RECREATION AND PLACES OF INTEREST (Demographics Table of Contents)
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National Forests
The 18 national forests in California are administered by the United States Forest Service. National forests cover about 8.3 million hectares (about 20.6 million acres). Within the national forests are a number of wilderness areas and wildlife refuges. Los Padres National Forest, the largest national forest wholly within the state, covers 688,000 hectares (1,700,000 acres) in western California. Most of the other larger national forests in California lie in the northern and northeastern parts of the state. Shasta-Trinity national forest, in northern California, lies in a volcanic area culminating in the beautiful snowcapped Mount Shasta. In the northern coastal uplands is Six Rivers National Forest, noted for its groves of redwoods. Extending across the Sierra Nevada along California's eastern border are Plumas, Tahoe, Eldorado, Stanislaus, and Inyo national forests. Sierra National Forest, in the Sierra Nevada region, preserves stands of giant sequoias.