USFS · Idaho

Salmon-Challis National Forest

Salmon–Challis National Forest is located in east central sections of the U.S. state of Idaho. At 4,235,940 acres it is one of the largest national forests in the lower 48 states and also has most of the land area of the Frank Church–River of No Return Wilderness, which is the largest wilderness area south of Alaska.

From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

National Forest4.4 million acresUSFSID115 campgrounds within 10 mi100 Forest Service sites672 trails
Official page at U.S. Forest Service ↗

Facts

Where each comes from ↓
DesignationNational Forest
Managed byU.S. Forest Service
StateIdaho
Size4.4 million acres (Forest Service administrative boundary (gis_acres))
Forest Service code0413, region 04
Center point44.9725, -114.4547
Night skyAbout as dark as the ground gets (Black Marble reading 12)

Boundary map

6 outlines

Boundary, simplified to about 0.005 degrees Federal campground Forest Service recreation site

The outline is the agency boundary simplified for display, so small parcels and inholdings may not show. The agency page has the authoritative map.

Weather by month

NOAA climate normals →
Weather by month near Salmon-Challis National Forest20°30°40°50°60°70°January: 1.21 inches of precipitation, 9.4 inches of snowFebruary: 0.87 inches of precipitation, 5.3 inches of snowMarch: 1.07 inches of precipitation, 3.0 inches of snowApril: 1.49 inches of precipitation, 0.3 inches of snowMay: 1.84 inches of precipitation, 0.2 inches of snowJune: 1.73 inches of precipitation, 0.0 inches of snowJuly: 0.99 inches of precipitation, 0.0 inches of snowAugust: 0.69 inches of precipitation, 0.0 inches of snowSeptember: 1.10 inches of precipitation, 0.0 inches of snowOctober: 1.36 inches of precipitation, 0.2 inches of snowNovember: 1.44 inches of precipitation, 4.7 inches of snowDecember: 1.09 inches of precipitation, 8.1 inches of snowJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecJanuary: 23.6°F averageFebruary: 28.9°F averageMarch: 38.2°F averageApril: 45.8°F averageMay: 53.9°F averageJune: 60.9°F averageJuly: 69.7°F averageAugust: 68.4°F averageSeptember: 58.7°F averageOctober: 45.5°F averageNovember: 32.7°F averageDecember: 23.5°F average0 in2 in4 in6 in8 in10 inTemp °FInches
The line is the average temperature and the bars are average precipitation at Taylor Rch, 21 miles from the center point at 3,835 feet, station USC00109000 in the NOAA monthly climate normals for 1991 to 2020. Precipitation totals about 15 inches a year. The dotted line is average snowfall, about 31 inches a year on the same inches scale. The station sits about 3,600 feet lower than the center point, so temperatures on the ground run cooler.

Large units span more than one climate. The station stands in for the center point, and the outer parts of the boundary can be warmer or colder.

Where to camp

Campsite Atlas →

41 federal campgrounds sit inside the boundary and 74 more are within ten miles of it. Nearest first. Distances are from the campground point to the boundary edge, from the Campsite Atlas index.

FS · Inside
Bear Valley Horse Camp
First-comeID
FS · Inside
Beaver Creek Campground
First-come8 sites
FS · Inside
Bench Creek Campground
First-come5 sites
FS · Inside
Big Creek Campground
First-comeID
FS · Inside
Bighorn Crags Campground
First-come14 sites
FS · Inside
Blind Creek Campground
First-comeID
FS · Inside
Bonanza Ccc Group Campground
Reservable1 site
FS · Inside
Bonanza Group Campground
Reservable12 sites
Show 4 more

103 more within ten miles are not listed here.

Trailheads and sites

Forest Service directory · 100

The Forest Service lists 100 recreation sites in this forest, among them 41 campgrounds, 18 dispersed campings, 16 trailheads, 8 picnic areas. Each links to its page on fs.usda.gov, which carries the season, fees and current status.

Show all 60

The 60 closest to the center point are listed; 40 more are on the Forest Service site.

Distance is from the center point of the boundary, not from a road or town.

Trails

Every trail on Trailhead Atlas →

The Forest Service trail layer records 672 named trails in this forest, 3,466 miles in all. The 10 longest are listed here.

TrailMiles
Continental Divide NST ↗79.9
Middle Fork ↗71.8
Loon Creek Road (winter Trail) ↗47.3
Copper Basin Road - Fr 135 ↗35.8
Square Top-West Horse ↗33.4
Divide NRT ↗31.6
Middle Fork River ↗31.6
Indian Creek ↗30.2
Hay-Knapp Creek ↗29.8
Bighorn Crags ↗29.7

Lengths and allowed uses come from the Forest Service trail layer by way of Trailhead Atlas, refreshed September 18, 2026. Trails in plain text have no page there yet.

All 672 trails in Salmon-Challis National Forest on Trailhead Atlas ↗

Explore

Nearby on the other atlases

National Park System units within 30 miles · Park Atlas
National Battlefield · 9 mi
Big Hole National Battlefield
National Monument & Preserve · 27 mi
Craters Of The Moon National Monument & Preserve
National Register listings within 15 miles · 55 in all · Register Atlas

Landmarks are listed first, then by distance from the boundary.

Reference

Questions people ask

How big is Salmon-Challis National Forest?

4.4 million acres.

Source: Forest Service boundary data

Who manages Salmon-Challis National Forest?

The U.S. Forest Service.

Source: U.S. Forest Service

What state is Salmon-Challis National Forest in?

Idaho.

Source: How states are assigned

Can I camp at Salmon-Challis National Forest?

41 federal campgrounds sit inside the boundary, including Bear Valley Horse Camp, Beaver Creek Campground and Bench Creek Campground. 115 in all are within ten miles. Dispersed camping is allowed on most national forest land outside developed sites; check the forest page for closures.

Source: Where to camp

Where are the trailheads in Salmon-Challis National Forest?

The Forest Service lists 100 recreation sites here, including 41 campground campgrounds, 18 dispersed campgrounds and 16 trailheads. Each one links to its Forest Service page.

Source: Trailheads and sites

How do I get to Salmon-Challis National Forest?

A point inside the boundary is at 44.972, -114.455. Big Hole National Battlefield is 9 miles away. The official page carries directions and the office address.

Source: U.S. Forest Service

How dark is the night sky at Salmon-Challis National Forest?

NASA’s Black Marble night-lights image reads 12 on a 0 to 255 scale at the center point, about as dark as the ground gets.

Source: NASA Black Marble

Which national parks are near Salmon-Challis National Forest?

Big Hole National Battlefield (9 mi) and Craters Of The Moon National Monument & Preserve (27 mi). Park Atlas has fees, hours and alerts for each.

Source: Nearby on the other atlases

Are there historic places near Salmon-Challis National Forest?

55 National Register listings within 15 miles, including Butts Point Creek Fire Lookout and Yankee Fork Gold Dredge.

Source: Register Atlas

Sources

  • Boundary, name, acreage and code: the Forest Service Enterprise Data Warehouse.
  • States: computed by intersecting the boundary with Census state polygons; a state is listed when it holds at least one percent of the area.
  • Description: Salmon–Challis National Forest on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. The article was accepted because its title contains this unit’s name.
  • Campgrounds: the Campsite Atlas index of federal campgrounds, matched to this boundary at build time.
  • Trailheads and sites: the Forest Service Recreation Opportunities layer, matched by forest code.
  • Trails: the Trailhead Atlas open-data file of Forest Service trails, matched by forest code.
  • Night sky: NASA Black Marble (VIIRS, 2016 composite) sampled at zoom 6 around the center point.
  • Weather, alerts, air quality, river flow and earthquakes load live in your browser from NWS, AirNow, USGS and iNaturalist when you open the page.