USFS · Puerto Rico

El Yunque National Forest

El Yunque National Forest, formerly known as the Caribbean National Forest, is a forest located in northeastern Puerto Rico. While there are both temperate and tropical rainforests in other states and territories, it is the only tropical rainforest in the United States National Forest System and the United States Forest Service. El Yunque National Forest is located on the slopes of the Sierra de Luquillo mountains, encompassing more than 28,000 acres of land, making it the largest block of public land in Puerto Rico.

From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

National Forest55,812 acresUSFSPR16 trails
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Facts

Where each comes from ↓
DesignationNational Forest
Managed byU.S. Forest Service
TerritoryPuerto Rico
Size55,812 acres
Forest Service code0816, region 08
Center point18.29° N, 65.80° W
Night skySome glow on the horizon (Black Marble reading 44)

Boundary map

2 outlines

Boundary, simplified to about 0.005 degrees

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 El Yunque National Forest60°70°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecJanuary: 62.6°F averageFebruary: 62.3°F averageMarch: 62.8°F averageApril: 63.6°F averageMay: 65.6°F averageJune: 66.5°F averageJuly: 66.7°F averageAugust: 67.5°F averageSeptember: 67.9°F averageOctober: 67.5°F averageNovember: 65.6°F averageDecember: 63.7°F averageTemp °F
The line is the average temperature at Pico Del Este, 3 miles from the center point at 3,448 feet, station RQC00666992 in the NOAA monthly climate normals for 1991 to 2020.

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.

Trails

Every trail on Trailhead Atlas →

The Forest Service trail layer records 16 named trails in this forest, 18 miles in all. The 10 longest are listed here.

TrailMiles
Tradewinds Trail ↗5.2
El Toro Trail2.5
El Yunque Trail2.5
Carrillo Trail1.6
La Coca Trail1.6
Big Tree Trail0.8
Mt. Britton Trail0.8
La Mina Trail0.7
Angelito Trail0.4
Bano de Oro Trail0.4

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 16 trails in El Yunque National Forest on Trailhead Atlas ↗

Limited data for this unit

This unit has no confirmed official page or nearby campgrounds in the sources this site reads. The boundary, size, agency and location above come from the agency layer.

The sources are read again every Sunday.

Explore

Nearby on the other atlases

National Park System units within 30 miles · Park Atlas
National Historic Site · 18 mi
San Juan National Historic Site
National Register listings within 15 miles · 121 in all · Register Atlas

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

Guidebooks for hiking across the country

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

  • Walks of a Lifetime in America
    Manning, 2020
    Find at Bookshop.org
  • Backpacker's the national parks coast to coast
    Ted Alvarez, 2016
    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 El Yunque National Forest?

55,812 acres.

Source: Forest Service boundary data

Who manages El Yunque National Forest?

The U.S. Forest Service.

Source: U.S. Forest Service

Where is El Yunque National Forest?

Puerto Rico.

Source: How states are assigned

How do I get to El Yunque National Forest?

A point inside the boundary is at 18.289° N, 65.802° W. San Juan National Historic Site is 18 miles away. The official page carries directions and the office address.

Source: U.S. Forest Service

Which national parks are near El Yunque National Forest?

San Juan National Historic Site (18 mi). Park Atlas has fees, hours and alerts for each.

Source: Nearby on the other atlases

Are there historic places near El Yunque National Forest?

The National Register has 121 listings within 15 miles, including Casa Dra. Concha Melendez Ramirez and Bano Grande.

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: El Yunque 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.