Recreation Quick Facts, USDA Forest Service

 

Land Area Information

 

Number of National Forests and Grasslands

177 (155 forests, 22 grasslands), 192 million acres

States, Territories, Commonwealths having National Forests and National Grasslands

42

Wilderness Areas

403  (35.2million acres)

Percent of Nat’l Wilderness Preservation System Managed by Forest Service in lower 48 states

63%

Percent of Nat’l Wilderness Preservation System Managed by Forest Service in total U.S.

34%

National Recreation Areas (NRA) (includes Land Between the Lakes NRA)

20

National Scenic Areas  (NSA)

9

National Monuments and Volcanic Monuments and National Preserves (NM)

7

Acres of NRA, NSA and NM (includes Land Between the Lakes NRA)

Over 7 million

Recreation Roads, Trails and Rivers

 

National Forest Scenic Byways

136  (9,126 miles)

Wild and Scenic Rivers

95  (4,418 miles)

Trails

133,087 miles

Scenic and Historic Trails

6,709 miles

Sites, Facilities, and Services

 

Heritage Sites

277,000

Campgrounds

4,300 (122,000 camp sites)

Developed Recreation Sites

23,000

Alpine Ski Areas

135

Picnic Sites

1,496

Boating Sites

1,222

Swimming Areas

140

Recreation Facilities

18,000

Recreation Residences

14,900

Resorts

480

Outfitter/Guide Permits

5,700

Visitor Use

 (from: National Visitor Use Monitoring Program - years 2000-2003)

Annual Number of National Forest Visits

205 million

The White River National Forest in Colorado received the most national forest visits (9.7 million), of which 6.5 million were skier visits.  Not including skier visits, the Arapaho Roosevelt (Colorado) and Tonto National Forest (Arizona) received the most visits (6.0 and 5.9 million, respectively).  Other top visited National Forests include the National Forests in North Carolina, the Wasatch-Cache National Forest (Utah), Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie (Washington), Mount Hood (Oregon), Superior (Michigan) and Inyo (California). 

Site visits to Wilderness (included in total visits reported above)

8.8 million

Additional occasions of people viewing National Forest from non-Forest Service managed lands and waters

175 million

Top 5 recreational activities

viewing natural features, general relaxation, hiking, viewing wildlife, driving for pleasure

Percent of visitors rating their satisfaction Good to Very Good

80

 

Title:  recreation facts
Last Modified:  January 2001, revised June 2005