriarch Grove, a wonderful park of gnarled Great Basin bristlecone pine trees surrounded by snow throughout the summer. 

Best Trail

Onion Valley Road west of Independence dead ends at the trailhead for Kearsarge Pass in the Sierra Nevada.  The trail is a series of endless switchbacks that lead past beautifully twisted foxtail pines and unbelievably blue lakes up to the 11,823-foot pass at the boundary with Kings Canyon National Park.  The view from the pass is worth the effort, even if you do not proceed to enter the National Park, for which you need a permit to camp overnight.  John Muir called these mountains “the range of light,” and from up here you will surely see why. 

Watchable Wildlife

Inyo National Forest is on the rain-shadow side of the Sierra Nevada, so it generally receives less precipitation throughout the year than the western slopes, especially at lower elevations.  In the conifer forests of the mountains look for mule deer, black bears, weasels, martens, mountain lions, and bobcats.  California quail, mountain quail, sooty grouse, and wild turkeys are common game birds.  Watch the skies for raptors like bald eagles, ospreys, red-tailed hawks, and turkey vultures. 

Instagram-worthy Photo

Sun-streaked and wind-blasted branches of bristlecone pine trees twist in backbreaking curls, stretching up towards the deep blue skies above 10,000 feet elevation.

Peak Season

Summer

Fees

There are no day use fees to our knowledge.

Road Conditions

The road is paved to the trailhead for the 4.5-mile loop through the Methuselah Grove in the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest.  The unpaved road beyond is famous for puncturing tires (so take it slow and bring a spare) and retains snow late into the summer.  A shuttle ticket or camping permit is required to drive into the National Forest west of the ski resort town of Mammoth Lakes to access Devils Postpile National Monument.

Camping

Grandview Campground near the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest lives up to its name.  There is a campground at Whitney Portal Trailhead and two on Onion Valley Road on the way to the trailhead for Kearsarge Pass (plus some epic dispersed campsites). 

Wilderness Areas

Ansel Adams Wilderness (also in Sierra National Forest and Devils Postpile National Monument)

Boundary Peak Wilderness

Golden Trout Wilderness (also in Sequoia National Forest)

Hoover Wilderness (also in Toiyabe National Forest)

Inyo Mountains Wilderness

John Muir Wilderness (also in Sierra National Forest)

Owens River Headwaters Wilderness

South Sierra Wilderness (also in Sequoia National Forest)

White Mountains Wilderness

Related Sites

Humboldt National Forest (Nevada)

Yosemite National Park (California)

Manzanar National Historic Site (California)

Nearest National Park

Kings Canyon

Conifer Tree Species

Great Basin bristlecone pine, foxtail pine, Jeffrey pine, ponderosa pine, lodgepole pine, Douglas-fir, California red fir, white fir, incense-cedar

Flowering Tree Species

quaking aspen, greenleaf manzanita, sagebrush

Explore More – What 1973 film starring Clint Eastwood was filmed in Inyo National Forest?

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

Huron National Forest

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

Humboldt National Forest

Humboldt National Forest

Nevada

Managed by U.S. Forest Service, Intermountain Region

2,618,165 acres (2,401,079 federal/ 217,086 other)

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

Overview

Ruby Mountains National Forest was established on May 3, 1906 and two years later it was joined with Independence National Forest to create Humboldt National Forest.  In 1995, Humboldt and Toiyabe National Forests combined their 6.3-million acres to become the largest National Forest outside Alaska.  Spread across separate mountain ranges that rise above the Great Basin Desert, Humboldt National Forest consists of the more northeasterly sections of the two National Forests.  Much of its acreage in the Snake Range was claimed as part of Great Basin National Park in 1986, but it still encompasses 12,050-foot Mt. Moriah. 

Highlights

Lamoille Canyon Scenic Byway, Ruby Mountains, Success Loop Drive, Angel Lake, Currant Mountain, Santa Rosa Range, Three Day Creek Trail, Ruby Crest National Recreation Trail

Must-Do Activity

The Ruby Mountains south of Interstate 80 near Elko are perhaps the most accessible area, with roads dead-ending at the gorgeous Angel Lake Campground and after 12 miles on the paved Lamoille Canyon Scenic Byway.  West of Elko on Interstate 80, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) runs an excellent visitor center dedicated to the California National Historic Trail.  Colorful displays and sculptures make this one of the best government-run museums in the country and admission is free.  It is situated near where the Hastings Cutoff reconnected with the main California Trail following the Humboldt River.  The Hastings Cutoff skirted the eastern edge of the Ruby Mountains and was utilized by the infamous Donner party in 1846.  This same route that crossed Overland Pass was later part of the Pony Express Trail.

Best Trail

Starting at the end of Lamoille Canyon Scenic Byway, the 43-mile-long Ruby Crest National Recreation Trail passes Dollar and Lamoille Lakes as it steeply climbs to Liberty Pass.  You do not need to hike far to appreciate the beauty of the glacier-carved valley ringed by jagged alpine peaks.  The trail ends at Harrison Pass where a road still uses the same route that the Bidwell-Bartleson party took in 1841.  There are long stretches of the trail that do not have access to water, including a ten-mile section from North Furlong Lake to Overland Lake.

Watchable Wildlife

More than 85% of Nevada is federally-owned land run mostly by the military and BLM.  That acreage also includes Ruby Lake and Sheldon National Wildlife Refuges, two of several large refuges in the state.  The lakes there and in Humboldt National Forest provide habitat for trout and other fish, as well as migratory birds like Canada geese and white pelicans.  Chukars and Himalayan snowcocks are two introduced Asian bird species that have become popular targets for hunters.  The steep mountains provide thermals for soaring raptors like red-tailed hawks, Swainson’s hawks, and turkey vultures.  Due to the extreme elevation gradients in the basin and range topography, mammals include desert dwellers like kangaroo rats and alpine residents like American pikas, in addition to the more commonly seen mule deer and coyotes.

Instagram-worthy Photo

At the end of the 12-mile paved Lamoille Canyon Scenic Byway, you are surrounded by jagged mountains and at the beginning of the 43-mile-long Ruby Crest National Recreation Trail.

Peak Season

Summer

Fees

$5 day-use fee at Angel Lake

Road Conditions

Lamoille Canyon Scenic Byway is paved and the unpaved road to Angel Lake Campground is in good shape.

Camping

The gorgeous Angel Lake Campground made our list of the Top 10 Campgrounds in National Forests, plus there are two designated campgrounds and a couple dispersed campsites along Lamoille Canyon Scenic Byway.

Wilderness Areas

Bald Mountain Wilderness

Currant Mountain Wilderness

East Humboldt Wilderness

Grant Range Wilderness

High Schells Wilderness

Jarbidge Wilderness

Mt. Moriah Wilderness (also managed by BLM)

Quinn Canyon Wilderness

Red Mountain Wilderness

Ruby Mountains Wilderness

Santa Rosa-Paradise Peak Wilderness

Shellback Wilderness

White Pine Range Wilderness

Related Sites

Toiyabe National Forest (Nevada-California)

City of Rocks National Reserve (Idaho)

Lassen Volcanic National Park (California)

Nearest National Park

Great Basin

Conifer Tree Species

Great Basin bristlecone pine, ponderosa pine, Engelmann spruce, California red fir, white fir

Flowering Tree Species

quaking aspen, greenleaf manzanita, sagebrush

Explore More – What was the country of origin of Alexander von Humboldt, a scientist who travelled extensively in the Americas between 1799 and 1804?

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

Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial

Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial

Indiana

Managed by National Park Service

Established 1962

200 acres

Website: nps.gov/libo

Overview

In 1816, Thomas and Nancy Lincoln moved their two children, Sarah and Abraham, from Hodgenville, Kentucky to a 160-acre farm in southern Indiana.  The future-President Abraham Lincoln lived there 14 years until he turned 21 and the family relocated to Illinois.  In 1818, his mother Nancy Hanks Lincoln died of milk poisoning because a dairy cow had eaten white snakeroot plant, and visitors can learn more about the poison tremetol in the Memorial Visitor Center and stop at her memorial stone in the pioneer cemetery (although her exact burial place is unknown).

Highlights

Museum, film, Abraham Lincoln Hall, U.S. Post Office, cemetery, spring, Living Historical Farm, Cabin Site Memorial

Must-Do Activity

Start at the Memorial Visitor Center to visit the museum inside and use the U.S. Post Office if needed.  If the weather is nice, take a walk past the pioneer cemetery to the Cabin Site Memorial where a bronze casting of sill logs and the fireplace hearthstones are at the site of the Lincoln’s cabin begun in 1829.  The Living Historical Farm has costumed interpreters in the summer that depict homestead life at an authentic cabin and several outbuildings that were moved here from other parts of Indiana.

Best Trail

It is about one mile roundtrip to walk from the museum to the Living Historical Farm and then return on the Trail of Twelve Stones.  There is a parking area closer to the Cabin Site Memorial, if you do not wish to walk the entire way.  The Boyhood Nature Trail offers an additional one-mile loop through the forest.

Instagram-worthy Photo

The five relief panels on the outside of the Memorial Visitor Center were created from Indiana limestone by E.H. Daniels to depict different periods in Abraham Lincoln’s life.  The building was constructed in the 1940s by the state of Indiana and given to the National Park Service when they took over the site in 1962.

Peak Season

Summer when living history demonstrations occur

Hours

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

Fees

None

Road Conditions

All roads are paved

Camping

There is a campground with running water and RV hookups at adjacent Lincoln State Park.

Related Sites

Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historical Park (Kentucky)

Lincoln Home National Historic Site (Illinois)

Lincoln Memorial (District of Columbia)

Hoosier National Forest (Indiana)

Explore More – How many step-siblings did Abraham Lincoln gain when his father wed the widow Sarah Bush Johnston from Kentucky in 1819?