USFS · California

San Bernardino National Forest

The San Bernardino National Forest is a United States national forest in Southern California encompassing 823,816 acres (3,333.87 km2) of which 677,982 acres (2,743.70 km2) are federal. The forest is made up of two main divisions, the eastern portion of the San Gabriel Mountains and the San Bernardino Mountains on the easternmost of the Transverse Ranges, and the San Jacinto and Santa Rosa Mountains on the northernmost of the Peninsular Ranges. Elevations range from 2,000 to 11,499 feet. The forest includes seven wilderness areas: San Gorgonio, Cucamonga, San Jacinto, South Fork, Santa Rosa, Cahuilla Mountain and Bighorn Mountain. Forest headquarters are located in the city of San Bernardino. There are district offices in Lytle Creek, Idyllwild, and Fawnskin. The Juan Bautista de Anza National Historic Trail runs through part of the San Bernardino National Forest.

From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

National Forest805,483 acresUSFSCA54 campgrounds within 10 mi182 Forest Service sites196 trails
Official page at U.S. Forest Service ↗
3 fires
active
Green · 5 mi from the center · 55 acres
2 more within 50 miles
Incident details ↓

Facts

Where each comes from ↓
DesignationNational Forest
Managed byU.S. Forest Service
StateCalifornia
Size805,483 acres
Forest Service code0512, region 05
Center point34.06° N, 116.95° W
Night skyVery dark ground, a faint glow at most (Black Marble reading 27)

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 San Bernardino National Forest30°40°50°60°70°January: 4.51 inches of precipitation, 13.4 inches of snowFebruary: 4.39 inches of precipitation, 14.3 inches of snowMarch: 2.37 inches of precipitation, 11.7 inches of snowApril: 0.78 inches of precipitation, 3.0 inches of snowMay: 0.42 inches of precipitation, 0.6 inches of snowJune: 0.15 inches of precipitation, 0.0 inches of snowJuly: 0.69 inches of precipitation, 0.0 inches of snowAugust: 0.82 inches of precipitation, 0.0 inches of snowSeptember: 0.40 inches of precipitation, 0.0 inches of snowOctober: 0.79 inches of precipitation, 1.2 inches of snowNovember: 1.35 inches of precipitation, 3.4 inches of snowDecember: 3.31 inches of precipitation, 11.0 inches of snowJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecJanuary: 34.8°F averageFebruary: 34.7°F averageMarch: 39.1°F averageApril: 44.2°F averageMay: 51.5°F averageJune: 59.3°F averageJuly: 65.1°F averageAugust: 64.1°F averageSeptember: 58.5°F averageOctober: 49.2°F averageNovember: 40.6°F averageDecember: 34.8°F average0 in5 in10 in15 inTemp °FInches
The line is the average temperature and the bars are average precipitation at Big Bear Lake, 13 miles from the center point at 6,753 feet, station USC00040741 in the NOAA monthly climate normals for 1991 to 2020. Precipitation totals about 20 inches a year. The dotted line is average snowfall, about 59 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 →

41 federal campgrounds sit inside the boundary and 13 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
Applewhite Campground
Reservable44 sites
FS · Inside
Barton Flats
Reservable53 sites
FS · Inside
Big Pine Equestrian Group Campground
Reservable1 site
FS · Inside
Black Mountain (San Bernardino)
Reservable1 site
FS · Inside
Bluff Mesa Group Camp
Reservable1 site
FS · Inside
Boulder Basin
Reservable37 sites
FS · Inside
Boulder Group Camp
Reservable1 site
FS · Inside
Buttercup Group Camp
Reservable1 site
Show 4 more

42 more within ten miles are not listed here.

Trailheads and sites

Forest Service directory · 182

The Forest Service lists 182 recreation sites in this forest, among them 41 OHV areas, 23 campgrounds, 19 group camps, 14 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; 122 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 196 named trails in this forest, 627 miles in all. The 10 longest are listed here.

TrailMiles
Santa Ana River Trail ↗38.7
PCT Section 25 ↗15.7
Skyline Trail ↗15.4
San Bernardino Peak Trail ↗10.7
Palm Canyon ↗10.4
Cactus Springs ↗10.2
South Fork ↗9.9
Redonda Ridge ↗9.3
PCT Section 21 ↗9
PCT Section 8 ↗8.9

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 196 trails in San Bernardino National Forest on Trailhead Atlas ↗

Fire nearby

Within 50 miles · as of 2026-11-01
  • Wildfire
    Green

    5 mi from the center point · 55 acres

  • Prescribed
    Greater El Cariso Rx

    38 mi from the center point

  • Prescribed
    Anf/Rx Burn

    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 Historic Trail · 3 mi
Juan Bautista de Anza National Historic Trail
National Register listings within 15 miles · 123 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 San Bernardino National Forest?

805,483 acres.

Source: Forest Service boundary data

Who manages San Bernardino National Forest?

The U.S. Forest Service.

Source: U.S. Forest Service

What state is San Bernardino National Forest in?

California.

Source: How states are assigned

Can I camp at San Bernardino 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 San Bernardino National Forest?

A point inside the boundary is at 34.055° N, 116.947° W. Juan Bautista de Anza National Historic Trail is 3 miles away. The official page carries directions and the office address.

Source: U.S. Forest Service

Is there a fire near San Bernardino National Forest right now?

3 active incidents within 50 miles as of 2026-11-01, the nearest Green at 5 miles. Distance is to the reported incident point, not the fire edge.

Source: Fire nearby

Which national parks are near San Bernardino National Forest?

Juan Bautista de Anza National Historic Trail (3 mi). Park Atlas has fees, hours and alerts for each.

Source: Nearby on the other atlases

Are there historic places near San Bernardino National Forest?

The National Register has 123 listings within 15 miles, including Estudillo Mansion and Oak Grove Butterfield Stage Station.

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: San Bernardino 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.