USFS · National forest · 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 acresUSFSCA121 campgrounds within 10 mi117 Forest Service sites
Official page at U.S. Forest Service ↗
1fire
active
Floriston · 27 mi from the center · 610 acres
Interagency incident data as of 2026-09-17
Incident details ↓

Facts

Where each comes from ↓
DesignationNational Forest
Managed byU.S. Forest Service
StateCalifornia
Size1.2 million acres (Forest Service administrative boundary (gis_acres))
Forest Service code0517, region 05
Center point39.3937, -120.5399
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.

Where to camp

Campsite Atlas →

77 federal campgrounds sit inside the boundary and 44 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
Boca Campground
Reservable23 sites
FS · Inside
Boca Rest Campground
Reservable39 sites
FS · Inside
Boca Spring
Reservable18 sites
Show 4 more

109 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.

Fire nearby

Within 50 miles · as of 2026-09-17
  • Wildfire
    Floriston

    27 mi from the center point · 610 acres · 4% contained

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 · 122 in all · Register Atlas

Landmarks are listed first, then by distance from the boundary.

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?

77 federal campgrounds sit inside the boundary, including Ahart Campground, Alpine Meadow Campground and Bear Valley Campground. 121 in all are within ten miles. Dispersed camping is allowed on most national forest land outside developed sites; check the forest page for closures.

Source: Where to camp

Where are the trailheads in Tahoe National Forest?

The Forest Service lists 117 recreation sites here, including 64 campground campgrounds, 12 picnickings and 11 group campgrounds. Each one links to its Forest Service page.

Source: Trailheads and sites

How do I get to Tahoe National Forest?

A point inside the boundary is at 39.394, -120.540. 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 2026-09-17, the nearest Floriston at 27 miles. Distance is to the reported incident point, not the fire edge.

Source: Fire nearby

How dark is the night sky at Tahoe National Forest?

NASA’s Black Marble night-lights image reads 17 on a 0 to 255 scale at the center point, about as dark as the ground gets.

Source: NASA Black Marble

Are there historic places near Tahoe National Forest?

122 National Register 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: computed by intersecting the boundary with Census state polygons; a state is listed when it holds at least one percent of the area.
  • 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.
  • 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.