USFS · Arizona

Kaibab National Forest

Kaibab National Forest borders both the north and south rims of the Grand Canyon, in north-central Arizona, United States. Its 1.6 million acres is divided into three sections: the North Kaibab Ranger District, the Tusayan Ranger District, and the Williams Ranger District. It is managed by the United States Forest Service. Grand Canyon National Park separates the North Kaibab and the South Kaibab. The South Kaibab covers less than 1,422 square miles (3,680 km2) and the North Kaibab stretches over 1,010 square miles (2,600 km2). Elevations vary on the forest from 5,500 feet in the southwest corner to 10,418 feet at the summit of Kendrick Peak on the Williams Ranger District. The forest as a whole is headquartered in Williams.

From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

National Forest1.6 million acresUSFSAZ12 campgrounds within 10 mi35 Forest Service sites64 trails
Official page at U.S. Forest Service ↗
4 fires
active
Cy26 Nkrd- Misc Piles Rx (prescribed burn) · 28 mi from the center · 2 acres
3 more within 50 miles
Incident details ↓

Facts

Where each comes from ↓
DesignationNational Forest
Managed byU.S. Forest Service
StateArizona
Size1.6 million acres
Forest Service code0307, region 03
Center point35.95° N, 112.16° W
Night skyVery dark ground, a faint glow at most (Black Marble reading 24)

Boundary map

3 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 Kaibab National Forest20°30°40°50°60°70°January: 1.23 inches of precipitationFebruary: 1.21 inches of precipitationMarch: 1.20 inches of precipitationApril: 0.69 inches of precipitationMay: 0.61 inches of precipitationJune: 0.40 inches of precipitationJuly: 1.66 inches of precipitationAugust: 2.06 inches of precipitationSeptember: 1.37 inches of precipitationOctober: 1.34 inches of precipitationNovember: 0.77 inches of precipitationDecember: 0.82 inches of precipitationJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecJanuary: 29.9°F averageFebruary: 32.1°F averageMarch: 38.2°F averageApril: 43.2°F averageMay: 51.1°F averageJune: 60.3°F averageJuly: 67.0°F averageAugust: 66.1°F averageSeptember: 58.6°F averageOctober: 47.8°F averageNovember: 37.3°F averageDecember: 29.2°F average0 in0.5 in1 in1.5 in2 in2.5 inTemp °FInches
The line is the average temperature and the bars are average precipitation at Grand Canyon NP AP, under a mile from the center point at 6,606 feet, station USW00003195 in the NOAA monthly climate normals for 1991 to 2020. Precipitation totals about 13 inches a year.

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 →

7 federal campgrounds sit inside the boundary and 5 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
Demotte
Reservable38 sites
FS · Inside
Dogtown Lake Campground And Group
Reservable55 sites
FS · Inside
Jacob Lake Group Campground & Picnic Site
First-comeAZ
FS · Inside
Jacob Lake Recreation Area
Reservable54 sites
FS · Inside
Kaibab Lake Sites And Group Areas
Reservable75 sites
FS · Inside
Tusayan - Montane
Reservable167 sites
FS · Inside
White Horse Lake Campground
Reservable88 sites
NPS · 2.2 mi
Mather Campground
Reservable357 sites
Show 4 more

Trailheads and sites

Forest Service directory · 35

The Forest Service lists 35 recreation sites in this forest, among them 6 campgrounds, 5 viewpoints, 5 visitor centers, 4 cabins. Each links to its page on fs.usda.gov, which carries the season, fees and current status.

Show all 35

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 64 named trails in this forest, 559 miles in all. The 10 longest are listed here.

TrailMiles
Great Western Trail ↗143.1
Arizona Trail ↗75.1
North Timp Snowmobile Trail ↗42.3
Overland Road Historic Trail ↗27.7
Rainbow Rim ↗26.8
Ranger ↗25.9
Beale Wagon Road ↗23.5
Tusayan Mtn Bike ↗18.2
Snake Gulch ↗17.4
Sunflower Flat Mtn. Bike ↗14.2

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 64 trails in Kaibab National Forest on Trailhead Atlas ↗

Fire nearby

Within 50 miles · as of 2026-11-01
  • Prescribed
    Cy26 Nkrd- Misc Piles Rx

    28 mi from the center point · 2 acres

  • Prescribed
    Kendrick Park Piles Rx

    44 mi from the center point · 17 acres

  • Prescribed
    Cy26 Wrd-Northside Piles Rx

    46 mi from the center point · 165 acres

  • Prescribed
    Walker Hill Piles Rx

    49 mi from the center point · 725 acres

Distance is to the reported incident point, not the fire edge, and is measured from the center of a boundary that may be many miles across. Check the agency page for closures.

Explore

Nearby on the other atlases

National Park System units within 30 miles · Park Atlas
National Park · 1 mi
Grand Canyon National Park
National Historic Trail · 12 mi
Old Spanish National Historic Trail
National Monument · 14 mi
Pipe Spring National Monument
National Monument · 15 mi
Tuzigoot National Monument
National Monument · 18 mi
Walnut Canyon National Monument
National Monument · 19 mi
Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument
National Register listings within 15 miles · 93 in all · Register Atlas

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

Guidebooks for Arizona

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

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

Reference

Questions people ask

How big is Kaibab National Forest?

1.6 million acres.

Source: Forest Service boundary data

Who manages Kaibab National Forest?

The U.S. Forest Service.

Source: U.S. Forest Service

What state is Kaibab National Forest in?

Arizona.

Source: How states are assigned

Can I camp at Kaibab 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 Kaibab National Forest?

A point inside the boundary is at 35.949° N, 112.156° W. Grand Canyon National Park is 1 mile away. The official page carries directions and the office address.

Source: U.S. Forest Service

Is there a fire near Kaibab National Forest right now?

4 active incidents within 50 miles as of 2026-11-01, the nearest Cy26 Nkrd- Misc Piles Rx at 28 miles. Distance is to the reported incident point, not the fire edge.

Source: Fire nearby

Which national parks are near Kaibab National Forest?

Grand Canyon National Park (1 mi), Old Spanish National Historic Trail (12 mi) and Pipe Spring National Monument (14 mi). Park Atlas has fees, hours and alerts for each.

Source: Nearby on the other atlases

Are there historic places near Kaibab National Forest?

The National Register has 93 listings within 15 miles, including Grand Canyon Park Operations Building and Grand Canyon Power House.

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: Kaibab 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.