The Biggest National Forests In The United States

By
Mountain Journey
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The US Forest Service manages 154 National Forests in the United States. These protected areas are scattered across 40 states plus Puerto Rico. In total, the US Forest Service protects 188,336,179 acres of National Forest! This acreage is organized into 9 forest service regions, 114 administrative forests, and 515 ranger districts.

US Forest Service Logo
US Forest Service Logo

The biggest national forests in the United States all consist of over 2 million acres. When broken down into individual national forest units, the biggest national forests in the United States are:

  1. Tongass National Forest – 16,748,360 acres – Alaska
  2. Chugach National Forest – 5,419,095 acres – Alaska
  3. Toiyabe National Forest – 3,889,856 acres – California/Nevada
  4. Tonto National Forest – 2,866,663 – Arizona
  5. Gila National Forest – 2,658,231 acres – New Mexico
  6. Boise National Forest – 2,648,273 acres – Idaho
  7. Challis National Forest – 2,453,434 acres – Idaho
  8. Shoshone National Forest – 2,439,093 acres – Wyoming
  9. Flathead National Forest – 2,413,573 acres – Montana
  10. Humboldt National Forest – 2,401,090 acres – Idaho/Nevada
  11. Payette National Forest – 2,326,779 acres – Idaho
  12. White River National Forest – 2,287,495 acres – Colorado
  13. Lolo National Forest – 2,237,961 acres – Montana
  14. Nez Perce National Forest – 2,223,586 acres – Idaho
  15. Beaverhead National Forest – 2,136,337 acres – Montana

Sometimes the biggest national forests in the United States are measured by administrative units. If so, these are the largest national forests:

  1. Tongass National Forest – 16,748,359 acres
  2. Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest – 6,255,226 acres
  3. Chugach National Forest – 5,419,094 acres
  4. Salmon-Challis National Forest – 4,353,984 acres
  5. Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest – 3,999,904 acres
  6. Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forest – 3,935,457 acres
  7. Bridger-Teton National Forest – 3,420,521 acres
  8. Beaverhead Deerlodge National Forest – 3,392,167 acres
  9. Gila National Forest – 3,269,713 acres

All information in this post is taken from the USDA Land Areas of The National Forest System which was published on September 30, 2016. For more information on the biggest National Forests please visit FS.FED.us.

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