We are fans of forests!
What is 159usForests?
159usForests is a website to encourage exploration of our nation's beautiful forests. Our country's forests often have vistas, trails and wilderness that rival our National Parks and with fewer crowds. Getting outside and into nature is good for your mind and your body. Hopefully this webpage can help inspire you to visit some or all of our forests.
How many national forests does the United States have? It's actually not a completely straightforward answer. This list is the 156 national forests, with 3 state forests that are too significant to not also include, for a total of 159 forests.
This list counts each national forest separately, even when a forest is managed as a pair or triplet forest (of the national forests there are 25 pairs and 3 triplet forests). Normally it is easy to just separate them. The Bridger-Teton National Forest is easy to separate into Bridger and Teton for example. However, the Idaho Panhandle National Forest contains Coeur d'Alene, Kaniksu and St. Joe National Forests, so we've counted each one separately. Also this list includes the Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit and the Land between the Lakes National Recreation Areas as forests since they are managed as forests despite their names. In further support of including them they are both included on the official US Forest Service website under the "find a forest" list. Finally, the North Maine Woods, New York's Adirondacks and the PA Wilds are just too significant to not include. So when you add them all up you get 159usForests. If you want even more details click on FAQ above.
Please remember when you visit a forest to follow all rules and the principles of leave no trace. I also urge you to even do one better and pick up someone else's trash if you see it. Try to leave each forest a little nicer than you found it for future visitors and generations to enjoy.
