USFS · Wyoming

Shoshone National Forest

Shoshone National Forest is the first federally protected National Forest in the United States and covers nearly 2,500,000 acres (10,000 km2) in the state of Wyoming. Originally a part of the Yellowstone Timberland Reserve, the forest is managed by the United States Forest Service and was created by an act of Congress and signed into law by U.S. President Benjamin Harrison in 1891. Shoshone National Forest is one of the first nationally protected land areas anywhere. Native Americans have lived in the region for at least 10,000 years, and when the region was first explored by European adventurers, forestlands were occupied by several different tribes. Never heavily settled or exploited, the forest has retained most of its wildness. Shoshone National Forest is a part of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, a nearly unbroken expanse of federally protected lands encompassing an estimated 20,000,000 acres (81,000 km2).

From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

National Forest2.5 million acresUSFSWY45 campgrounds within 10 mi50 Forest Service sites250 trails
Official page at U.S. Forest Service ↗

Facts

Where each comes from ↓
DesignationNational Forest
Managed byU.S. Forest Service
StateWyoming
Size2.5 million acres
Forest Service code0214, region 02
Center point44.04° N, 109.54° W
Night skyVery dark ground, a faint glow at most (Black Marble reading 20)

Boundary map

2 outlines

Boundary, simplified to about 0.005 degrees Federal campground Forest Service recreation site

The outline is the agency boundary simplified for display, so small parcels and inholdings may not show. The agency page has the authoritative map.

Weather by month

NOAA climate normals →
Weather by month near Shoshone National Forest20°30°40°50°60°70°January: 0.38 inches of precipitation, 4.8 inches of snowFebruary: 0.46 inches of precipitation, 4.7 inches of snowMarch: 0.63 inches of precipitation, 7.3 inches of snowApril: 1.49 inches of precipitation, 7.6 inches of snowMay: 2.36 inches of precipitation, 2.1 inches of snowJune: 1.63 inches of precipitation, 0.0 inches of snowJuly: 0.84 inches of precipitation, 0.0 inches of snowAugust: 0.92 inches of precipitation, 0.0 inches of snowSeptember: 1.24 inches of precipitation, 1.1 inches of snowOctober: 1.18 inches of precipitation, 6.5 inches of snowNovember: 0.59 inches of precipitation, 5.7 inches of snowDecember: 0.38 inches of precipitation, 5.3 inches of snowJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecJanuary: 29.3°F averageFebruary: 28.4°F averageMarch: 35.6°F averageApril: 41.3°F averageMay: 50.0°F averageJune: 58.7°F averageJuly: 66.9°F averageAugust: 65.2°F averageSeptember: 56.7°F averageOctober: 45.3°F averageNovember: 34.4°F averageDecember: 27.6°F average0 in2 in4 in6 in8 inTemp °FInches
The line is the average temperature and the bars are average precipitation at Cody 21 SW, 22 miles from the center point at 5,840 feet, station USC00481855 in the NOAA monthly climate normals for 1991 to 2020. Precipitation totals about 12 inches a year. The dotted line is average snowfall, about 45 inches a year on the same inches scale. The station sits about 5,500 feet lower than the center point, so temperatures on the ground run cooler.

Large units span more than one climate. The station stands in for the center point, and the outer parts of the boundary can be warmer or colder.

Where to camp

Campsite Atlas →

29 federal campgrounds sit inside the boundary and 16 more are within ten miles of it. Nearest first. Distances are from the campground point to the boundary edge, from the Campsite Atlas index.

FS · Inside
Beartooth Lake Campground
First-come21 sites
FS · Inside
Big Game Campground
Reservable14 sites
FS · Inside
Brooks Lake Campground
First-come13 sites
FS · Inside
Brown Mountain Campground
First-comeWY
FS · Inside
Clearwater Campground
Reservable12 sites
FS · Inside
Crazy Creek Campground
First-come16 sites
FS · Inside
Dead Indian Campground
First-come10 sites
FS · Inside
Deer Creek Campground
First-comeWY
Show 4 more

33 more within ten miles are not listed here.

Trailheads and sites

Forest Service directory · 50

The Forest Service lists 50 recreation sites in this forest, among them 30 campgrounds, 10 picnic areas, 3 dispersed campings, 1 viewpoint. Each links to its page on fs.usda.gov, which carries the season, fees and current status.

Show all 50

Distance is from the center point of the boundary, not from a road or town.

Trails

Every trail on Trailhead Atlas →

The Forest Service trail layer records 250 named trails in this forest, 1,339 miles in all. The 10 longest are listed here.

TrailMiles
South Fork Trail ↗30
Glacier Trail ↗23.9
Greybull River Trail ↗23
Bear'S Ears ↗19.7
Crandall Trail ↗19
Pahaska/Sunlight Trail ↗18.2
Clarks Fork Trail ↗17.3
Ishawooa Trail ↗17
North Crandal Trail ↗16.4
Middle Fork ↗16

Lengths and allowed uses come from the Forest Service trail layer by way of Trailhead Atlas. This trail list was copied from Trailhead Atlas on November 1, 2026 and is copied again on each weekly run. Trails in plain text have no page there yet.

All 250 trails in Shoshone National Forest on Trailhead Atlas ↗

Explore

Nearby on the other atlases

National Park System units within 30 miles · Park Atlas
National Historic Trail · 8 mi
California National Historic Trail
National Park · 19 mi
Yellowstone National Park
National Historic Trail · 23 mi
Pony Express National Historic Trail
National Register listings within 15 miles · 42 in all · Register Atlas

Landmarks are listed first, then by distance from the boundary.

Guidebooks for Wyoming

We earn a small commission if you buy through these links. It does not change what we list.

  • Hiking Wyoming's Wind River Range
    Ben Adkison, 2023
    Find at Bookshop.org
  • Hiking Wyoming's Bighorn Mountains
    Ken (Naturalist) Keffer, 2017
    Find at Bookshop.org
  • Hiking Grand Teton National Park
    Bill Schneider, 2018
    Find at Bookshop.org
  • Top Trails: Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks
    Andrew Dean Nystrom, 2017
    Find at Bookshop.org
  • Best Easy Day Hikes Jackson Hole
    Dina Mishev, 2017
    Find at Bookshop.org

Titles come from Open Library's catalog, matched by subject heading or by title.

Reference

Questions people ask

How big is Shoshone National Forest?

2.5 million acres.

Source: Forest Service boundary data

Who manages Shoshone National Forest?

The U.S. Forest Service.

Source: U.S. Forest Service

What state is Shoshone National Forest in?

Wyoming.

Source: How states are assigned

Can I camp at Shoshone National Forest?

Dispersed camping is allowed on most national forest land outside developed sites. Check the forest page for closures. The federal campgrounds within ten miles are listed under Where to camp.

Source: Where to camp

How do I get to Shoshone National Forest?

A point inside the boundary is at 44.041° N, 109.542° W. California National Historic Trail is 8 miles away. The official page carries directions and the office address.

Source: U.S. Forest Service

Which national parks are near Shoshone National Forest?

California National Historic Trail (8 mi), Yellowstone National Park (19 mi) and Pony Express National Historic Trail (23 mi). Park Atlas has fees, hours and alerts for each.

Source: Nearby on the other atlases

Are there historic places near Shoshone National Forest?

The National Register has 42 listings within 15 miles, including Northeast Entrance Station and South Pass.

Source: Register Atlas

Sources

  • Boundary, name, acreage and code: the Forest Service Enterprise Data Warehouse.
  • States and territories: computed by intersecting the boundary with Census state polygons and coarse outlines of the territories and outlying islands. A place is listed when it holds at least one percent of the area. A boundary that touches no outline is listed under the nearest one.
  • Description: Shoshone National Forest on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. The article was accepted because its title contains this unit’s name.
  • Campgrounds: the Campsite Atlas index of federal campgrounds, matched to this boundary at build time.
  • Trailheads and sites: the Forest Service Recreation Opportunities layer, matched by forest code.
  • Trails: the Trailhead Atlas open-data file of Forest Service trails, matched by forest code.
  • Night sky: NASA Black Marble (VIIRS, 2016 composite) sampled at zoom 6 around the center point.
  • Weather, alerts, air quality, river flow and earthquakes load live in your browser from NWS, AirNow, USGS and iNaturalist when you open the page.