USFS · Idaho

Payette National Forest

The Payette National Forest is a U.S. National Forest located in central western Idaho, in parts of Valley, Idaho, Adams, and Washington counties. The land area consists of approximately 2.3 million acres (9,300 km2) of federally managed lands. It is bordered by Hells Canyon National Recreation Area and the Hells Canyon to the west, Salmon-Challis National Forest to the east, Boise National Forest to the south, and the Nez Perce National Forest to the north. The Payette National Forest is a part of the Intermountain Region. It is under the jurisdiction of a forest supervisor in McCall and is divided into five ranger districts: McCall, Krassel, New Meadows, Council, and Weiser.

From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

National Forest2.4 million acresUSFSID70 campgrounds within 10 mi106 Forest Service sites345 trails
Official page at U.S. Forest Service ↗
4 fires
active
Meadow Marsh 2026 Rx (prescribed burn) · 17 mi from the center · 70 acres
3 more within 50 miles
Incident details ↓

Facts

Where each comes from ↓
DesignationNational Forest
Managed byU.S. Forest Service
StateIdaho
Size2.4 million acres
Forest Service code0412, region 04
Center point45.08° N, 115.79° W
Night skyAbout as dark as the ground gets (Black Marble reading 11)

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 Payette National Forest20°30°40°50°60°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecJanuary: 21.1°F averageFebruary: 24.0°F averageMarch: 31.5°F averageApril: 35.1°F averageMay: 43.3°F averageJune: 51.1°F averageJuly: 58.0°F averageAugust: 56.9°F averageSeptember: 49.4°F averageOctober: 39.4°F averageNovember: 28.7°F averageDecember: 21.6°F averageTemp °F
The line is the average temperature at Warren, 14 miles from the center point at 5,907 feet, station USC00109560 in the NOAA monthly climate normals for 1991 to 2020.

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 →

32 federal campgrounds sit inside the boundary and 38 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
Big Bar Camping Area
First-comeID
FS · Inside
Big Creek
First-come5 sites
FS · Inside
Big Flat
First-come14 sites
FS · Inside
Brownlee
First-come12 sites
FS · Inside
Buckhorn Bar
First-come12 sites
FS · Inside
Burgdorf
First-come5 sites
FS · Inside
Cabin Creek
First-come20 sites
FS · Inside
Camp Creek
First-come5 sites
Show 4 more

58 more within ten miles are not listed here.

Trailheads and sites

Forest Service directory · 106

The Forest Service lists 106 recreation sites in this forest, among them 36 trailheads, 33 campgrounds, 12 dispersed campings, 10 interpretive sites. Each links to its page on fs.usda.gov, which carries the season, fees and current status.

Show all 60

The 60 closest to the center point are listed; 46 more are on the Forest Service site.

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 345 named trails in this forest, 1,882 miles in all. The 10 longest are listed here.

TrailMiles
Chamberlain ↗44.7
Cold Meadows ↗36.7
Big Creek ↗34.2
Mosquito Ridge ↗27.3
S/F Salmon River ↗23.1
Coyote Spring/Cow Creek ↗21
McCalla Creek ↗20.9
Monumental Creek ↗19.4
Chamberlain Creek ↗18.3
Lookout Mountain ↗18.1

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 345 trails in Payette National Forest on Trailhead Atlas ↗

Fire nearby

Within 50 miles · as of 2026-11-01
  • Prescribed
    Meadow Marsh 2026 Rx

    17 mi from the center point · 70 acres

  • Prescribed
    Boulder Cop Ton Rx 2026

    17 mi from the center point · 10 acres

  • Prescribed
    Goose Rx

    22 mi from the center point · 529 acres

  • Prescribed
    Brush Rx

    28 mi from the center point · 2,000 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 Register listings within 15 miles · 49 in all · Register Atlas

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

Guidebooks for Idaho

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 Payette National Forest?

2.4 million acres.

Source: Forest Service boundary data

Who manages Payette National Forest?

The U.S. Forest Service.

Source: U.S. Forest Service

What state is Payette National Forest in?

Idaho.

Source: How states are assigned

Can I camp at Payette 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 Payette National Forest?

A point inside the boundary is at 45.084° N, 115.792° W. The official page carries directions and the office address.

Source: U.S. Forest Service

Is there a fire near Payette National Forest right now?

4 active incidents within 50 miles as of 2026-11-01, the nearest Meadow Marsh 2026 Rx at 17 miles. Distance is to the reported incident point, not the fire edge.

Source: Fire nearby

Are there historic places near Payette National Forest?

The National Register has 49 listings within 15 miles, including Ah Toy Garden and Arctic Point Fire Lookout.

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: Payette 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.