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California, Oregon

Klamath National Forest

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Klamath National Forest

California, Oregon

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

1,913,264 acres (1,737,774 federal/ 175,490 other)

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

Overview

Split into two separate sections by Interstate 5, Klamath National Forest is spread across the Marble, Salmon, Scott, and Siskiyou Mountains of northern California, with less than 2% of its acreage across the border in Oregon.  The National Forest headquarters is located in Yreka on Interstate 5, from where the Forest Service also manages the small Butte Valley National Grassland.  In this remote portion of California, Klamath National Forest borders Modoc, Rogue River, Siskiyou, Six Rivers, Shasta, and Trinity National Forests.  It contains 152 miles of designated National Wild and Scenic Rivers, including some popular for fishing and rafting, like the Klamath River.

Highlights

Horsetail Falls, Kangaroo Lake, Sawyers Bar Catholic Church, Sur Cree Falls, Crater Glass Flow, Panhandle Lake, Chimney Rock, Diamond Lake, Juanita Lake, Cedar Mountain, Kelly Lake, East Boulder Trail, Taylor Lake Trail, Clear Creek National Recreation Trail, Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail

Must-Do Activity

The mountainous western portion of Klamath National is home to several designated Wilderness areas that offer excellent hiking and backpacking (as well as a long stretch of the Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail).  In the Siskiyou Wilderness, a quarter-mile hike leads to Kelly Lake with picnic tables at both ends and an option to continue hiking three miles to a beautiful meadow near Poker Flat.  From the Shackleford Creek Trailhead, a trail follows the creek into the Marble Mountain Wilderness to Log Lake (three miles) and Campbell Lake (4.3 miles).  Russian Lake in the Russian Wilderness is heavily visited, although it is a difficult 4.5-mile hike from the Deacon Lee Trailhead.  Many trails enter the Trinity Alps Wilderness, such as East Boulder (see Best Hike) and Carter Meadows Summit, as well as Long Gulch and Trail Gulch (which together can be a turned into thru-hike with a two-car shuttle)

Best Trail

A popular destination for day hikers, East Boulder Lake is accessed by a 1.7-mile one-way trail that climbs 1,000 feet into the northern Trinity Alps Wilderness.  Due to the number of user trails around the lake, it is difficult to navigate to the 7,100-foot pass, but continue southeast past Upper Boulder Lake and keep heading uphill to locate it.  It is 1.2 miles past East Boulder Lake to the junction with the Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail that runs east-west following the summits of the Scott Mountains (in Shasta National Forest).  It is possible to turn this into a loop hike by connecting with the Middle Boulder Trail and Boulder Tie Trail. 

Watchable Wildlife

Elevations in Klamath National Forest range from 900 to nearly 9,000 feet supporting a variety of ecosystems, including 168,000 acres of old-growth forest.  Large mammals found here include black bears, mountain lions, bobcats, coyotes, foxes, pine martens, skunks, raccoons, mule deer, and possibly gray wolves.  Fishing for rainbow trout, steelhead, and salmon is a major draw to Klamath National Forest with its countless lakes and major rivers like the Klamath, Salmon, Scott, and Trinity. 

Photographic Opportunity

The abundant rainfall that soaks the coastal mountains of California allows conifer trees to reach impressive diameters, like this ponderosa pine we found in the Trinity Alps Wilderness.

Peak Season

Summer

Fees

A free Wilderness Entry Permit is required for overnight trips in the popular Trinity Alps Wilderness where group size is limited to ten people.

Road Conditions

Twisty but paved State Route 96 traverses the western part of the National Forest providing access to the Klamath River, trailheads for the Wilderness areas, and campgrounds.  East Boulder Trailhead is located 7.8 miles from the town of Callahan, which is in a remote part of California north of Clair Engle Lake.  A high-clearance vehicle may help, but is not required for the unpaved final part of the drive.  In the remote eastern portion of the National Forest, a scenic back road travels six miles from Laird’s Camp over Gold Digger Pass near Lava Beds National Monument.

Camping

There are several campgrounds located along paved State Route 96, including Tree of Heaven, Totten, Rocky Bar, and Sulphur Springs (where Elk Creek Trail is a shady two-mile hike to a picnic area by the creek).  In the National Forest’s eastern portion, Juanita Lake Campground has a 1.5 mile paved, barrier-free trail that circles the lake. 

Wilderness Areas

Marble Mountain Wilderness

Red Buttes Wilderness

Russian Wilderness

Siskiyou Wilderness (also in Six Rivers National Forest)

Trinity Alps Wilderness (also in Shasta, Six Rivers, and Trinity National Forests)

Related Sites

Butte Valley National Grassland (California)

Lava Beds National Monument (California)

Oregon Caves National Monument and Preserve (Oregon)

Nearest National Park

Redwood

Scott’s mother climbing over the East Boulder Lake dam
Scott’s mother at Boulder Lake
Black-tailed deer
Incense-cedar
Sugar pine
Fireweed
Fireweed
Scott’s mother ready for backpacking

Conifer Tree Species

ponderosa pine, Jeffrey pine, whitebark pine, foxtail pine, Douglas-fir, incense-cedar, western juniper, red fir, white fir, silver fir

Flowering Tree Species

Pacific madrone, California-laurel, elderberry, curlleaf mountain mahogany, sagebrush

Explore More – How many species of conifers (or Gymnosperms) have been recorded in the Russian Wilderness, possibly the most biodiverse spot for these plants in California, if not the world?

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

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Arizona

Navajo National Monument

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Navajo National Monument

Arizona

Managed by National Park Service

Established 1909

360 acres

Website: nps.gov/nava

Overview

Navajo National Monument was created to protect the Keet Seel ruin on the Navajo Nation, although the Ancestral Puebloan people who lived here in the 1200s are more closely related to the Hopi and Zuni.  Three years later, the ruins at Betatakin and Inscription House (closed to the public) were added to the National Monument. We had such a great visit that we had to add it to his list of Top 10 National Monuments. 

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

Tsegi Point Overlook, museum, film, Sandal Trail, Keet Seel overnight trip

Must-Do Activity

During the pandemic, the National Park Service (NPS) closed all access to the ruins until 2023, but visitors can now reserve spots on the 20-person ranger-led backpacking trips to Keet Seel that are offered twice per month in the summer.  This strenuous trip covers 17 miles total with numerous stream crossings and all water must be carried in.  The hardest part is at the end, when a 1,000 foot climb awaits, but it is worth it to be one of the few who get to see Keet Seel, the 150-room ruin that is second in size only to Cliff Palace at Mesa Verde National Park.  You also get to eat lunch at a surprisingly large waterfall in Keet Seel Canyon.  For those looking for a shorter five-mile trip with only 580 feet elevation change, weekend day hikes to Betatakin are led by park rangers (sign up the day before on a first-come, first-served basis).

Best Trail

From the NPS visitor center (which is actually on Navajo land outside the National Monument boundary), the paved Sandal Trail follows the canyon rim to an overlook of the Betatakin cliff dwelling.  There are signs explaining the local plant species and their uses by indigenous people on the 1.3-mile out-and-back trail.  The 0.8-mile roundtrip Aspen Trail and 0.8-mile Canyon View Trail also leave from the visitor center.

Photographic Opportunity

Outside the visitor center, a replica sweathouse and male hogan are on display, plus examples of three-toed dinosaur footprints left in the sandstone.  Inside the visitor center, pottery and an example of a family dwelling are on display, plus a short introductory film is offered.

Peak Season

Summer

Hours

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

Fees

None

Road Conditions

Highway 564 is paved to the visitor center and Sunset View Campground, then a good dirt road leads to the Canyon View Campground and gated trailhead for ranger-led hikes to Betatakin and Keet Seel.

Camping

The free Sunset View Campground has running water and is one of the nicest campgrounds in the entire NPS system (now added to the Top 10 National Park Campgrounds with Running Water).  There are vault toilets at Canyon View Campground, which is also free.  Campers are limited to a total of seven nights per year at the campgrounds.

Related Sites

Hubbell Trading Post National Historic Site (Arizona)

Canyon de Chelly National Monument (Arizona)

Walnut Canyon National Monument (Arizona)

Raven flying through Betatakin
Sunset View Campground is free and has running water
Inside visitor center
Guided backpacking tour to Keet Seel
Keet Seel
Keet Seel
Sunset from Sunset View Campground

Explore More – When was the large white fir tree added above the main entrance to Keet Seel cliff dwelling?

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

Louisiana

Kisatchie National Forest

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Kisatchie National Forest

Louisiana

Managed by U.S. Forest Service, Southern Region

1,022,373 acres (603,360 federal/ 419,013 other)

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

Overview

There are eight parcels that constitute Kisatchie National Forest, the only National Forest in Louisiana, which has over 40 developed recreation sites and 100 miles of trails.  It encompasses several lakes for boating and swimming, plus baldcypress-lined bayous for canoeing and fishing.  The National Forest protects some of the state’s last acreage of calcareous prairie and a diversity of plant species, including wild orchids and carnivorous plants. We saw a television news report that somewhere in Kisatchie National Forest they grew a loblolly pine tree from a seed that NASA took to the moon (which grew normally), then planted a comparison tree that was accidentally a different species.

Highlights

Longleaf Trail Scenic Byway, Saline Bayou, Fullerton Lake, Gum Springs Recreation Area, Kincaid Lake, Wolf Rock Cave, Castor Creek Scenic Area, Corney Lake, Camp Packard, Wild Azalea National Recreation Trail, Glenn Emery Trail, Stuart Nature Trail, Longleaf Vista Interpretive Trail, Sugar Cane National Recreation Trail

Must-Do Activity

Kisatchie National Forest is divided into five Ranger Districts: Caney, Calcasieu, Catahoula, Kisatchie, and Winn.  In Winn Ranger District, Saline Bayou is a National Wild and Scenic River featuring a 13-mile-long designated water trail.  Boating, fishing, and camping are also popular activities at the developed recreation areas at Caney Lake, Corney Lake, Kincaid Lake, Kisatchie Bayou, and Stuart Lake.  Calcasieu is the southernmost Ranger District and contains the state’s longest trail (31-mile Wild Azalea Trail) and the only known cave in Louisiana (Wolf Rock Cave) off Parish Road 455.

Best Trail

In Kisatchie Ranger District’s Longleaf Scenic Area, a 1.5-mile-long interpretive loop at Longleaf Vista is a good place to start, since it has signs that introduce plants that inhabit ecosystems from rocky buttes to bottomland hardwood forests.  Longer trails like the seven-mile Backbone Trail and 10.5-mile Caroline Dorman Trail enter the Kisatchie Hills Wilderness, an 8,700-acre area that is one of only three designated Wildernesses in Louisiana.

Watchable Wildlife

Old-growth longleaf pine forests provide habitat for endangered red-cockaded woodpeckers, areas that are easily identified by white paint markings on boundary trees.  We also saw an armadillo and wild turkey in the Longleaf Scenic Area.  Other rare species of management concern are the Louisiana pine snake, black bear, and Louisiana pearlshell mussel.  We saw signs warning of alligators, so if you do enter the water be aware of that, especially in the roadless Cunningham Brake and Saline Bayou.  Winn Ranger District and Catahoula National Wildlife Refuge are popular destinations for fishermen and hunters of white-tailed deer, turkeys, and waterfowl.  The Catahoula Hummingbird and Butterfly Garden is located near the Catahoula Ranger District Office in Bentley.  Iatt Lake Observation Pier in the Catahoula Ranger District is a good place to watch for migratory birds in the spring and fall.

Photographic Opportunity

Louisiana is not known for its vertical topography, so it is worth stopping at Longleaf Vista Overlook for the panorama, though hopefully without the thick smoke we saw from a controlled burn.

Peak Season

Spring and fall

Fees

None

Road Conditions

Longleaf Scenic Area is accessed by the paved 17-mile-long Longleaf Trail Scenic Byway, just off Interstate 49.  To the west of Longleaf Scenic Area, a plethora of roads run through the Red Dirt National Wildlife Management Preserve, accessing Kisatchie Bayou Recreation Area and numerous campgrounds and trails.  There are designated ATV trails in the Catahoula (at Stuart Lake) and Calcasieu Ranger Districts.

Camping

Official campgrounds are located throughout Kisatchie National Forest, including three at Kincaid Lake, two at Valentine Lake, three at Corney Lake, Stuart Lake Campground, Beaver Dam Campground on Upper Caney Lake, and Turtle Slide Campground on Lower Caney Lake.  Specific campgrounds for equestrian use include Amus Melder Camp in Calcasieu Ranger District and Gum Springs Recreation Area in Winn Ranger District.

Wilderness Areas

Kisatchie Hills Wilderness

Related Sites

Cane River Creole National Historical Park (Louisiana)

Poverty Point National Monument (Louisiana)

Jean Lafitte Historical Park and Preserve (Louisiana)

Nearest National Park

Hot Springs

Longleaf Vista Overlook
Smoke from controlled burn
Kincaid Lake
Kincaid Lake
Wild turkey
Campground closed for logging operation
Clear cut logging
Campground closed from hurricane damage

Conifer Tree Species

baldcypress, longleaf pine, shortleaf pine, loblolly pine

Flowering Tree Species

water tupelo, American beech, white oak, post oak, Shumard oak, white ash, mockernut hickory, nutmeg hickory, southern magnolia, flowering dogwood, redbud, red buckeye, red bay, fringe tree, chalk maple, wax myrtle, raisin tree, dahoon holly, yaupon holly, sweetbay magnolia, brookside alder

Explore More – How many acres of calcareous prairie remain in Louisiana, noting that Kisatchie National Forest’s historic Tancock Prairie (45 acres) and historic Bartram Prairie (1,190 acres) have been taken over by forests since the initial 1836 survey?

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

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Idaho, Montana, Washington

Kaniksu National Forest

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Kaniksu National Forest

Idaho, Montana, Washington

Managed by U.S. Forest Service, Northern Region

1,833,582 acres (1,628,024 federal/ 205,558 other)

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

Overview

In the mountainous tip of the Idaho pandhandle bordering Canada, Kaniksu National Forest stretches into three states.  Recreational opportunities surround three major rivers and two large natural bodies of water: Lake Pend Oreille and Priest Lake.  As you might imagine in a place this wet, waterfalls abound (see Must-Do Activity).  Coeur d’Alene National Forest is located on both sides of Interstate 90, east of the city of Coeur d’Alene, which was the French name given to the indigenous people.  In 1973, Kaniksu National Forest was joined with Coeur d’Alene and St. Joe National Forests to form Idaho Panhandle National Forests.

Highlights

Priest Lake, Northeast Peak Scenic Area, Lake Pend Oreille, Bottle Lake, Snow Creek Falls, Chimney Rock, Huff Lake, Canyon Creek Natural Area, Copper Falls, Gunsight Peak, Hahn Lake, Hanna Flats Nature Trail, Gold Hill Trail

Must-Do Activity

As you might imagine in a place this wet, waterfalls abound, including 160-foot Copper Falls, 150-foot Jeru Creek Falls, 75-foot Wellington Creek Falls, and 75-foot Char Falls.  South of Bonners Ferry, a forest road leads to Snow Creek Falls with an upper drop of 125 feet and a lower plunge of 75 feet.  Rapid Lightning Falls, Grouse Creek Falls, and Torelle Falls are also in Kaniksu National Forest.  If you want to see more waterfalls, Moyie Falls drops 140 feet in a series of cascades located just outside the National Forest and there is a roadside pullout at Albani Falls Dam on the Pend Oreille River.  A paved scenic byway follows the north shore of Lake Pend Oreille and the Clarks Fork River into Montana.

Best Trail

First discovered by a forester in 1919, the Roosevelt Grove of Ancient Cedars Scenic Area in Washington was named in honor of Theodore Roosevelt.  A 1926 fire killed three-quarters of the trees, leaving two smaller remnant patches.  Most of the western redcedars are around 800 years old, but some of them are estimated to be more than 2,000 years old.  Of course, since this is Kaniksu National Forest there is also a trail here to a waterfall, with a one-mile loop climbing 200 feet to an overlook.  From that point it is only a half-mile walk to the 20-acre Upper Grove.  The trail leaves from the colorfully-named Stagger Inn Trailhead, which gets its moniker from a 1926 fire camp located an exhausting 14-mile hike from the nearest road.

Watchable Wildlife

Kaniksu National Forest is home to mule deer, elk, moose, black bears, bobcats, coyotes, and mountain lions.  This close to Canada, it is also possible to find grizzly bears and gray wolves.  The Selkirk Mountains represent the sole place in the contiguous U.S. where you might see mountain caribou.  Common large birds include ospreys, golden eagles, bald eagles, wild turkeys, and ravens.  The National Forest borders Lake Pend Oreille and Priest Lake, plus it contains many of the rivers and creeks that feed them, which provide incredible fishing opportunities.

Photographic Opportunity

At the Roosevelt Grove of Ancient Cedars Scenic Area, a one-mile loop trail climbs to a vista above Lower Granite Falls where Upper Granite Falls may be viewed.

Peak Season

Summer

Fees

None

Road Conditions

A long dirt road (FR 302) leads to the Roosevelt Grove of Ancient Cedars Scenic Area in Washington (and continues west into neighboring Colville National Forest), but it is maintained in good condition for passenger vehicles, although not all forest roads are. 

Camping

There are numerous campgrounds on the west side of Priest Lake and around Lake Pend Oreille, plus dispersed campsites along the dirt roads near the Roosevelt Grove of Ancient Cedars Scenic Area.

Wilderness Areas

Cabinet Mountains Wilderness (also in Kootenai National Forest)

Salmo-Priest Wilderness (also in Colville National Forest)

Related Sites

Coeur d’Alene National Forest (Idaho)

Clearwater National Forest (Idaho)

Nez Perce National Historical Park (Idaho-Oregon-Montana)

Nearest National Park

Glacier

Selkirk Mountains
Selkirk Mountains
Roosevelt Grove
Roosevelt Grove of Ancient Cedars Scenic Area
Scott in the Roosevelt Grove of Ancient Cedars Scenic Area
Lower Granite Falls
Upper Granite Falls
Albeni Falls

Conifer Tree Species

western redcedar, ponderosa pine, lodgepole pine, western white pine, whitebark pine, Douglas-fir, grand fir, subalpine fir, Engelmann spruce, western hemlock, mountain hemlock, western larch

Flowering Tree Species

Rocky Mountain maple, quaking aspen, Pacific dogwood, balsam poplar, dwarf birch, paper birch, Piper’s hawthorn, boxelder, Bebb willow, western mountain-ash, choke cherry, western serviceberry, red alder, mountain alder

Explore More – Kaniksu is derived from a Kalispel Indian word meaning what?

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

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.

Mississippi

Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley National Monument         

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Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley National Monument         

Mississippi, Illinois

Managed by National Park Service

Established 2023

5.7 acres

Website: nps.gov/till

Overview

In 1955, 14-year-old Emmett “Bo” Till left Chicago to visit family in Mississippi, where he whistled at Carolyn Bryant, a white woman who ran the Bryant’s Grocery & Meat Market in the town of Money.  A few nights later on August 28, Carolyn’s husband (Roy Bryant) and his half-brother (John William “J.W.” Milam) abducted Emmett Till from his relatives’ house.  They took Emmett to Milam’s farm where he was tortured and killed according to their admission in Look magazine a year later.  After Till’s body was recovered at Graball Landing and sent back to Chicago for a funeral, a five-day trial took place in Sumner’s Tallahatchie County Courthouse where Bryant and Milam were acquitted of the crime.  It is probably not a coincidence that the National Monument was proclaimed by President Joe Biden following the release of the 2022 film Till.  Not open to the public but also part of the National Monument in Illinois, the Roberts Temple Church of God in Christ in the Chicago neighborhood of Bronzeville is where Mamie Till-Mobley insisted on an open-casket funeral service so the public could see the terrible results of the murder.  Historians believe the outcry over this lynching of a 14-year-old boy helped lead to the Civil Rights Act of 1957.

Highlights

Emmett Till Interpretive Center, Tallahatchie County Courthouse, Emmett Till Historic Intrepid Center (ETHIC), Black Bayou Bridge, Graball Landing, Greenwood statue, Bryant’s Grocery site

Must-Do Activity

Emmett Till Historic Intrepid Center (ETHIC) is located in a former cotton gin near the site of Emmett Till’s torture and murder on the farm of “J.W.” Milam in Glendora, Mississippi.  Established in 2005, there is an atmosphere to the museum that bears the full weight of history, heightened by the short introductory video showing Emmett Till’s family members’ recollections of the events of 1955.  Inside, there is a recreation of the Bryant’s Grocery & Meat Market storefront, as well as a coffin with the prop used in the film Till depicting Emmett’s shockingly disfigured head.  The museum also has artifacts highlighting the Mississippi Delta’s history with slavery, indigenous people, and blues music (specifically Sonny Boy Williamson II).  Although not part of the National Monument, we recommend a half-hour drive south to Money to see the ruins of Bryant’s Grocery & Meat Market with a restored gas station next door, part of the Mississippi Freedom Trail.

Best Trail

From ETHIC, drive or walk to the Black Bayou Bridge where Emmett “Bo” Till’s body was dumped into the Black Bayou tied to a heavy fan from the cotton gin.  We were grateful to get a personal tour from Tamita Davis who helps run ETHIC.  It is also a short drive down a dirt road to Graball Landing on the Tallahatchie River where there is a small interpretive sign explaining it as the site Till’s body was recovered.

Instagram-worthy Photo

The National Park Service operates out of the Emmett Till Interpretive Center, located in a strip mall opposite the Tallahatchie County Second District Courthouse in Sumner, Mississippi.  It has limited hours, but the courtroom where the September 1955 trial was held was unlocked when we visited on a Tuesday morning. 

Peak Season

Spring and fall

Hours

In Sumner, the Emmett Till Interpretive Center is open to the public Tuesday through Saturday 12-5, while the Tallahatchie County Courthouse is open to the public on Mondays when the center is closed.  In Glendora, Emmett Till Historic Intrepid Center (ETHIC) is open Monday through Saturday 10-5.

Fees

$12 per adult at ETHIC, $5 donation recommended at Emmett Till Interpretive Center

Road Conditions

Paved roads lead to the Tallahatchie County Courthouse in Sumner and Emmett Till Historic Intrepid Center (ETHIC) in Glendora, where a gravel road in good shape leads to Graball Landing.

Camping

To the south, Delta National Forest offers online reservations for campsites (September through March when the forest is not seasonally flooded).

Related Sites

Medgar and Myrlie Evers Home National Monument (Mississippi)

Birmingham Civil Rights National Monument (Alabama)

Freedom Riders National Monument (Alabama)

Pullman National Historical Park (Illinois)

Emmett Till Historic Intrepid Center (ETHIC) in Glendora, MS
Scott at reconstructed Bryant’s Grocery inside ETHIC
Copy of Look magazine article
Tamita Davis with Scott and his aunt on Black Bayou Bridge
Black Bayou
Scott on Black Bayou Bridge
Glendora, MS
Road to Graball Landing
Graball Landing
Restored gas station in Money, MS
Remnants of Byant’s Grocery in Money, MS
Tallahatchie County Courthouse in Sumner, MS
Emmett Till Interpretive Center in Sumner, MS
Emmett Till Interpretive Center in Sumner, MS
Tallahatchie County Courthouse
Tallahatchie County Courthouse
Tallahatchie County Courthouse
Tallahatchie County Courthouse
Farm fields around Sumner, MS

Explore More – A statue of Emmett Till was added in 2022 to Greenwood, Mississippi’s Rail Spike Park, but what city in Colorado has his statue alongside one of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.?