USFS · Alaska

Tongass National Forest

The Tongass National Forest in Southeast Alaska is the largest U.S. National Forest at 16.7 million acres, an expanse larger than 10 U.S. states and 75 U.N. member nations. Most of its area is temperate rain forest and is remote enough to be home to many species of endangered and rare flora and fauna. The Tongass, which is managed by the United States Forest Service, encompasses islands of the Alexander Archipelago, fjords and glaciers, and peaks of the Coast Mountains. An international border with Canada runs along the crest of the Boundary Ranges of the Coast Mountains. The forest is administered from Forest Service headquarters offices in Ketchikan. There are local ranger district offices located in Craig, Hoonah, Juneau, Ketchikan, Petersburg, Sitka, Thorne Bay, Wrangell, and Yakutat.

From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

National Forest18 million acresUSFSAK49 campgrounds within 10 mi359 Forest Service sites592 trails
Official page at U.S. Forest Service ↗

Facts

Where each comes from ↓
DesignationNational Forest
Managed byU.S. Forest Service
StateAlaska
Size18 million acres
Forest Service code1005, region 10
Center point59.56° N, 138.76° W
Night skyVery dark ground, a faint glow at most (Black Marble reading 31)

Boundary map

26 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 Tongass National Forest20°30°40°50°60°January: 12.41 inches of precipitation, 28.9 inches of snowFebruary: 10.29 inches of precipitation, 27.5 inches of snowMarch: 9.52 inches of precipitation, 30.4 inches of snowApril: 7.94 inches of precipitation, 7.2 inches of snowMay: 7.85 inches of precipitation, 0.3 inches of snowJune: 5.41 inches of precipitation, 0.0 inches of snowJuly: 7.63 inches of precipitation, 0.0 inches of snowAugust: 13.91 inches of precipitation, 0.0 inches of snowSeptember: 19.03 inches of precipitation, 0.0 inches of snowOctober: 18.88 inches of precipitation, 3.4 inches of snowNovember: 13.55 inches of precipitation, 20.0 inches of snowDecember: 13.94 inches of precipitation, 29.6 inches of snowJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecJanuary: 28.6°F averageFebruary: 30.6°F averageMarch: 31.9°F averageApril: 38.6°F averageMay: 45.6°F averageJune: 51.9°F averageJuly: 55.4°F averageAugust: 54.7°F averageSeptember: 49.4°F averageOctober: 41.9°F averageNovember: 33.7°F averageDecember: 30.8°F average0 in10 in20 in30 in40 inTemp °FInches
The line is the average temperature and the bars are average precipitation at Yakutat State AP, 32 miles from the center point at 33 feet, station USW00025339 in the NOAA monthly climate normals for 1991 to 2020. Precipitation totals about 140 inches a year. The dotted line is average snowfall, about 147 inches a year on the same inches scale.

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 →

39 federal campgrounds sit inside the boundary and 10 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
Allan Point Cabin
Reservable1 site
FS · Inside
Anchor Pass Buoy
First-comeAK
FS · Inside
Appleton Cove Cabin
Reservable1 site
FS · Inside
Avoss Lake Cabin
Reservable1 site
FS · Inside
Baranof Lake Cabin
Reservable1 site
FS · Inside
Brents Beach Cabin
Reservable1 site
FS · Inside
Davidof Lake Cabin
Reservable1 site
FS · Inside
Eagles Nest Campground
Reservable12 sites
Show 4 more

37 more within ten miles are not listed here.

Trailheads and sites

Forest Service directory · 359

The Forest Service lists 359 recreation sites in this forest, among them 172 cabins, 78 trailheads, 46 picnic areas, 25 campgrounds. 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; 299 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 592 named trails in this forest, 948 miles in all. The 10 longest are listed here.

TrailMiles
Honker Divide Canoe Route ↗31.4
Sarkar Canoe Route ↗11.3
Portage Mountain Loop Trail ↗11
Petersburg Lake Trail ↗10.4
Treadwell Ditch Trail ↗10
Deer Mountain National Recreat ↗9
Indian River Road ↗8.6
Twin Lakes Road ↗8.2
Iris Meadows Road ↗8
Muddy River ↗7.7

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 592 trails in Tongass National Forest on Trailhead Atlas ↗

Explore

Nearby on the other atlases

National Park System units within 30 miles · Park Atlas
National Historical Park · 1 mi
Sitka National Historical Park
National Historical Park · 4 mi
Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park
National Register listings within 15 miles · 91 in all · Register Atlas

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

Guidebooks for Alaska

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

Titles come from Open Library's catalog, matched by subject heading or by title.

Reference

Questions people ask

How big is Tongass National Forest?

18 million acres.

Source: Forest Service boundary data

Who manages Tongass National Forest?

The U.S. Forest Service.

Source: U.S. Forest Service

What state is Tongass National Forest in?

Alaska.

Source: How states are assigned

Can I camp at Tongass 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 Tongass National Forest?

A point inside the boundary is at 59.563° N, 138.761° W. Sitka National Historical Park is 1 mile away. The official page carries directions and the office address.

Source: U.S. Forest Service

Which national parks are near Tongass National Forest?

Sitka National Historical Park (1 mi) and Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park (4 mi). Park Atlas has fees, hours and alerts for each.

Source: Nearby on the other atlases

Are there historic places near Tongass National Forest?

The National Register has 91 listings within 15 miles, including Russian-American Building No. 29 and St. Michael's Cathedral.

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: Tongass 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.