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California

Kings Canyon National Park

September 30, 2026 Raven About The Parks 8 Comments

Kings Canyon National Park

California

Managed by National Park Service

Established 1890 as General Grant National Park, 1940 as Kings Canyon National Park

461,847 acres

Website: nps.gov/seki

Overview

Jointly managed with Sequoia National Park since 1943, Kings Canyon does not often receive the individual accolades that it deserves. The separate Kings Canyon area was added in 1940 to keep this 8,200-foot-deep valley from being dammed. Much of the park is a mountain wilderness, which can be most easily seen from 7,520-foot Panoramic Point on the Kings Canyon Scenic Byway. Unlike Yosemite National Park, there is no road over the Sierra Nevada to access the east side.

Learn more about how to visit this National Park in the expanded second edition of our guidebook A Park to Yourself: Finding Solitude in America’s 63 National Parks.

A raven perched on a sign for Sequoia and Kings Canyon, with towering mountain peaks and a blue sky in the background.

Highlights

General Grant Tree, Kings Canyon Scenic Byway, Panoramic Point, Cedar Grove, Roaring River Falls, Zumwalt Meadow, Mist Falls, Redwood Canyon, John Muir Trail, Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail

Must-Do Activity

Kings Canyon Scenic Byway is a curvy road that offers plenty of great views as its winds from the General Grant Grove through Giant Sequoia National Monument to dead end at Cedar Grove. One must-do stop before you reach the park boundary is Grizzly Falls, which also has a picnic area. Another inside the National Park is Roaring River Falls, an easy half-mile walk down the River Trail near the end of the road. Between the two sections of the park along the Kings Canyon Scenic Byway, the U.S Forest Service manages Boyden Cave and offers tours in the summer that include a visit to the Bat Grotto (see where it placed on the list of Top 10 Caves in National Forests).

Best Trail

Woods Creek Trail leaves from near Cedar Grove and is an eight-mile roundtrip hike back to beautiful Mist Falls. Permits are required to backpack along the John Muir Trail, one of the most scenic stretches of the 2,655-mile Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail.

Photographic Opportunity

The General Grant Tree is a giant sequoia currently measuring 268.1 feet tall and 29 feet in diameter, making it by volume the second largest single-stemmed tree on the planet after General Sherman in Sequoia National Park. [Disclaimer: Not sure this photo is actually of General Grant.]

A towering giant sequoia tree with a rough, reddish-brown trunk stands amidst a snowy landscape, surrounded by tall green coniferous trees under a blue sky.

Peak Season

Summer

Hours

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

Fees

$35 per vehicle or America the Beautiful pass

Road Conditions

Closed in the winter, the steep and curvy Kings Canyon Scenic Byway is a paved road that always makes us feel a little nauseous due to the elevation change. Not far upstream from hectic Cedar Grove Village, a smooth section of the South Fork Kings River is traced by a quiet one-way dirt road that meanders through the forest on the north bank.

Camping

The National Park Service runs several large campgrounds clustered around Grant Grove and Cedar Grove. Sequoia National Forest also offers several campgrounds between these two separate sections of the park, including a nice one along the shores of Hume Lake.

Related Sites

Yosemite National Park (California)

Giant Sequoia National Monument (California)

Inyo National Forest (California)

Sequoia National Park (California)

Explore More – How long is the popular Rae Lakes Loop backpacking route, which can also be accessed from the east through Inyo National Forest over Kearsarge Pass?

Cover of the book 'A Park to Yourself: Finding Solitude in America's 63 National Parks, Expanded 2nd Edition' by Scott Sink, PhD and Tiff Sink, MPH, featuring a narrow canyon with a person walking inside.

Know someone who loves National Parks? Gift them our travel guidebook A Park to Yourself: Finding Solitude in America’s 63 National Parks.

Oregon

Mt. Hood National Forest

September 16, 2026 Raven About The Parks 6 Comments

Mt. Hood National Forest

Oregon

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

1,117,921 acres (1,071,446 federal/ 46,475 other)

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

Overview

Mt. Hood National Forest is named for the 11,249-foot-tall stratovolcano that dominates the skyline east of Portland. It has 12 glaciers that feed the amazing waterfalls of the region, several of which you can drive right up to in Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area (see our blog post). This area was first established as the Bull Run Forest Reserve in 1892 and was considered for National Park status beginning in 1940. One famous destination is Bagby Hot Springs (fee), accessible by a 1.4-mile trail to hand-hewn tubs with cedar plumbing. The lower bathhouse contains three individual log tubs and one six-foot round tub, while the upper bathhouse contains another six-foot round tub on an open deck.

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

Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area, Mt. Hood National Recreation Area, Multnomah Falls, Mt. Hood Loop Highway, Olallie Scenic Area, Bagby Hot Springs, Switchback Falls, Sahalie Falls, Trillium Lake, Lost Lake, Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail

Must-Do Activity

The highest of the five ski resorts on Mt. Hood is located at the end of a steep, six-mile-long paved drive off Highway 26. It is home to Timberline Lodge, a National Historic Landmark you might recognize from the opening scenes of the 1980 film The Shining. The ornate woodwork from the 1930s harkens back to a bygone era of craftsmanship, which is on display throughout the main lobby and the Rachael Griffin Historic Exhibition Center. Downhill skiing is sometimes open throughout the summer, but even without skis you can take the sky ride to 7,000 feet in elevation for great views south of Mt. Jefferson and the Three Sisters in Deschutes National Forest. Spring is the season for summitting Mt. Hood, and climbers must carry a free uphill travel pass and a WAG bag (human waste pack out bag). Another popular spot, Olallie Scenic Area, is a high-elevation lake basin north of Mt. Jefferson. Mountain bikers are drawn to Mt. Hood National Recreation Area (see our blog post).

Best Trail

The hike behind Tamanawas Falls leaves from a trailhead near Sherwood Campground, where a rolling two-mile hike rises a cumulative 360 feet through a shady Douglas-fir forest as it follows the course of Cold Spring Creek. At the base of the 100-foot-tall waterfall, a careful climb up slippery wet rocks takes hikers behind the curtain of water. There are 1,200 miles of trails in the National Forest, including the 40.7-mile Timberline Trail built around Mt. Hood by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) in the 1930s. Part of the Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail shares this route as it skirts the volcano’s western slope.

Watchable Wildlife

Mt. Hood National Forest has both Roosevelt and Rocky Mountain elk, as well as mule deer, red foxes, coyotes, mountain lions, and black bears. Less commonly seen are badgers, American pika, and Pacific marten. Large birds include golden eagles, pileated woodpeckers, and Steller’s jays. Situated at 4,900 feet in elevation, 240-acre Olallie Lake is stocked with both rainbow and brook trout. The Sandy River and its tributaries have runs of chinook salmon, coho salmon, and steelhead.

Photographic Opportunity

One particularly great spot to photograph Mt. Hood is from Lost Lake, which has canoe rentals and a nice three-mile hiking trail that encircles it. We have also heard that Trillium Lake offers a great view.

Peak Season

Summer

Fees

$10 day use fee (no America the Beautiful passes accepted, but some take a Northwest Forest Pass) at the most popular areas like Trillium Lake; $15 at Lost Lake with no passes accepted; $5 per person at the Bagby Hot Springs with no passes accepted; $5 (or America the Beautiful pass) at Frog Lake Sno-Park/Trailhead; State of Oregon Sno-Park permit required November 1 through April 30 at some trailheads; see website for details: https://www.fs.usda.gov/r06/mthood/passes

Road Conditions

The road is paved to Timberline Lodge, but there are many unpaved roads in this area, some of which are in bad shape due to the high amounts of precipitation.

Camping

There are more than 70 campgrounds in Mt. Hood National Forest, including seven in Olallie Scenic Area. The popular Bagby Campground near the hot springs does not take reservations. Dispersed camping is a great way to enjoy the area.

Wilderness Areas

Badger Creek Wilderness

Bull of the Woods Wilderness

Clackamas Wilderness

Lower White River Wilderness

Mark O. Hatfield Wilderness

Mt. Hood Wilderness

Roaring River Wilderness

Salmon–Huckleberry Wilderness

Gifford Pinchot National Forest (Washington)

Newberry National Volcanic Monument (Oregon)

Mt. Baker National Forest (Washington)

Nearest National Park

Mount Rainier

Conifer Tree Species

Douglas-fir, western hemlock, western redcedar, noble fir, grand fir, subalpine fir, western yew, ponderosa pine, western larch

Flowering Tree Species

Oregon white oak, bigleaf maple, vine maple, rose-bay, salal, Pacific rhododendron

Explore More – Mt. Hood has been given a 3-7% chance of erupting in the next 30 years; when was the volcano’s last major eruption?

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

Oregon, Washington

Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area

September 9, 2026 Raven About The Parks Leave a comment

Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area

Oregon-Washington

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

Established 1986

292,500 acres

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

Overview

Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area was created from riverside land that is part of Mt. Hood and Gifford Pinchot National Forests. This river corridor was traditionally used by the Chinook, Warm Springs, and Yakama peoples that were drawn to the annual salmon runs. The gorge stretches 80 miles to the Deschutes River, lined by steep basalt cliffs and many State Parks. The Oregon side is famous for its waterfalls fed by snowy Mt. Hood, the 11,249-foot-tall stratovolcano that rises to the south. The town of Hood River is considered the “Windsurfing Capital of the World” with many options for gear rentals and lessons.

Highlights

Historic Columbia River Highway, Multnomah Falls, Vista House, Dog Mountain, Bonneville Fish Hatchery, Horsetail Falls, Wahclella Falls Trail, Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail

Must-Do Activity

Two-tiered Multnomah Falls drops 620 feet and is the most famous waterfall on the Historic Columbia River Highway, enough so that a timed permit is now required to park May through early September. As of 2025, a parking permit is also required at Vista House, built in 1918 on a rocky point 693 feet above the Columbia River (see Fees below). To get a break from the traffic, consider parking and hiking. Wahclella Falls Trail is 2.4 miles out-and-back through a slot canyon to a 350-foot-tall two-tiered plunge (which hopefully reopens soon after it suffered extensive damages during December 2025 storms). Eagle Creek Trail goes 1.9 miles one-way to Punch Bowl Falls (honestly, there are so many good hiking options to choose from, so check out this website: https://gorgefriends.org/find-a-hike). Bonneville Fish Hatchery is free and home to Herman the Sturgeon who is 10 feet long, 500 pounds, and more than 80 years old.

Best Trail

Oneonta Trail is 3.2 miles roundtrip with an elevation gain of 425 feet to Ponytail Falls that you can walk behind. An additional 1.8 miles and 300 feet of climbing will take hikers to Triple Falls. At the same trailhead located near Horsetail Falls, the once popular route through Oneonta Gorge slot canyon has been closed due to a dangerous logjam following the 2017 Eagle Creek Fire. Dog Mountain is famous for its spring wildflower bloom, so a $2 parking reservation (or a free shuttle) is required on weekends from April through early June.

Photographic Opportunity

Women’s Forum State Scenic Viewpoint (or Chanticleer Point) is still free, which provides a photographic point looking east that includes Vista House.

Peak Season

Spring

Fees

$5 Northwest Forest Pass (or America the Beautiful pass) required at many U.S. Forest Service trailheads. Crown Point State Scenic Corridor at Vista House requires an annual state park pass or a parking fee of $10 per vehicle for Oregon residents and $12 for non-residents.

Road Conditions

Interstate 84 runs along the Oregon side of the gorge with limited exits and State Route 14 follows the river on the Washington side. Before departing, check for road closures on the Historic Columbia River Highway.

Camping

Wyeth Campground is the only one directly within the National Scenic Area, but there are several campgrounds north and south of the Columbia River in Gifford Pinchot and Mt. Hood National Forests.

Related Sites

Lewis and Clark National Historical Park (Oregon-Washington)

Fort Vancouver National Historic Site (Washington)

Mt. Hood National Recreation Area (Oregon)

Deschutes National Forest (Oregon)

Nearest National Park

Mount Rainier

Explore More – When did the Chanticleer Inn burn down, opening Chanticleer Point to be purchased by the Portland Women’s Forum and donated to the state of Oregon in 1962?

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.

Washington

Mt. Baker National Forest

July 15, 2026 Raven About The Parks 6 Comments

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.

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

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

Lake Chelan National Recreation Area (Washington)

Ebey’s Landing National Historical Reserve (Washington)

Gifford Pinchot National Forest (Washington)

Nearest National Park

North Cascades

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

California

Modoc National Forest

April 15, 2026 Raven About The Parks 10 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