USFS · California

Mendocino National Forest

The Mendocino National Forest is located in the Coastal Mountain Range in northwestern California and comprises 913,306 acres (3,696.02 km2). It is the only national forest in the state of California without a major paved road entering it. There are a variety of recreational opportunities — camping, hiking, mountain biking, paragliding, backpacking, boating, fishing, hunting, nature study, photography, and off-highway vehicle travel.

From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

National Forest1.1 million acresUSFSCA28 campgrounds within 10 mi78 Forest Service sites275 trails
Official page at U.S. Forest Service ↗
2 fires
active
Alder Springs Underburn Rx (prescribed burn) · 7 mi from the center
1 more within 50 miles
Incident details ↓

Facts

Where each comes from ↓
DesignationNational Forest
Managed byU.S. Forest Service
StateCalifornia
Size1.1 million acres
Forest Service code0508, region 05
Center point39.63° N, 122.85° W
Night skyAbout as dark as the ground gets (Black Marble reading 14)

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 Mendocino National Forest40°50°60°70°80°January: 4.50 inches of precipitationFebruary: 4.02 inches of precipitationMarch: 2.75 inches of precipitationApril: 1.35 inches of precipitationMay: 1.07 inches of precipitationJune: 0.54 inches of precipitationJuly: 0.05 inches of precipitationAugust: 0.05 inches of precipitationSeptember: 0.12 inches of precipitationOctober: 0.93 inches of precipitationNovember: 2.00 inches of precipitationDecember: 3.98 inches of precipitationJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecJanuary: 44.9°F averageFebruary: 47.5°F averageMarch: 51.1°F averageApril: 55.7°F averageMay: 63.7°F averageJune: 72.1°F averageJuly: 78.4°F averageAugust: 76.7°F averageSeptember: 71.9°F averageOctober: 62.1°F averageNovember: 50.8°F averageDecember: 44.3°F average0 in1 in2 in3 in4 in5 inTemp °FInches
The line is the average temperature and the bars are average precipitation at Stony Gorge Rsvr, 17 miles from the center point at 800 feet, station USC00048587 in the NOAA monthly climate normals for 1991 to 2020. Precipitation totals about 21 inches a year. The station sits about 3,500 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 →

18 federal campgrounds sit inside the boundary and 10 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
Atchison Campground
First-comeCA
FS · Inside
Davis Flat
First-comeCA
FS · Inside
Deer Valley Campground
First-come7 sites
FS · Inside
Dixie Glade Campground
First-come10 sites
FS · Inside
Fouts
First-comeCA
FS · Inside
Gray Pine Group Campground
Reservable1 site
FS · Inside
Hammerhorn Campground
First-comeCA
FS · Inside
Howard Lake Campground
First-come4 sites
Show 4 more

16 more within ten miles are not listed here.

Trailheads and sites

Forest Service directory · 78

The Forest Service lists 78 recreation sites in this forest, among them 35 campgrounds, 26 trailheads, 4 group camps, 4 picnic areas. 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; 18 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 275 named trails in this forest, 552 miles in all. The 10 longest are listed here.

TrailMiles
Summit ↗17
Willow Creek ↗13
River ↗11.3
Ides Cove Loop ↗10.7
Cottonwood ↗10.6
Hell Hole Canyon ↗10.4
Buck Ridge ↗9.3
Copper Smelter ↗9.3
North Trough ↗8.8
Deer Valley ↗8.5

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 275 trails in Mendocino National Forest on Trailhead Atlas ↗

Fire nearby

Within 50 miles · as of 2026-11-01
  • Prescribed
    Alder Springs Underburn Rx

    7 mi from the center point

  • Prescribed
    Howard Forest Rx Fire

    32 mi from the center point · 69 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 · 39 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 Mendocino National Forest?

1.1 million acres.

Source: Forest Service boundary data

Who manages Mendocino National Forest?

The U.S. Forest Service.

Source: U.S. Forest Service

What state is Mendocino National Forest in?

California.

Source: How states are assigned

Can I camp at Mendocino 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 Mendocino National Forest?

A point inside the boundary is at 39.629° N, 122.849° W. The official page carries directions and the office address.

Source: U.S. Forest Service

Is there a fire near Mendocino National Forest right now?

2 active incidents within 50 miles as of 2026-11-01, the nearest Alder Springs Underburn Rx at 7 miles. Distance is to the reported incident point, not the fire edge.

Source: Fire nearby

Are there historic places near Mendocino National Forest?

The National Register has 39 listings within 15 miles, including Saint Mary's Parish and Old Bank of America Building.

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: Mendocino 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.