Thank you to everyone who attended our presentation last night at the library! If you couldn’t make it, please check out the short video we made to explain our quest to hike in all 155 National Forests (and learn more in our newspaper articles).
Please find below a gallery of the Powerpoint slides that ran before the presentation. And if you haven’t already, please check out our new guidebook to the National Forests.
We look forward to sharing more about National Forests in the future on this website.
This Top 10 list is in honor of publishing our new guidebook and giving a presentation on recreating in National Forests on June 21, 2022 at our local library in our hometown of Cheyenne, Wyoming. We worked with the Laramie County Library to pull a cartful of our favorite books on National Forests to display on the 3rd floor outside the computer lab. This is a partial list of the best we have read, most of which can be found at the library. There are also countless hiking guides to specific National Forests, regions, and Wilderness areas that we did not include. Click here to see all of our Top 10 lists, including quite a few other book lists.
The author traveled by boat throughout the Inside Passage and Tongass National Forest in search of an elusive subspecies of black bears with a famous wildlife photographer
Helena National Forest’s Big Belt Mountains were the site of the of the 1949 Mann Gulch Fire, which killed 13 smokejumpers who were immortalized in this classic book
The peaks of the Wind River Range not only represent the Continental Divide, but also a division between Bridger-Teton National Forest and Shoshone National Forest which happen to be in two different U.S. Forest Service Regions. These mountains are our favorite place to go backpacking in the entire world with jagged peaks that rival the Teton Range for picturesqueness and a fraction of the visitors (except at overcrowded Titcomb Basin and the Cirque of the Towers). Read more about our 120-mile trip on the Highline Trail in our newspaper article.
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
Fremont Lake, Kendall Warm Springs, Green River Lakes, Wind River Range, Titcomb Basin, Periodic Spring geyser, Lake Alice, Wyoming Range National Recreation Trail, Highline Trail, Continental Divide National Scenic Trail
Must-Do Activity
From Pinedale, Wyoming, a 50-mile partially-paved drive leads to the campground at Green River Lakes, which opens up into a beautiful valley that frames photogenic Squaretop Mountain. Hiking around the northerly of the two lakes makes a great couple-hour jaunt, but if you are looking for a unique destination add the two-mile spur to fascinating Clear Creek Natural Bridge. Here the water pours through and continues to widen a four-foot tall gap in the limestone. Starting from the campground, the Highline Trail is a 72-mile one-way trek popular with backpackers. The first ten miles are very flat following the river to Beaver Meadows, which offers 360° mountain views.
Best Trail
Further south in the Wind River Range than stunning Squaretop Mountain, it is only eight miles from Big Sandy Trailhead to the Cirque of the Towers, which is famous among rock climbers and actually in neighboring Shoshone National Forest. Even though there were a lot of campers back there, we found a secluded spot between Big Sandy Lake and Clear Lake in Bridger National Forest. When we finally made it over 10,800-foot Jackass Pass to the cirque, it was full of fog and hail was dropping from the sky. Although we have been back on a sunny day, that was the more memorable experience, which is why we selected a photo from that morning for the cover of our new guidebook Out in the Woods (see bottom of this post).
Watchable Wildlife
On the way to Green River Lakes outside Pinedale, Wyoming, make time for a quick stop at Kendall Warm Springs where the water is a constant 85°F but is protected from human bathing. The main attraction is a fish less than 2-inches long, the endangered Kendall Warm Springs dace. During spawning (which occurs frequently throughout the year due to the warm water), the males turn purple and the females light green. U.S. Forest Service biologists keep careful track of the population and if you’re lucky, you’ll meet them when they are out there conducting a survey. On the trails and roads, keep an eye out for moose, elk, mule deer, pronghorns, both black and grizzly bears, and badgers (even in the middle of the day). Trout fishing is also a major attraction to this area’s many lakes and streams.
Instagram-worthy Photo
This incredible view of Squaretop Mountain and Green River Lakes is at the end of a long drive down a washboard dirt road; maybe that is why it is on the Wyoming license plate.
Peak Season
Summer
Fees
None
Road Conditions
The long dirt roads back to the trailheads at Big Sandy and Green River Lakes are well maintained, and we have never had a problem accessing them in a passenger vehicle. Limited parking when you get there is the bigger problem.
Camping
The campground at Green River Lakes has an incredible view of Squaretop Mountain (which is on the 2010s Wyoming license plate). There are more dispersed campsites on the road to Big Sandy Trailhead than Green River Lakes.
Titcomb BasinBadgerTiff backpacking at about 10,500 feet above sea level.Moose cow and calfScott at sunsetLooking towards the Cirque of the Towers from Bridger National ForestNew Fork RiverTiff at Green River LakesClear Creek Natural BridgeScott swimming in Green River LakesThe endangered Kendall Warm Springs dace being measured by Forest Service biologistsBackpack camp near Squaretop Mountain
quaking aspen, Rocky Mountain maple, bog birch, Booth’s willow, red osier dogwood, sagebrush
Explore More – What is the entire length of the stream that is the only place where the endangered Kendall Warm Springs dace lives (before it pours into the chilly Green River, home to a genetically distinct dace population)?
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.
Today we publishedour newest guidebook to the National Forests available for sale on Amazon
Out in the Woods: An Introductory Guide to America’s 155 National Forests introduces readers to the diversity of forests across all of America by providing a straightforward introduction to each National Forest, an easy hiking trail that is representative of that forest, and a tree species that can be found there.
We are also giving a presentation on recreating in National Forests at the Laramie County Library in Cheyenne, Wyoming. It will be in the Cottonwood Room (1st floor) at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, June 21, 2022. We will have all of our books for sale before and after the talk and would be happy to sign them for you.
If you go to our book page on Amazon (https://amzn.to/3LSeey2) click on the cover image to Look Inside and read the introduction. Below is an example of the layout for all 155 National Forests.
Check out our Shop tab for all our books and products!
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.
Boise National Forest is famous for its gold rush ghost towns and hot springs along the South Fork of the Payette River. The best way to explore this National Forest is by stopping along three scenic byways: Ponderosa Pine (Highway 21), Wildlife Canyon (Highway 24), and Payette River (Highway 55) Scenic Byways. Ghost towns dating back to the 1860s include Atlanta, Banner, Brummer, Graham, Pioneerville, Quartzburg, Thunder, and the more-developed Idaho City.
Highlights
Sawtooth National Recreation Area, Payette River Scenic Byway, Big Falls, Ponderosa Pine Scenic Byway, Kirkham Hot Springs, Sage Hen Reservoir, Dagger Falls, Atlanta ghost town, Trinity Recreation Area, Ardeth Lake, Velvet Falls, Baron Lakes, Kirkham Ridge Trail, Idaho Centennial Trail
Must-Do Activity
Starting in Boise, Idaho, the Ponderosa Pine Scenic Byway (Highway 21) leads 131 miles northeast through Boise National Forest. Be sure to stop (and try some delicious huckleberry ice cream) in Idaho City, where wooden board sidewalks and unpaved streets take you back to the gold rush era. Ponderosa Pine Scenic Byway continues to Lowman where it follows the South Fork of the Payette River past the campgrounds at Kirkham and Bonneville Hot Springs (reservations recommended) and up to 7,056-foot Banner Summit at the boundary with Challis National Forest.
Best Trail
Located just three miles east of Highway 55 and Lake Cascade along paved Warm Creek Road is the Eagle Nest Trail. Look for the parking pullout on the south side of the road across from the big rock that marks the entrance to the Eagle Nest neighborhood. After crossing the road, the Eagle Nest Trail steadily climbs (from 4,850 to 6,050 feet in the first 2.5 miles) and occasionally opens up for views of the mountains above Cascade Lake. Located further south, Fool Creek Trail drops 2,728 feet in 4.1 miles to the Middle Fork of the Payette River.
Watchable Wildlife
On a smoky September morning on the Eagle Nest Trail, we saw fresh turkey and mule deer prints in the dirt. Other common large animals include elk, moose, pronghorns, coyotes, and black bears. At higher elevations watch for mountain goats, pikas, and yellow-bellied marmots. In addition to several trout species, chinook and sockeye salmon migrate up the Columbia and Snake Rivers. Non-migratory Kokanee salmon are native to Warm Lake, plus introduced into Anderson Ranch, Arrowrock, Lucky Peak, and Deadwood Reservoirs.
Instagram-worthy Photo
In Sawtooth National Recreation Area, 10,190-foot Mt. Regan stands at the south end of Sawtooth Lake marking the boundary between Challis and Boise National Forests.
Peak Season
Summer
Fees
There is a day-use fee at parking areas near hot springs
Road Conditions
Ponderosa Pine Scenic Byway is winding and full of switchbacks, so take your time. Warm Creek Road is paved to the roadside trailhead for Eagle Nest. The Grandjean Road back to the campground is unpaved, but open year round.
Camping
Most of the campgrounds along Highway 21 take reservations due to their popularity. We have read good things about the 31 sites in the Grandjean Campground (first-come, first-served) on the South Fork of the Payette River (hot springs are 1.5 miles away) near the western boundary of the Sawtooth Wilderness.
Wilderness Areas
Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness (also in Payette, Salmon-Challis, Bitterroot, and Nez Perce National Forests)
Sawtooth Wilderness (also in Sawtooth and Challis National Forests)
Scott and Tiff next to Mt. Regan in Sawtooth National Recreation AreaLichen growing on ponderosa pine barkEagle Nest trailheadChoke cherry leavesCramer Divide is the boundary between Boise and Sawtooth National ForestsThe Baron Lakes are in Sawtooth National Recreation Area
Raven About The Parks 