USFS · California

Sierra National Forest

Sierra National Forest is a U.S. national forest located on the western slope of the central Sierra Nevada in California, bounded on the northwest by Yosemite National Park and on the south by Kings Canyon National Park. The forest is known for its mountain scenery and beautiful lakes. Forest headquarters are located in Clovis, California. There are local ranger district offices in North Fork and Prather.

From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

National Forest1.4 million acresUSFSCA143 campgrounds within 10 mi142 Forest Service sites546 trails
Official page at U.S. Forest Service ↗
3 fires
active
Crooks Rx (prescribed burn) · 31 mi from the center · 15 acres
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 code0515, region 05
Center point37.26° N, 119.20° 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 Sierra National Forest30°40°50°60°70°January: 8.47 inches of precipitationFebruary: 7.80 inches of precipitationMarch: 6.80 inches of precipitationApril: 4.02 inches of precipitationMay: 2.42 inches of precipitationJune: 0.71 inches of precipitationJuly: 0.66 inches of precipitationAugust: 0.10 inches of precipitationSeptember: 0.40 inches of precipitationOctober: 2.29 inches of precipitationNovember: 3.92 inches of precipitationDecember: 6.82 inches of precipitationJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecJanuary: 33.6°F averageFebruary: 33.8°F averageMarch: 36.1°F averageApril: 39.5°F averageMay: 46.0°F averageJune: 54.2°F averageJuly: 61.4°F averageAugust: 61.7°F averageSeptember: 55.9°F averageOctober: 47.4°F averageNovember: 39.9°F averageDecember: 34.7°F average0 in2 in4 in6 in8 in10 inTemp °FInches
The line is the average temperature and the bars are average precipitation at Huntington Lake, 3 miles from the center point at 7,020 feet, station USC00044176 in the NOAA monthly climate normals for 1991 to 2020. Precipitation totals about 44 inches a year.

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 →

67 federal campgrounds sit inside the boundary and 76 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
A Group Campground
First-come128 sites
FS · Inside
Badger Flats Group
Reservable1 site
FS · Inside
Bear Wallow Camping Area
First-comeCA
FS · Inside
Big Sandy Campground
First-come18 sites
FS · Inside
Billy Creek, Lower Campground
Reservable15 sites
FS · Inside
Billy Creek, Upper Campground
Reservable44 sites
FS · Inside
Bolsillo Campground
First-come3 sites
FS · Inside
Bowler Group Campground
First-come12 sites
Show 4 more

131 more within ten miles are not listed here.

Trailheads and sites

Forest Service directory · 142

The Forest Service lists 142 recreation sites in this forest, among them 61 campgrounds, 22 picnic areas, 19 trailheads, 8 group camps. 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; 82 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 546 named trails in this forest, 1,322 miles in all. The 10 longest are listed here.

TrailMiles
California Riding and Hiking ↗49.4
Stump Springs ↗30
Dusy - Ershim ↗28.7
PCT ↗27
French ↗21.5
Blackcap ↗18.7
Woodchuck ↗17.7
PCT - Pacific Crest Trail ↗17.6
Bald Mountain ↗17.5
Coyote Lake ↗17

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 546 trails in Sierra National Forest on Trailhead Atlas ↗

Fire nearby

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

    31 mi from the center point · 15 acres

  • Prescribed
    Rx White Deer

    33 mi from the center point · 35 acres

  • Prescribed
    Grant Grove Fall Rx

    38 mi from the center point · 466 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 Park System units within 30 miles · Park Atlas
National Monument · 2 mi
Devils Postpile National Monument
National Parks · 13 mi
Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks
National Park · 16 mi
Yosemite National Park
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 Sierra National Forest?

1.4 million acres.

Source: Forest Service boundary data

Who manages Sierra National Forest?

The U.S. Forest Service.

Source: U.S. Forest Service

What state is Sierra National Forest in?

California.

Source: How states are assigned

Can I camp at Sierra 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 Sierra National Forest?

A point inside the boundary is at 37.262° N, 119.203° W. Devils Postpile National Monument is 2 miles away. The official page carries directions and the office address.

Source: U.S. Forest Service

Is there a fire near Sierra National Forest right now?

3 active incidents within 50 miles as of 2026-11-01, the nearest Crooks Rx at 31 miles. Distance is to the reported incident point, not the fire edge.

Source: Fire nearby

Which national parks are near Sierra National Forest?

Devils Postpile National Monument (2 mi), Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks (13 mi) and Yosemite National Park (16 mi). Park Atlas has fees, hours and alerts for each.

Source: Nearby on the other atlases

Are there historic places near Sierra National Forest?

The National Register has 39 listings within 15 miles, including Dinkey Creek Bridge and Bagby Stationhouse, Water Tanks and Turntable.

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: Sierra 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.