USFS · California

Tahoe National Forest

Tahoe National Forest is a United States National Forest located in California, northwest of Lake Tahoe. It includes the 8,587-foot (2,617 m) peak of Sierra Buttes, near Sierra City, which has views of Mount Lassen and Mount Shasta. It is located in parts of six counties: Sierra, Placer, Nevada, Yuba, Plumas and El Dorado. The forest has a total area of 871,495 acres. Its headquarters is in Nevada City, California. There are local ranger district offices in Camptonville, Foresthill, Sierraville and Truckee.

From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

National Forest1.2 million acresUSFSCA113 campgrounds within 10 mi117 Forest Service sites423 trails
Official page at U.S. Forest Service ↗
1 fire
active
Madrone Springs Underburn Rx (prescribed burn) · 21 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
StateCalifornia
Size1.2 million acres
Forest Service code0517, region 05
Center point39.39° N, 120.54° W
Night skyAbout as dark as the ground gets (Black Marble reading 17)

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 Tahoe National Forest30°40°50°60°70°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecJanuary: 34.5°F averageFebruary: 36.0°F averageMarch: 38.9°F averageApril: 43.2°F averageMay: 50.5°F averageJune: 58.8°F averageJuly: 65.2°F averageAugust: 64.3°F averageSeptember: 60.1°F averageOctober: 50.8°F averageNovember: 40.4°F averageDecember: 34.0°F averageTemp °F
The line is the average temperature at Lake Spaulding, 7 miles from the center point at 5,156 feet, station USC00044713 in the NOAA monthly climate normals for 1991 to 2020. The station sits about 2,200 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 →

76 federal campgrounds sit inside the boundary and 37 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
Ahart Campground
Reservable12 sites
USACE · Inside
Alpine Meadow Campground
Reservable24 sites
FS · Inside
Bear Valley Campground
First-come10 sites
FS · Inside
Berger
Reservable9 sites
FS · Inside
Big Bend Group
Reservable2 sites
FS · Inside
Big Reservoir Campground
Reservable19 sites
FS · Inside
Boca Campground
Reservable23 sites
FS · Inside
Boca Rest Campground
Reservable39 sites
Show 4 more

101 more within ten miles are not listed here.

Trailheads and sites

Forest Service directory · 117

The Forest Service lists 117 recreation sites in this forest, among them 64 campgrounds, 12 picnic areas, 11 group camps, 6 paddling accesss. 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; 57 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 423 named trails in this forest, 1,351 miles in all. The 10 longest are listed here.

TrailMiles
Western States ↗68.1
Mosquito Ridge ↗28.8
Pioneer ↗25.8
Meadow Lake Loop ↗22.1
Tevis Cup ↗19.9
Humbug (Loop 5) ↗19.8
Cal-Ida Mc ↗17.2
Treasure Mountain Loop ↗17
Haskell Peak ↗16.1
North Yuba ↗15.9

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 423 trails in Tahoe National Forest on Trailhead Atlas ↗

Fire nearby

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

    21 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 Register listings within 15 miles · 126 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 Tahoe National Forest?

1.2 million acres.

Source: Forest Service boundary data

Who manages Tahoe National Forest?

The U.S. Forest Service.

Source: U.S. Forest Service

What state is Tahoe National Forest in?

California.

Source: How states are assigned

Can I camp at Tahoe 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 Tahoe National Forest?

A point inside the boundary is at 39.394° N, 120.540° W. The official page carries directions and the office address.

Source: U.S. Forest Service

Is there a fire near Tahoe National Forest right now?

1 active incident within 50 miles as of 2026-11-01, the nearest Madrone Springs Underburn Rx at 21 miles. Distance is to the reported incident point, not the fire edge.

Source: Fire nearby

Are there historic places near Tahoe National Forest?

The National Register has 126 listings within 15 miles, including Nevada City Free Public Library and Coloma.

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: Tahoe 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.