Shasta-Trinity National Forest

General Forest History

Welcome to the Shasta-Trinity National Forest website where you can access information about the vast federal lands that we professionally manage in Northern California. The forest is the largest in California with a diverse landscape ranging from 1,000 to 14,162 feet. The 2.1 million acre forest encompasses five wilderness areas, hundreds of mountain lakes and 6,278 miles of streams and rivers.

The employees of the "Shasta-T" manage a healthy forest by enhancing wildlife habitat, maintaining clean water, producing timber products and safeguarding communities at risk from wildfires. Pivotal in the economical, tourism and recreational aspects of Northern California, the Shasta-Trinity National Forest is a land of breathtaking beauty and a place for everyone to enjoy the great outdoors.

The Shasta-T includes portions of five designated Wilderness Areas: Castle Crags, Chanchellulla, Mount Shasta, Trinity Alps and Yolla Bolly-Middle Eel. The main branch of the Trinity River is a designated Wild and Scenic River which runs through the forest. A 154 mile section of the Pacific Crest Trail runs in an east - west direction across the Shasta-Trinity National Forest. The Trinity Heritage and the Trinity River Scenic Byways are two scenic drives in the area.

Shasta Lake's 365 miles of shoreline made-up of many arms and inlets make it a paradise for explorers and boaters alike. The four major arms of the lake, Sacramento, McCloud, Squaw Creek and Pit offer spectacular scenery as well as unusual geologic and historic areas of interest.

Lewiston Lake lies just downstream from Trinity Dam and just north of the town of Lewiston and is a constant level lake. It lies within the Whiskeytown-Shasta-Trinity National Recreation Area.

From a height of 7,309 feet, Little Mt. Hoffman offers a spectacular view of Mt. Shasta, Mt. Lassen, Mt. McLoughlin and a variety of other interesting landforms. From the Tulelake Basin in the north to the Fall River valley in the south, the 360 degree view offers a peek at some of Northern California's most unique and beautiful scenery. Located east of majestic Mt. Shasta, in the lavaflow area of Medicine Lake, is the Little Mt. Hoffman fire lookout. Restored to its original character, the lookout is now being offered as an overnight retreat for personal recreation use.

The huge Shasta-Trinity National Forest offers a wide range of recreational activities. Some of these include hiking, backpacking, mountain climbing, horseback riding, camping, boating, fishing, sightseeing, downhill skiing, snowboarding, cross-country skiing, and snowmobiling.

Iron Canyon, Lewiston, Lake McCloud, Shasta Lake and Trinity are the large lakes and reservoirs in the area for fishing, boating and camping. There are many alpine lakes in the Trinity Divide area of the Shasta-T, most of which support trout. Some of our smaller mountain streams are too steep to maintain fish life, but where the water is suitable, fine fishing is usually to be found. The Trinity River is very popular for salmon and steelhead angling, as is the Stuart Fork of the Trinity River and such streams as Canyon (closed to fishing below Canyon Creek Falls), Coffee, Grizzly, Rush and Swift Creeks, all of which drain the Trinity Alps Wilderness, are all good trout streams.

The Shasta-Trinity National Forest lies within portions of Humboldt, Modoc, Shasta, Siskiyou, Tehama and Trinity Counties. The Forest is divided into seven ranger districts. In the last few years, the districts have been combined into 'management units.'

Explore more in-depth the Shasta-T by visiting any of the four Management Unit websites...

• South Fork Management Unit is based in Hayfork and contains the Hayfork and Yolla Bolla Ranger Districts.
• Trinity River Management Unit is based in Weaverville and contains part of the Weaverville and all of the Big Bar Ranger Districts.
• Shasta McCloud Management Unit is based in McCloud and contains the McCloud and Mt. Shasta Ranger Districts.
• Shasta-Trinity National Recreation Area is based in Mountain Gate and contains all of the Shasta Lake and part of the Weaverville Ranger Districts.

Partners & Contractors

Forest Service Business Opportunities

Sensitive/Endemic Plants

Our Forest Botanist has compiled a pictorial list of sensitive and endemic plants. Many of the plants are quite beautiful [link temporarily removed]

List of Threatened, Endangered, Proposed, Sensitive and Endemic Plants known or suspected to occur on the Shasta-Trinity National Forest, California - October 2006