USFS · Oregon

Deschutes National Forest

The Deschutes National Forest is a United States national forest (NF) located in Central Oregon, in parts of Deschutes, Klamath, Lake, and Jefferson counties. It was established in 1908, with border changes following in 1911 and 1915. The forest now encompasses almost 1.6 million acres (6,500 km2) along the east side of the Cascade Range. The forest is bordered to the south by the Fremont–Winema NF, to the southwest by the Umpqua NF, and to the west by the Willamette NF.

From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

National Forest1.9 million acresUSFSOR131 campgrounds within 10 mi248 Forest Service sites619 trails
Official page at U.S. Forest Service ↗
1fire
active
Thor Rx (prescribed burn) · 11 mi from the center
Interagency incident data as of 2026-09-18
Incident details ↓

Facts

Where each comes from ↓
DesignationNational Forest
Managed byU.S. Forest Service
StateOregon
Size1.9 million acres (Forest Service administrative boundary (gis_acres))
Forest Service code0601, region 06
Center point43.8355, -121.5359
Night skyAbout as dark as the ground gets (Black Marble reading 13)

Boundary map

1 outline

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 Deschutes National Forest20°30°40°50°60°70°January: 2.86 inches of precipitationFebruary: 1.91 inches of precipitationMarch: 1.54 inches of precipitationApril: 1.16 inches of precipitationMay: 1.71 inches of precipitationJune: 1.09 inches of precipitationJuly: 0.52 inches of precipitationAugust: 0.55 inches of precipitationSeptember: 0.75 inches of precipitationOctober: 1.44 inches of precipitationNovember: 2.43 inches of precipitationDecember: 3.16 inches of precipitationJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecJanuary: 29.7°F averageFebruary: 32.1°F averageMarch: 37.0°F averageApril: 40.6°F averageMay: 48.8°F averageJune: 54.6°F averageJuly: 62.5°F averageAugust: 61.6°F averageSeptember: 54.9°F averageOctober: 44.9°F averageNovember: 35.1°F averageDecember: 28.3°F average0 in1 in2 in3 in4 inTemp °FInches
The line is the average temperature and the bars are average precipitation at Sunriver, 7 miles from the center point at 4,180 feet, station USC00358246 in the NOAA monthly climate normals for 1991 to 2020. Precipitation totals about 19 inches a year.

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 →

94 federal campgrounds sit inside the boundary and 37 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
Allen Springs Campground
Reservable16 sites
FS · Inside
Allingham Campground
Reservable10 sites
FS · Inside
Big River
Reservable13 sites
FS · Inside
Blue Bay
Reservable25 sites
FS · Inside
Boundary Springs Campground
First-comeOR
FS · Inside
Bull Bend Campground
Reservable12 sites
FS · Inside
Camp Sherman Campground
Reservable15 sites
FS · Inside
Chief Paulina Horse Camp
Reservable14 sites
Show 4 more

119 more within ten miles are not listed here.

Trailheads and sites

Forest Service directory · 248

The Forest Service lists 248 recreation sites in this forest, among them 72 campgrounds, 46 trailheads, 27 paddling accesss, 27 boat launchs. 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; 188 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 619 named trails in this forest, 2,222 miles in all. The 10 longest are listed here.

TrailMiles
Metolius-Windigo ↗142.6
Trail #2 -Cross District Trail ↗41.9
OHV #40 ↗39.4
Snomo #5 ↗37.8
Newberry #80 ↗28.9
Pacific Crest Trail - Wif1 ↗27.1
Swamp Wells ↗24.2
OHV #30 ↗23.6
Snomo #2 ↗22.5
Green Lakes ↗20.8

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 619 trails in Deschutes National Forest on Trailhead Atlas ↗

Fire nearby

Within 50 miles · as of 2026-09-18
  • Prescribed
    Thor Rx

    11 mi from the center point

Distance is to the reported incident point, not the fire edge, and is measured from the center of a boundary that may be many miles across. Check the agency page for closures.

Explore

Nearby on the other atlases

National Park System units within 30 miles · Park Atlas
National Park · 23 mi
Crater Lake National Park
National Register listings within 15 miles · 45 in all · Register Atlas

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

Reference

Questions people ask

How big is Deschutes National Forest?

1.9 million acres.

Source: Forest Service boundary data

Who manages Deschutes National Forest?

The U.S. Forest Service.

Source: U.S. Forest Service

What state is Deschutes National Forest in?

Oregon.

Source: How states are assigned

Can I camp at Deschutes National Forest?

94 federal campgrounds sit inside the boundary, including Allen Springs Campground, Allingham Campground and Big River. 131 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 Deschutes National Forest?

The Forest Service lists 248 recreation sites here, including 72 campground campgrounds, 46 trailheads and 27 boating - non-motorizeds. Each one links to its Forest Service page.

Source: Trailheads and sites

How do I get to Deschutes National Forest?

A point inside the boundary is at 43.836, -121.536. Crater Lake National Park is 23 miles away. The official page carries directions and the office address.

Source: U.S. Forest Service

Is there a fire near Deschutes National Forest right now?

1 active incident within 50 miles as of 2026-09-18, the nearest Thor Rx at 11 miles. Distance is to the reported incident point, not the fire edge.

Source: Fire nearby

How dark is the night sky at Deschutes National Forest?

NASA’s Black Marble night-lights image reads 13 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 Deschutes National Forest?

Crater Lake National Park (23 mi). Park Atlas has fees, hours and alerts for each.

Source: Nearby on the other atlases

Are there historic places near Deschutes National Forest?

45 National Register listings within 15 miles, including Bend Skyliners Lodge and Cabin Lake Guard Station.

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: Deschutes 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.