USFS · California, Oregon

Klamath National Forest

Klamath National Forest is a 1,737,774-acre national forest, in the Klamath Mountains and Cascade Range, located in Siskiyou County in northern California, but with a tiny extension into southern Jackson County in Oregon. The forest contains continuous stands of ponderosa pine, Jeffrey pine, Douglas fir, red fir, white fir, lodgepole pine, Baker Cypress, and incense cedar. Old growth forest is estimated to cover some 168,000 acres (680 km2) of forest land. Forest headquarters are located in Yreka, California. There are local ranger district offices located in Fort Jones, Happy Camp, and Macdoel, all in California. The Klamath was established on May 6, 1905. This forest includes the Kangaroo Lake and the Sawyers Bar Catholic Church, which are located within the boundaries of the Forest. The Forest is managed jointly with the Butte Valley National Grassland.

From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

National Forest1.7 million acresUSFSCAOR52 campgrounds within 10 mi137 Forest Service sites253 trails
Official page at U.S. Forest Service ↗
1 fire
active
Goodlow Piles Rx (prescribed burn) · 48 mi from the center
Interagency incident data as of 2026-11-01
Incident details ↓

Facts

Where each comes from ↓
DesignationNational Forest
Managed byU.S. Forest Service
StatesCalifornia, Oregon
Size1.7 million acres
Forest Service code0505, region 05
Center point41.63° N, 121.75° W
Night skyAbout as dark as the ground gets (Black Marble reading 11)

Boundary map

4 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 Klamath National Forest30°40°50°60°70°January: 1.63 inches of precipitation, 8.7 inches of snowFebruary: 2.10 inches of precipitation, 9.3 inches of snowMarch: 1.85 inches of precipitation, 6.9 inches of snowApril: 1.30 inches of precipitation, 4.0 inches of snowMay: 1.37 inches of precipitation, 1.0 inches of snowJune: 0.99 inches of precipitation, 0.1 inches of snowJuly: 0.36 inches of precipitation, 0.0 inches of snowAugust: 0.34 inches of precipitation, 0.0 inches of snowSeptember: 0.44 inches of precipitation, 0.0 inches of snowOctober: 0.85 inches of precipitation, 0.3 inches of snowNovember: 1.46 inches of precipitation, 5.0 inches of snowDecember: 1.53 inches of precipitation, 7.9 inches of snowJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecJanuary: 32.8°F averageFebruary: 35.2°F averageMarch: 39.7°F averageApril: 43.9°F averageMay: 52.4°F averageJune: 59.8°F averageJuly: 69.2°F averageAugust: 68.3°F averageSeptember: 61.5°F averageOctober: 50.9°F averageNovember: 38.8°F averageDecember: 31.8°F average0 in2 in4 in6 in8 in10 inTemp °FInches
The line is the average temperature and the bars are average precipitation at Lava Beds Nat Mon, 14 miles from the center point at 4,770 feet, station USC00044838 in the NOAA monthly climate normals for 1991 to 2020. Precipitation totals about 14 inches a year. The dotted line is average snowfall, about 43 inches a year on the same inches scale.

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 →

26 federal campgrounds sit inside the boundary and 26 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
Carter Meadows Horse Group
Reservable1 site
FS · Inside
Curly Jack Campground
Reservable16 sites
FS · Inside
Dillon Creek Campground
Reservable27 sites
FS · Inside
Fort Goff Campground
First-come5 sites
FS · Inside
Grider Creek Campground
First-come10 sites
FS · Inside
Hidden Horse Equestrian Campground
Reservable6 sites
FS · Inside
Humbug OHV Recreation Area
First-comeCA
FS · Inside
Idlewild Campground
First-come11 sites
Show 4 more

40 more within ten miles are not listed here.

Trailheads and sites

Forest Service directory · 137

The Forest Service lists 137 recreation sites in this forest, among them 46 paddling accesss, 43 backpackings, 28 campgrounds, 8 day hikings. 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; 77 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 253 named trails in this forest, 1,021 miles in all. The 10 longest are listed here.

TrailMiles
Pacific Crest Trail ↗114.7
Wooley Creek ↗26.3
Clear Creek ↗23.1
Haypress ↗19.3
Tamarack Loop ↗14
North Fork Salmon ↗13.7
Little North Fork ↗13.1
PCT: RRS South ↗12.8
Deer Mtn Long Loop ↗12
Lower Rr Grade ↗12

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 253 trails in Klamath National Forest on Trailhead Atlas ↗

Fire nearby

Within 50 miles · as of 2026-11-01
  • Prescribed
    Goodlow Piles Rx

    48 mi from the center point

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 Monument · 6 mi
Lava Beds National Monument
National Monument & Preserve · 7 mi
Oregon Caves National Monument & Preserve
National Monument · 17 mi
Tule Lake National Monument
National and State Parks · 26 mi
Redwood National and State Parks
National Register listings within 15 miles · 83 in all · Register Atlas

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

Guidebooks for California

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

  • Walkabout Northern California
    Tom Courtney, 2019
    Find at Bookshop.org
  • Backpacking California
    Wilderness Press, 2019
    Find at Bookshop.org
  • Coastal trails of Southern California
    Linda B. Mullally, 2018
    Find at Bookshop.org
  • Hiking northern California
    Bubba Suess, 2017
    Find at Bookshop.org
  • Hiking the Pacific Crest Trail: Southern California
    Shawnte Salabert, 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 Klamath National Forest?

1.7 million acres.

Source: Forest Service boundary data

Who manages Klamath National Forest?

The U.S. Forest Service.

Source: U.S. Forest Service

What state is Klamath National Forest in?

The boundary crosses California and Oregon.

Source: How states are assigned

Can I camp at Klamath 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 Klamath National Forest?

A point inside the boundary is at 41.629° N, 121.746° W. Lava Beds National Monument is 6 miles away. The official page carries directions and the office address.

Source: U.S. Forest Service

Is there a fire near Klamath National Forest right now?

1 active incident within 50 miles as of 2026-11-01, the nearest Goodlow Piles Rx at 48 miles. Distance is to the reported incident point, not the fire edge.

Source: Fire nearby

Which national parks are near Klamath National Forest?

Lava Beds National Monument (6 mi), Oregon Caves National Monument & Preserve (7 mi) and Tule Lake National Monument (17 mi). Park Atlas has fees, hours and alerts for each.

Source: Nearby on the other atlases

Are there historic places near Klamath National Forest?

The National Register has 83 listings within 15 miles, including Sawyers Bar Catholic Church and White's Gulch Arrastra.

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: Klamath 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.