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Washington

Mt. Baker National Recreation Area

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Mt. Baker National Recreation Area

Washington

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

Established 1984

8,473 acres

Website: https://www.fs.usda.gov/r06/mbs/recreation/mt-baker-national-recreation-area

Overview

Part of Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest, Mt. Baker National Recreation Area was set aside to provide a place for snowmobile use on the 10,781-foot volcano’s south slope.  Snowmobiling is restricted to certain areas outside the designated Wilderness and requires a minimum snow depth of two feet.  Mt. Baker is an active stratovolcano that last had a major eruption 6,700 years ago, but experienced hydro-thermal explosions in 1840 and 1880 that led to dangerous lahars.

Highlights

Park Butte Lookout, Railroad Grade Trail, Scott Paul Trail, Pacific Northwest National Scenic Trail

Must-Do Activity

North of Baker Lake, Park Butte Trailhead is the main access point for Mt. Baker National Recreation Area and has a large parking lot with vault toilets and trash cans.  Park Butte Trail immediately enters groves of large western hemlock and Alaska yellow-cedar trees.  Taking the split to the right for the Scott Paul Trail creates a 7.5-mile loop, which remains heavily snow covered into mid-June.  In addition to snowmobiling, other activities include snowshoeing, skiing, picking huckleberries, and climbing to the summit of Mt. Baker on the Coleman Glacier and Easton Glacier routes.  Horseback riding is allowed on Bell Pass, Elbow Lake, Park Butte, and Ridley Creek Trails.

Best Trail

Railroad Grade Trail splits off Park Butte Trail and quickly climbs up to a lateral glacial moraine that offers incredible views of Mt. Baker on clear days.  It is used by mountain climbers making their way to the summit of the volcano. 

Photographic Opportunity

It is 7.9 miles out-and-back with 2,093 feet of cumulative elevation gain to the Park Butte Lookout, a historic structure built in 1932 that is maintained by Skagit Alpine Club volunteers.  It is technically just inside the boundary for Mt. Baker Wilderness.

Peak Season

Summer

Fees

$5 day use (or America the Beautiful pass) at Park Butte Trailhead from May 1 through October 31, and a Washington State Sno-Park permit required the rest of the year.

Road Conditions

Park Butte Trailhead is accessed by taking the pothole-riddled Forest Service Roads 12 and 13 uphill for 8.9 miles.  Access to Elbow Lake Trailhead and Ridley Creek Trailhead also require long dirt road drives.

Camping

There are a couple designated free hiker campsites at Park Butte Trailhead with limited options for dispersed car camping situated along the road up to it.  Backpacking is popular in this area, especially inside the historic 1932 Park Butte Lookout, which is available on a first-come, first-served basis.  There are flat tent pads built at Cathedral Camp, High Camp, Railroad Camp, and Mazama Park Horse Camp in the backcountry.

Related Sites

Mt. St. Helens National Volcanic Monument (Washington)

Ebey’s Landing National Historic Reserve (Washington)

Okanogan National Forest (Washington)

Mt. Baker National Forest (Washington)

Nearest National Park

North Cascades

Dark-eyed junco
Backcountry campsite on Railroad Grade Trail
Railroad Grade Trail
Hoary marmot
Raven about the recreation area

Explore More – Mt. Baker has the second-most thermally active crater in the Cascade Range, ranking only after which volcano?

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Washington

Mt. Baker National Forest

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Mt. Baker National Forest

Washington

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

1,330,316 acres (1,302,215 federal/ 28,101 other)

Website: https://www.fs.usda.gov/r06/mbs

Overview

Mt. Baker National Forest’s namesake is the 10,781-foot glacier-covered stratovolcano that dominates the skyline of northwest Washington.  It is surrounded by the 119,989-acre Mt. Baker Wilderness and the specially designated 8,473-acre Mt. Baker National Recreation Area that allows snowmobiling on the southern slope.  About half of this National Forest is designated Wilderness, which also encompasses another active volcano within 566,057-acre Glacier Peak Wilderness.  In 1968, part of Mt. Baker National Forest turned into North Cascades National Park and five years later its remaining acres were administratively merged with Snoqualmie National Forest.

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Highlights

Mt. Baker National Recreation Area, Heather Meadows, Glacier Public Service Center, Nooksack Falls, Mountain Loop Scenic Byway, Baker Hot Springs, Boulder River Trail, Bagley Lakes Trails, Fire and Ice Trail, Baker Lake Trail, Pacific Northwest National Scenic Trail, Shadow of the Sentinels National Recreation Trail

Must-Do Activity

Mt. Baker Scenic Byway (Highway 542) passes Nooksack Falls as it heads east to Artist Point (open after snow melts).  Be sure to stop at photogenic Picture Lake and the Heather Meadows Visitor Center, built in the 1930s by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC).  A recreation pass is at most trailheads around nine-mile-long Baker Lake, a reservoir popular with campers and fishermen.  On the lake’s east side, boat-in or hike-in Maple Grove Campground provides amazing views of Mt. Baker on a clear day.

Best Trail

Mt. Baker Scenic Byway accesses several trailheads before dead ending in a huge parking lot at Artist Point, surrounded by snowy mountains.  Snow often covers the 4.2-mile one-way trail to Lake Ann well into July.  The first two miles share a path with the Pacific Northwest National Scenic Trail, dropping 800 feet to a junction with Swift Creek Trail.  From there, a 700-foot climb begins to Lake Ann, a popular destination for backpackers within Mt. Baker Wilderness, which in addition to the normal restrictions prohibits campfires and requires all human waste to be packed out.  On clear days, the payoff is unsurpassed views of Mt. Baker and Mt. Shuksan, a 9,131-foot peak in North Cascades National Park reached by continuing up the trail.

Watchable Wildlife

Mountain goats can be seen at high elevations, alongside marmot, pika, and snowshoe hare.  Other large mammals include black bears, mountain lions, bobcats, Columbian black-tailed deer, and elk.  In 1978, the Skagit Wild and Scenic River System was established along 125 miles of rivers, providing habitat for one of the nation’s largest winter populations of bald eagles.  Two types of sea-run trout and five species of salmon are anadromous fish found in the lakes and streams.

Photographic Opportunity

Picture Lake near the Heather Meadows Visitor Center creates wonderful reflections of the surrounding snowy mountains.  Plus, it is a good spot for huckleberries in September. 

Peak Season

Summer

Fees

$5 Northwest Forest Pass (or America the Beautiful pass) required at the end of Mt. Baker Highway and at trailheads around Baker Lake; Washington State Sno-Park permit is required November 1 through April 30 at some sites

Road Conditions

Mt. Baker Highway (542) received the National Forest Scenic Byway designation in 1988.  The 57-mile-long paved route from Interstate 5 is open most of the year between Bellingham and Mt. Baker Ski Area, but it is usually closed beyond that from October well into July because of heavy snowfall.

Camping

There are several campgrounds around Baker Lake, including the boat-in or hike-in Maple Grove Campground.  Marble Creek and Mineral Park are two free campgrounds on the Cascade River Road.  There are no campgrounds in the Heather Meadows area, but at lower elevations on the Mt. Baker Scenic Byway are Douglas-Fir and Silver Fir Campgrounds.

Wilderness Areas

Alpine Lakes Wilderness (also in Wenatchee National Forest)

Boulder River Wilderness

Clearwater Wilderness

Glacier Peak Wilderness (also in Wenatchee National Forest)

Henry M. Jackson Wilderness (also in Wenatchee National Forest)

Mt. Baker Wilderness

Noisy-Diobsud Wilderness

Norse Peak Wilderness

Pasayten Wilderness (also in Okanogan National Forest)

Wild Sky Wilderness

Related Sites

Ross Lake National Recreation Area (Washington)

Lake Chelan National Recreation Area (Washington)

Ebey’s Landing National Historical Reserve (Washington)

Gifford Pinchot National Forest (Washington)

Nearest National Park

North Cascades

Baker Lake
Heather Meadows Visitor Center
Mountain goats
Picture Lake
Banana slug
Baker Lake at Maple Grove Campground
Baker Hot Springs
Nooksack Falls
Ravens about the forest

Conifer Tree Species

Douglas-fir, western hemlock, mountain hemlock, Pacific silver fir, western redcedar, yellow-cedar, Pacific yew

Flowering Tree Species

bigleaf maple, vine maple, black cottonwood

Explore More – When was this area first protected within the 3,594,240-acre Washington Forest Reserve?

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

West Virginia

Spruce Knob-Seneca Rocks National Recreation Area

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Spruce Knob-Seneca Rocks National Recreation Area

West Virginia

Managed by U.S. Forest Service, Northern Region

99,794 acres (57,232 federal/ 42,562 other)

Website: https://www.fs.usda.gov/r09/monongahela/recreation/spruce-knob-seneca-rocks-national-recreation-area

Overview

In 1965, this portion of Monongahela National Forest became the first National Recreation Area managed by the U.S. Forest Service.  It includes 4,863-foot-tall Spruce Knob, the highest point in West Virginia and the Alleghany Mountains.  Seneca Rocks is a 900-foot-tall quartzite crag heavily used by rock climbers, including by the military during World War II.  Also part of this area, Smoke Hole Canyon is a rugged 20-mile gorge on the South Branch of the Potomac River.  It is best seen by kayaking and whitewater canoeing since there are few trails.  Formerly, the canyon had remote family homesteads and moonshine stills, and now it is considered one of the most biologically diverse spots in the eastern U.S. 

Highlights

Seneca Rocks Discovery Center, Smoke Hole Canyon, Spruce Knob Tower

Must-Do Activity

When the road is not closed due to snow, it is easy to drive to the top of Spruce Knob where an observation tower was built for seeing over the trees at the flat summit.  The half-mile Whispering Spruce Trail has interpretive signs at the top, and an extensive network of backcountry trails leave from the parking lot to access Seneca Creek and Alleghany Mountain.  To the west, 25-acre Spruce Knob Lake has campgrounds and picnic tables, as well as boating and fishing opportunities (but no swimming is allowed).  Rock climbing is one of the biggest draws to this area, especially at Seneca Rocks and in Smoke Hole Canyon (at Eagle Rocks, the Route 220 entrance, and the walls of Long Branch).

Best Trail

For those not interested in roping up to climb the steep cliffs, stop into the Seneca Rocks Discovery Center open Thursday through Monday in the summer.  Next door at the Sites Homestead, on Saturdays pioneer interpreters demonstrate quilting, fiddling, and basket-weaving.  Hikers can access the narrow rock ledge at Seneca Rocks via a steep 1.3-mile one-way trail that circles the formation. 

Photographic Opportunity

The jagged spires of Seneca Rocks are the most photogenic rock formation in the state.  Since 1971, more than a dozen people have died from falls at the site, so exercise extreme caution at the top of the cliff.

Peak Season

Summer

Fees

None

Road Conditions

The paved road to the top of Spruce Knob is open year-round when it is snow-free.

Camping

Big Bend Campground offers 46 sites with hot showers and is located on a peninsula in Smoke Hole Canyon.  Seneca Shadows Campground accepts online reservations April through October for walk-to tent sites and standard RV sites.  Spruce Knob Lake Campground is more primitive with vault toilets, as are some other campgrounds in Monongahela National Forest.

Related Sites

Allegheny National Recreation Area (Pennsylvania)

Gauley River National Recreation Area (West Virginia)

Mt. Rogers National Recreation Area (Virginia)

Cumberland Gap National Historical Park (Kentucky-Tennessee-Virginia)

Nearest National Park

New River Gorge

Seneca Rocks
Tiff hiking up Seneca Rocks
Wondon hanging on by his ears
Views from atop Spruce Knob

Explore More – When was the log house first built at the historic Sites Homestead?

West Virginia

Monongahela National Forest

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Monongahela National Forest

West Virginia

Managed by U.S. Forest Service, Northern Region

1,706,898 acres (921,150 federal/ 785,748 other)

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

Overview

Monongahela National Forest contains the highest point in West Virginia, 4,863-foot-tall Spruce Knob with an observation tower for seeing over the trees at its summit.  It is part of Spruce Knob-Seneca Rocks National Recreation Area (see our full blog post), which is very popular with rock climbers.  The National Forest’s initial 7,200 acres were purchased by the federal government in 1915, and it the grew to 150,367 acres over the next decade.  During World War II, the U.S. Army utilized the area as an artillery and mortar range, in addition to training soldiers in climbing techniques at Seneca, Nelson, and Champe Rocks.  This area receives an average of 60 inches of annual precipitation on the west side of the Allegheny Front and only half that on the rain shadow side.  It is the headwaters of six major rivers: the Monongahela, Potomac, Greenbrier, Elk, Tygart, and Gauley.

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Highlights

Spruce Knob-Seneca Rocks National Recreation Area, Cranberry Glades Botanical Area, Highland Scenic Highway, Lake Sherwood Recreation Area, Gaudineer Knob Scenic Area, Cassell Cave, Sinks of Gandy, Stuart Memorial Drive, Champe Rocks, Dolly Sods Scenic Area

Must-Do Activity

There are 94,991 acres in eight designated Wildernesses in Monongahela National Forest, more than half of which is in the Cranberry Wilderness.  A boardwalk traverses the bogs at Cranberry Glades Botanical Area, which has a visitor center run by the Forest Service.  Fishing is a popular pastime, especially at Lake Sherwood, Spruce Knob Lake, and Lake Buffalo.  When winter conditions are right, there is a snowmobile area on Highland Scenic Highway.  The forest is mostly second growth, but 318 acres of old-growth remains, which can be seen at Fanny Bennett Hemlock Grove, Gaudineer Scenic Area (for red spruce), Shavers Mountain Spruce-Hemlock Stand, North Fork Mountain Red Pine Botanical Area, North Spruce Mountain Old Growth Site, and Virgin White Pine Botanical Area.

Best Trail

There is great hiking in Spruce Knob-Seneca Rocks National Recreation Area, and other trails can be found at Lake Sherwood Recreation Area, Falls of Hill Creek Scenic Area, Mt. Porte Canyon, and Stuart Recreation Area.  The 17,371-acreDolly Sods Wilderness encompasses much of the Red Creek drainage with high-elevation bogs and heaths like those found in southern Canada.

Watchable Wildlife

It is hard to believe given their abundant numbers today, but in the 1930s white-tailed deer had to be reintroduced from Michigan.  In 1969, 23 fishers were reintroduced from New Hampshire.  Other large mammals include black bear, red and gray fox, coyote, bobcat, snowshoe hare, beaver, river otter, raccoon, mink, skunk, and opossum.  Of the 230 bird species identified, 159 are known to breed here.  Approximately 90% of the trout waters in West Virginia are within the National Forest, and trout are stocked at Spruce Knob Lake and other locations.

Photographic Opportunity

The iconic Seneca Rocks are a 900-foot-tall quartzite crag heavily used by rock climbers.  On October 22, 1987, a prominent pinnacle dubbed “the Gendarme” fell to the ground.

Peak Season

Summer

Fees

A day use fee applies at Lake Sherwood Recreation Area.

Road Conditions

Most roads are open year-round, including the paved road to the top of Spruce Knob when it is snow-free.

Camping

The National Forest has 23 campgrounds, including popular options in Spruce Knob-Seneca Rocks National Recreation Area at Seneca Shadows and Big Bend (with hot showers). 

Wilderness Areas

Big Draft Wilderness

Cranberry Wilderness

Dolly Sods Wilderness

Laurel Fork North Wilderness

Laurel Fork South Wilderness

Otter Creek Wilderness

Roaring Plains West Wilderness

Spice Run Wilderness

Related Sites

Allegheny National Forest (Pennsylvania)

George Washington National Forest (Virginia-West Virginia)

Jefferson National Forest (Virginia-West Virginia-Kentucky)

Harpers Ferry National Historical Park (West Virginia-Virginia-Maryland)

Nearest National Park

New River Gorge

Conifer Tree Species

eastern hemlock, balsam fir, red spruce, red pine, eastern white pine

Flowering Tree Species

black ash, mountain ash, black cherry, yellow birch, sugar maple, red maple, sweet birch, cucumber magnolia, American beech, basswood, speckled alder, mountain laurel, white rhododendron

Explore More – The Monongahela River gets its name from the Lenape language, and it translates as what in English?

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

Montana

Lolo National Forest

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Lolo National Forest

Montana

Managed by U.S. Forest Service, Northern Region

2,639,224 acres (2,197,966 federal/ 441,258 other)

Website: https://www.fs.usda.gov/r01/lolo

Overview

Located in western Montana, the elevation of Lolo National Forest ranges from less than 2,400 feet on the Clark Fork River below Thompson Falls to the top of 9,186-foot Scapegoat Mountain.  West of Missoula off Interstate 90, the Ninemile Historic Remount Depot preserves a Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) camp and pack stock training facility.  Founded in 1907, the Savenac Historic Tree Nursery Area is also well developed for visitors, including an arboretum and cabin rentals in what were formerly the cookhouse and bunkhouse. 

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

Rattlesnake National Recreation Area, Lolo Pass Visitor Center, Lolo National Historic Trail, Fort Fizzle, Blue Mountain Recreation Area, Cascade Falls, Savenac Nursery, Petty Creek Bighorn Sheep Viewing Site, Clearwater Canoe Trail, Stark Mountain Vista, Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail

Must-Do Activity

Lolo National Forest surrounds Missoula, where the Aerial Fire Depot and Smokejumper Center offers guided tours and exhibits.  Right outside of the city are numerous hiking trails in Blue Mountain Recreation Area and Rattlesnake National Recreation Area, which contains 73 miles of trails (and has its own blog entry on our website).  Following a path used by the Corps of Discovery in 1805, the Lolo National Historic Trail shadows Highway 12 west into Idaho (see Clearwater National Forest). Take time to stop at the Lolo Pass Visitor Center managed by the U.S. Forest Service.

Best Trail

Morrell Falls National Recreation Trail leads to a 90-foot-tall waterfall on the western slope of the Swan Range.  The trail is 5.5 miles out-and-back, mostly flat with some short inclines as it cuts through a burned area now full of beargrass and fireweed.  The waterfall cascades down a rocky outcrop and is well lit in the afternoon.  The trailhead is located 7.5 miles from Highway 83 on a good gravel road that has well-signed intersections.  Also nearby, the Pyramid Pass Trailhead provides access to the Bob Marshall Wilderness in adjacent Flathead National Forest.

Watchable Wildlife

There are 60 species of mammals found in Lolo National Forest, including grizzly/brown bears, black bears, mountain lions, gray wolves, mountain goats, bighorn sheep, elk, moose, and mule deer.  Among the largest of the more than 300 birds spotted are bald eagles, golden eagles, and trumpeter swans.  The five rivers and over 100 lakes are home to 30 varieties of ducks and 20 types of fish.

Photographic Opportunity

Located on the western slope of the Swan Range, 90-foot-tall Morrell Falls is accessed on a 5.5-mile out-and-back hike.

Peak Season

Summer

Fees

None

Road Conditions

The unpaved roads we took were in good shape to Morrell Falls National Recreation Trail and Rattlesnake National Recreation Area.

Camping

The forest has 12 improved campgrounds and several historic fire lookout towers available for overnight rental through the website Recreation.gov. 

Wilderness Areas

Rattlesnake Wilderness

Scapegoat Wilderness (also in Helena and Lewis and Clark National Forests)

Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness (also in Bitterroot, Clearwater, and Nez Perce National Forests)

Welcome Creek Wilderness

Related Sites

Deerlodge National Forest (Montana)

Upper Missouri River Breaks National Monument (Montana)

Beaverhead National Forest (Montana)

Nearest National Park

Glacier

Douglas-fir cone setting on a larch branch
Fireweed
Beargrass
Fireweed
Lolo Pass Visitor Center

Conifer Tree Species

western redcedar, alpine larch, western larch, whitebark pine, ponderosa pine, grand fir, subalpine fir, Engelmann spruce, mountain hemlock

Flowering Tree Species

quaking aspen, Rocky Mountain maple, western serviceberry

Explore More – What is the origin of the name Lolo?

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.