Tag Archives: wilderness

Kentucky, Virginia, West Virginia

Jefferson National Forest

June 12, 2024 Raven About The Parks 3 Comments

Jefferson National Forest

Virginia, West Virginia, Kentucky

Managed by U.S. Forest Service, Southern Region

1,670,846 acres (723,531 federal/ 947,315 other)

Website: https://www.fs.usda.gov/g w j

Overview

In western Virginia, Jefferson National Forest contains Mt. Rogers, the state’s highest point at 5,729 feet (see our post on Mt. Rogers National Recreation Area). There are 17 designated Wildernesses in Jefferson National Forest, second only to the 19 in Alaska’s massive Tongass National Forest. In 1995, George Washington and Jefferson National Forests were administratively combined. Is it just us, or does that name seem to celebrate George Jefferson from the 1970s sitcom? It is supposed to commemorate native-Virginian Thomas Jefferson who was the original author of the 1776 Declaration of Independence and the third President of the U.S. The Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009 created both the Bear Creek (5,503 acres) and Seng Mountain (6,455 acres) National Scenic Areas as specially designated parts of Jefferson National Forest.

Highlights

Blue Ridge Parkway, Mt. Rogers National Recreation Area, Seng Mountain National Scenic Area, Bear Creek National Scenic Area, Settlers Museum of Southwest Virginia, James River Gorge, Mountain Lake, Apple Orchard Falls, Cave Mountain Lake, Glenwood Iron Furnace, High Knob, Little Stony Creek, Lake Keokee, Olinger Gap Trail, Virginia Creeper Trail, Virginia Highlands Trail, Appalachian National Scenic Trail

Must-Do Activity

We have only visited the Mt. Rogers National Recreation Area (which made it on our Top 10 List) portion of Jefferson National Forest, which sits just north of the North Carolina border. One popular day trip there is to bike the 33-mile-long Virginia Creeper Trail, which is also open to hikers and horse riders. Last used in 1977, the former railroad grade runs 18 miles downhill from Whitetop Station Visitor Center to the town of Damascus, and local outfitters can provide shuttles to the trailheads and rental bikes. The trail drops 1,600 feet in total (sometimes at a 7% grade); no wonder those steam locomotives were “creeping” up the hill. Outside the National Forest, another 15 miles of railroad bed runs to Abingdon and includes the lowest point on the trail at the scenic South Holston Trestle.

Best Trail

Apple Orchard Falls has a drop of 200 feet and can be accessed from Sunset Fields Overlook at Milepost 78 on the Blue Ridge Parkway. Considered the most popular hike in Jefferson National Forest, the steep trail is only 1.3 miles long one-way, but gains more than 1,000 feet in elevation. A six-mile loop can be completed by connecting to the Cornelius Creek Trail with a total elevation gain of 1,438 feet. Olinger Gap Trail is another short, scenic route that connects the 3.7-mile Lake Keokee Loop Trail and the 14-mile Stone Mountain Trail.

Watchable Wildlife

Jefferson National Forest has elevations ranging from 649 feet at the James River up to 5,729 feet, offering a variety of habitats. Its most famous residents may be the wild miniature ponies that hang out in the heath balds around Mt. Rogers. Like George Washington National Forest, there are several types of rare salamanders found here, including the golden pygmy salamander. Noteworthy mammals are white-tailed deer, black bears, bobcats, raccoons, river otters, martens, and weasels. Large birds found in Jefferson National Forest include wild turkeys, turkey vultures, bald eagles, peregrine falcons, and several types of hawks.

Instagram-worthy Photo

Spring and early summer are a great time to visit to see blooming azalea, mountain laurel, and rhododendron bushes.

Peak Season

Spring and fall

Fees

$5 day-use fee at Beartree Recreation Area

Road Conditions

The Peaks of Otter Visitor Center on the paved Blue Ridge Parkway is managed by the National Park Service adjacent to Jefferson National Forest. There are unpaved roads scattered throughout the mountains, including a rough road off Forest Road 606 that comes close to the 15-foot-tall Falls of Dismal (also accessible by hiking trail).

Camping

Beartree, Hurricane, Cane Patch, Laurel Falls, Cave Springs, Bark Camp Lake, Cave Mountain Lake, Pines, and White Rocks are only a selection of the many designated campgrounds in Jefferson National Forest. There is a 25-foot right-of-way for backpack camping on both sides of the Virginia Creeper Trail, except on private property.

Wilderness Areas

Barbours Creek Wilderness (also in George Washington National Forest)

Beartown Wilderness

Brush Mountain East Wilderness

Brush Mountain Wilderness

Garden Mountain Wilderness

Hunting Camp Creek Wilderness

James River Face Wilderness

Kimberling Creek Wilderness

Lewis Fork Wilderness

Little Dry Run Wilderness

Little Wilson Creek Wilderness

Mountain Lake Wilderness

Peters Mountain Wilderness

Raccoon Branch Wilderness

Shawvers Run Wilderness (also in George Washington National Forest)

Stone Mountain Wilderness

Thunder Ridge Wilderness

Booker T. Washington National Monument (Virginia)

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

Nearest National Park

New River Gorge

Conifer Tree Species

eastern hemlock, eastern white pine, Virginia pine, shortleaf pine, pitch pine, Table Mountain pine, red spruce, Fraser fir

Flowering Tree Species

American beech, yellow birch, mountain maple, sugar maple, white oak, black oak, northern red oak, rock chestnut oak, bear oak, hickory, basswood, sweet buckeye, American elm, sourwood, mountain laurel, azalea, rhododendron

Explore More – What is the scientific name for Virginia creeper, the native vine with palmately compound leaves?

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

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California, Nevada

Inyo National Forest

April 24, 2024 Raven About The Parks 2 Comments

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

Michigan

Isle Royale National Park

April 10, 2024 Raven About The Parks 2 Comments

Isle Royale National Park

Michigan

Managed by National Park Service

Established 1940

571,790 acres

Website: nps.gov/isro

Overview

Surrounded by Lake Superior, Isle Royale is 45 miles long and nearer to Canada’s shores than it is to the rest of the United States. Long ferry boat rides with short layovers make this a difficult National Park to see on a daytrip, so the average stay for visitors is 3.5 days. The main access points are the ferry docks at Windigo in the west and Rock Harbor (which has a lodge) in the east.

Learn more in the expanded 2nd edition of our guidebook to the National Parks— A Park to Yourself: Finding Solitude in America’s 63 National Parks.

Highlights

Rock Harbor, Suzy’s Cave, Scoville Point, Windigo, Minong Ridge Trail, Greenstone Ridge Trail

Must-Do Activity

Hiking is the main activity at Rock Harbor and popular destinations include Scoville Point (5 miles roundtrip), 1,080-foot tall Mount Franklin (4 miles), and a water-carved arch called Suzy’s Cave (4 miles). From June to early-September, boat tours leave from the the marina to visit Rock Harbor Lighthouse, Edisen Fishery, Raspberry Island, Hidden Lake Trailhead, and Passage Island Lighthouse. Kayak and canoe rentals are also available at Rock Harbor Marina.

Best Trail

Since 99% of the park is designated Wilderness, backpacking is the best way to experience Isle Royale (but come prepared for biting insects). There are 34 backcountry campsites spread across the 165 miles of trail, but not right along the 42-mile Greenstone Ridge Trail that follows the island’s backbone west to east.

Instagram-worthy Photo

There are four lighthouses surrounding Isle Royale and two of them are visited by boat tours. We circumnavigated the entire island on a ferry boat and our favorite was the red-brick Isle Royale Lighthouse on Menagerie Island.

Peak Season

Summer

Hours

Despite the fact that it is closer to Minnesota (Central Time Zone), Isle Royale is part of Michigan and therefore in the Eastern Time Zone.

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

Fees

$7 per person, per day or America the Beautiful pass

Road Conditions

There are no roads on Isle Royale, which is only accessible by boat and floatplane. Ferries run in the summer months from Grand Portage, Minnesota and Copper Harbor and Houghton, Michigan.

Camping

There are nine screened-in shelters and eleven tent sites right at Rock Harbor, but camping there is limited to one night only to accommodate backpackers. Washington Harbor Campground is located at Windigo and allows up to a three-night stay, but the other 34 campsites require a backpacking permit (available at Rock Harbor, Windigo, and aboard the ferry boats from Michigan). Advanced reservations are only accepted for groups of more than six people, so plans must be flexible since there are limits to the number of campers per site.

Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore (Michigan)

Grand Portage National Monument (Minnesota)

Keweenaw National Historical Park (Michigan)

Explore More – After depleting mines on the Keweenaw Peninsula, companies were eyeing Isle Royale’s deposits of what metal when it first gained federal protection in 1931?

*This design we created to celebrate Isle Royale National Park is available on a variety of products at* Cafe Press *and* Amazon.

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Nevada

Humboldt National Forest

April 3, 2024 Raven About The Parks 2 Comments

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

Indiana

Hoosier National Forest

March 13, 2024 Raven About The Parks 2 Comments

Hoosier National Forest

Indiana

Managed by U.S. Forest Service, Eastern Region

644,214 acres (202,814 federal/ 441,400 other)

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

Overview

Southern Indiana’s Hoosier National Forest was created in 1935 from cutover and abandoned farm land. Six years later an additional 88 acres of old-growth forest was purchased that became Pioneer Mothers Memorial Forest, which has never been cut and is used to study natural succession. A 0.8-mile trail runs through the woods and accesses the Indiana Pioneer Mothers Memorial and Lick Creek Settlement Site. The latter was a community of free African-Americans led by the Quaker Jonathan Lindley from 1819 to 1865, and located nearby is an archaeological site where there was a stockaded village in the 1300s.

Highlights

Pioneer Mothers Memorial Forest, Monroe Lake, Hickory Ridge Lookout Tower, German Ridge Lake, Lick Creek Settlement Site, Sundance Lake, Potts Creek Rockshelter Archeological Site, Lake Tarzian, Rickenbaugh House, Tipsaw Lake, Buzzard Roost Overlook, Clover Lick Barrens, Hardin Ridge Recreation Area, Birdseye Trail, Hemlock Cliffs Trail

Must-Do Activity

There are 266 miles of trails in Hoosier National Forest, including the 36.3-mile Terrill Ridge Trail that enters the Charles C. Deam Wilderness (Indiana’s one and only) and the 24.1 miles of trails around German Ridge Lake. Horse camps provide access to miles of bridle trails, including the 48.7-mile Hickory Ridge Trail. Many of the National Forest’s trails are old roads (even in the Wilderness), so while hiking watch for evidence of house foundations, fences, domestic plants, and cemeteries.

Best Trail

Hemlock Cliffs Trail is a 1.2-mile loop through a sandstone canyon that passes two unique waterfalls. Tall eastern hemlock trees surround both waterfalls that you can walk behind where the cliffs are undercut by erosion in this crumbly sedimentary rock. The falls only flow seasonally, but when they do the trail is often muddy and slippery, so take caution.

Watchable Wildlife

In 1972, wild turkeys were reintroduced to 6,000 acres around Clover Lick Barrens, an area of prairie vegetation. Other birds of interest include red-shouldered hawks, sharp-shinned hawks, scarlet tanagers, and pileated woodpeckers. Timber rattlesnakes and copperheads are two venomous snake species found here. Mammals include fox squirrels, raccoons, and white-tailed deer, which attract hunters in season.

Instagram-worthy Photo

Southern Indiana is known for its Karst topography, which often forms limestone caves, as well as some beautiful Swiss-cheese formations that can be seen along the Hemlock Cliffs Trail.

Peak Season

Summer

Fees

None

Road Conditions

Road access is paved to the pullout for the Pioneer Mothers Memorial Forest, and the unpaved road to Hemlock Cliffs Trailhead was a good enough for our mini-van.

Camping

There are horse camps at Shirley Creek, Blackwell, Hickory Ridge, and Youngs Creek, in addition to other campgrounds dispersed throughout Hoosier National Forest.

Wilderness Areas

Charles C. Deam Wilderness

Related Sites

Shawnee National Forest (Illinois)

Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial (Indiana)

George Rogers Clark National Historical Park (Indiana)

Nearest National Park

Indiana Dunes

Conifer Tree Species

eastern hemlock, eastern white pine, shortleaf pine, eastern redcedar

Flowering Tree Species

American beech, tulip-poplar, basswood, Ohio buckeye, white ash, green ash, American elm, winged elm, black walnut, white oak, northern red oak, black oak, chinquapin oak, rock chestnut oak, post oak, blackjack oak, sugar maple, red maple, ironwood, sassafras, black cherry, black gum, black walnut, honeylocust, Kentucky coffeetree, flowering dogwood, redbud, basswood, sycamore, mockernut hickory, shagbark hickory, pawpaw, slippery elm, butternut, hophornbeam, sweetgum, mountain laurel

Explore More – Who was Charles C. Deam, the namesake for the only Wilderness in Indiana (designated in 1982)?

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

Jefferson National Forest

Inyo National Forest

Isle Royale National Park

Humboldt National Forest

Hoosier National Forest

Start your U.S. National Forests, National Parks, and National Monuments adventure here!