USFS · Washington

Gifford Pinchot National Forest

Gifford Pinchot National Forest is a national forest located in southern Washington, managed by the United States Forest Service. With an area of 1.32 million acres (5,300 km2), it extends 116 km (72 mi) along the western slopes of Cascade Range from Mount Rainier National Park to the Columbia River. The forest straddles the crest of the South Cascades of Washington State, spread out over broad old-growth forests, high mountain meadows, several glaciers, and numerous volcanic peaks. The forest's highest point is at 12,276 ft (3,742 m) at the top of Mount Adams, the second-tallest volcano in the state after Rainier. Often found abbreviated GPNF on maps and in texts, it includes the 110,000-acre (450 km2) Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument, established by Congress in 1982.

From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

National Forest1.5 million acresUSFSWA61 campgrounds within 10 mi195 Forest Service sites392 trails
Official page at U.S. Forest Service ↗
4 fires
active
Spud Piles Rx - North (prescribed burn) · 8 mi from the center
3 more within 50 miles
Incident details ↓

Facts

Where each comes from ↓
DesignationNational Forest
Managed byU.S. Forest Service
StateWashington
Size1.5 million acres
Forest Service code0603, region 06
Center point46.27° N, 121.87° W
Night skyAbout as dark as the ground gets (Black Marble reading 8)

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 →

43 federal campgrounds sit inside the boundary and 18 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
Adams Fork Campground
Reservable24 sites
FS · Inside
Beaver Campground
Reservable25 sites
FS · Inside
Big Creek
Reservable29 sites
FS · Inside
Blue Lake Creek Campground
Reservable11 sites
FS · Inside
Campground: Coho Group Camp
Reservable100 sites
FS · Inside
Campground: Morrison Creek
First-comeWA
FS · Inside
Campground: Twin Falls
First-come5 sites
FS · Inside
Campground: Wicky Shelter
First-comeWA
Show 4 more

49 more within ten miles are not listed here.

Trailheads and sites

Forest Service directory · 195

The Forest Service lists 195 recreation sites in this forest, among them 90 trailheads, 29 campgrounds, 16 nordic ski trails, 12 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; 135 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 392 named trails in this forest, 1,454 miles in all. The 10 longest are listed here.

TrailMiles
PCT: Gifford Pinchot ↗151
Boundary ↗57
Loowit ↗26.1
5200 Snowmobile ↗24
Klickitat Loop ↗23.7
Kalama ↗21.3
Berryfield SM Loop ↗18
Valley ↗17.4
Hard Time Loop ↗16.9
PCT: Naches South ↗16.1

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 392 trails in Gifford Pinchot National Forest on Trailhead Atlas ↗

Fire nearby

Within 50 miles · as of 2026-11-01
  • Prescribed
    Spud Piles Rx - North

    8 mi from the center point

  • Prescribed
    Moe Pile Rx - North

    11 mi from the center point · 32 acres

  • Prescribed
    Crazy Piles Rx - South

    14 mi from the center point

  • Prescribed
    Red Top Piles Rx - South

    23 mi from the center point · 42 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 Park · 9 mi
Mount Rainier National Park
National Historic Site · 25 mi
Fort Vancouver National Historic Site
National Register listings within 15 miles · 140 in all · Register Atlas

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

Guidebooks for Washington

We earn a small commission if you buy through these links. It does not change what we list.

  • Backpacking Washington
    Douglas Lorain, 2020
    Find at Bookshop.org
  • Pacific Crest Trail: Oregon and Washington
    Andy Selters, 2019
    Find at Bookshop.org
  • Hiking Waterfalls in Washington
    Sawyer Scheer, 2019
    Find at Bookshop.org
  • Hiking Washington's Fire Lookouts
    Amber Casali, 2018
    Find at Bookshop.org
  • Hikes in the Washington Region Part C
    Larry Broadwell and William Needham, 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 Gifford Pinchot National Forest?

1.5 million acres.

Source: Forest Service boundary data

Who manages Gifford Pinchot National Forest?

The U.S. Forest Service.

Source: U.S. Forest Service

What state is Gifford Pinchot National Forest in?

Washington.

Source: How states are assigned

Can I camp at Gifford Pinchot 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 Gifford Pinchot National Forest?

A point inside the boundary is at 46.267° N, 121.870° W. Mount Rainier National Park is 9 miles away. The official page carries directions and the office address.

Source: U.S. Forest Service

Is there a fire near Gifford Pinchot National Forest right now?

4 active incidents within 50 miles as of 2026-11-01, the nearest Spud Piles Rx - North at 8 miles. Distance is to the reported incident point, not the fire edge.

Source: Fire nearby

Which national parks are near Gifford Pinchot National Forest?

Mount Rainier National Park (9 mi) and Fort Vancouver National Historic Site (25 mi). Park Atlas has fees, hours and alerts for each.

Source: Nearby on the other atlases

Are there historic places near Gifford Pinchot National Forest?

The National Register has 140 listings within 15 miles, including Bonneville Dam Historic District (Boundary Increase) and Columbia River Highway Historic District.

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: Gifford Pinchot 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.