USFS · California

Plumas National Forest

Plumas National Forest is a 1,146,000-acre (464,000 ha) United States national forest located in northern California at the northern terminus of the Sierra Nevada mountain range. The Forest was named after its primary watershed, the Rio de las Plumas, or Feather River. Part of the natural area is old-growth forest and recognized by the Old-Growth Forest Network.

From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

National Forest1.4 million acresUSFSCA84 campgrounds within 10 mi86 Forest Service sites397 trails
Official page at U.S. Forest Service ↗
3 fires
active
Almanor South Cg 10/31/26 Rx (prescribed burn) · 27 mi from the center
2 more within 50 miles
Incident details ↓

Facts

Where each comes from ↓
DesignationNational Forest
Managed byU.S. Forest Service
StateCalifornia
Size1.4 million acres
Forest Service code0511, region 05
Center point39.93° N, 120.83° W
Night skyAbout as dark as the ground gets (Black Marble reading 13)

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 Plumas National Forest30°40°50°60°70°January: 7.65 inches of precipitation, 5.8 inches of snowFebruary: 7.59 inches of precipitation, 7.6 inches of snowMarch: 6.66 inches of precipitation, 5.4 inches of snowApril: 3.14 inches of precipitation, 1.6 inches of snowMay: 1.94 inches of precipitation, 0.0 inches of snowJune: 0.71 inches of precipitation, 0.0 inches of snowJuly: 0.10 inches of precipitation, 0.0 inches of snowAugust: 0.14 inches of precipitation, 0.0 inches of snowSeptember: 0.42 inches of precipitation, 0.0 inches of snowOctober: 1.94 inches of precipitation, 0.1 inches of snowNovember: 4.06 inches of precipitation, 1.7 inches of snowDecember: 7.32 inches of precipitation, 6.2 inches of snowJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecJanuary: 34.5°F averageFebruary: 38.0°F averageMarch: 42.6°F averageApril: 47.1°F averageMay: 54.7°F averageJune: 61.8°F averageJuly: 68.3°F averageAugust: 66.6°F averageSeptember: 61.1°F averageOctober: 50.9°F averageNovember: 40.3°F averageDecember: 34.2°F average0 in2 in4 in6 in8 inTemp °FInches
The line is the average temperature and the bars are average precipitation at Quincy, 6 miles from the center point at 3,420 feet, station USC00047195 in the NOAA monthly climate normals for 1991 to 2020. Precipitation totals about 42 inches a year. The dotted line is average snowfall, about 28 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 →

59 federal campgrounds sit inside the boundary and 25 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
Antelope Lake Recreation Area
First-comeCA
FS · Inside
Big Cove
Reservable67 sites
FS · Inside
Boulder Creek
Reservable44 sites
FS · Inside
Brady's Camp
First-come6 sites
FS · Inside
Bucks Lake Recreation Area
First-comeCA
FS · Inside
Chilcoot
Reservable40 sites
FS · Inside
Conklin Park Campground
First-comeCA
FS · Inside
Cottage Creek Campground
Reservable9 sites
Show 4 more

72 more within ten miles are not listed here.

Trailheads and sites

Forest Service directory · 86

The Forest Service lists 86 recreation sites in this forest, among them 57 campgrounds, 8 boat launchs, 5 RV campings, 3 beachcombings. 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; 26 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 397 named trails in this forest, 654 miles in all. The 10 longest are listed here.

TrailMiles
PCT: Plumas ↗69.9
Lakeshore Trail ↗14.3
Tobin-Rock Creek Powerline ↗12.5
Hough ↗10.8
Antelope/Taylor Lake ↗10.3
Mill Creek ↗9
Tollgate ↗8.4
Gold Lake Highway ↗8
Mills Peak Trail ↗7.5
Hartman Bar ↗7.4

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 397 trails in Plumas National Forest on Trailhead Atlas ↗

Fire nearby

Within 50 miles · as of 2026-11-01
  • Prescribed
    Almanor South Cg 10/31/26 Rx

    27 mi from the center point

  • Prescribed
    Echo Lake Pile 10/29/2026 Rx

    39 mi from the center point

  • Prescribed
    Madrone Springs Underburn Rx

    43 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 Park · 24 mi
Lassen Volcanic National Park
National Register listings within 15 miles · 46 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 Plumas National Forest?

1.4 million acres.

Source: Forest Service boundary data

Who manages Plumas National Forest?

The U.S. Forest Service.

Source: U.S. Forest Service

What state is Plumas National Forest in?

California.

Source: How states are assigned

Can I camp at Plumas 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 Plumas National Forest?

A point inside the boundary is at 39.925° N, 120.829° W. Lassen Volcanic National Park is 24 miles away. The official page carries directions and the office address.

Source: U.S. Forest Service

Is there a fire near Plumas National Forest right now?

3 active incidents within 50 miles as of 2026-11-01, the nearest Almanor South Cg 10/31/26 Rx at 27 miles. Distance is to the reported incident point, not the fire edge.

Source: Fire nearby

Which national parks are near Plumas National Forest?

Lassen Volcanic National Park (24 mi). Park Atlas has fees, hours and alerts for each.

Source: Nearby on the other atlases

Are there historic places near Plumas National Forest?

The National Register has 46 listings within 15 miles, including Nevada City Free Public Library and Woodleaf Hotel.

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: Plumas 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.