USFS · Michigan

Ottawa National Forest

The Ottawa National Forest is a national forest that covers 993,010 acres (401,860 ha) in the Upper Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. It includes much of Gogebic and Ontonagon counties, as well as slices of Iron, Houghton, Baraga, and Marquette counties. The forest is under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Forest Service.

From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

National Forest1.6 million acresUSFSMI23 campgrounds within 10 mi49 Forest Service sites3,333 trails
Official page at U.S. Forest Service ↗
2fires
active
Watersmeet Admin Rx (prescribed burn) · 14 mi from the center
1 more within 50 miles
Incident details ↓

Facts

Where each comes from ↓
DesignationNational Forest
Managed byU.S. Forest Service
StateMichigan
Size1.6 million acres (Forest Service administrative boundary (gis_acres))
Forest Service code0907, region 09
Center point46.4532, -89.2419
Night skyAbout as dark as the ground gets (Black Marble reading 12)

Boundary map

2 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 Ottawa National Forest10°20°30°40°50°60°70°January: 1.48 inches of precipitationFebruary: 1.19 inches of precipitationMarch: 1.65 inches of precipitationApril: 2.84 inches of precipitationMay: 3.36 inches of precipitationJune: 3.73 inches of precipitationJuly: 3.97 inches of precipitationAugust: 3.31 inches of precipitationSeptember: 3.62 inches of precipitationOctober: 3.73 inches of precipitationNovember: 2.29 inches of precipitationDecember: 1.75 inches of precipitationJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecJanuary: 11.8°F averageFebruary: 14.2°F averageMarch: 24.1°F averageApril: 37.0°F averageMay: 50.8°F averageJune: 61.0°F averageJuly: 65.0°F averageAugust: 62.9°F averageSeptember: 55.5°F averageOctober: 42.6°F averageNovember: 29.8°F averageDecember: 17.9°F average0 in1 in2 in3 in4 inTemp °FInches
The line is the average temperature and the bars are average precipitation at Paulding, 5 miles from the center point at 1,367 feet, station USC00206398 in the NOAA monthly climate normals for 1991 to 2020. Precipitation totals about 33 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 →

17 federal campgrounds sit inside the boundary and 6 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
Bob Lake Campground
First-come17 sites
FS · Inside
Bobcat Lake Camp
Reservable4 sites
FS · Inside
Clark Lake Pavilion
Reservable1 site
FS · Inside
Courtney Lake Campground
First-come21 sites
FS · Inside
Golden Lake Campground
First-come22 sites
FS · Inside
Henry Lake Camp
Reservable4 sites
FS · Inside
Imp Lake Campground
First-come22 sites
FS · Inside
Lake Ottawa Campground
Reservable32 sites
Show 4 more

11 more within ten miles are not listed here.

Trailheads and sites

Forest Service directory · 49

The Forest Service lists 49 recreation sites in this forest, among them 16 campgrounds, 14 day hikings, 5 paddling accesss, 4 dispersed campings. Each links to its page on fs.usda.gov, which carries the season, fees and current status.

Show all 49

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 3,333 named trails in this forest, 2,254 miles in all. The 10 longest are listed here.

TrailMiles
North Country National Scenic ↗101.3
Bessemer Snowmobile #8 ↗56.7
Canoe-Presque Isle River ↗30
Canoe-South Branch Paint River ↗24.3
Bessemer Snowmobile #1 ↗21.4
Bergland Snowmobile #11 N ↗20.7
Canoe-Middle Branch Ontonagon ↗20
Ontonagon Equestrian Complex ↗19.1
Canoe-South Branch Ontonagon ↗17
Canoe-Sturgeon River ↗16

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 3,333 trails in Ottawa National Forest on Trailhead Atlas ↗

Fire nearby

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

    14 mi from the center point

  • Wildfire
    Bog

    41 mi from the center point · 94 acres

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 Scenic Trail · 25 mi
North Country National Scenic Trail
National Historical Park · 29 mi
Keweenaw National Historical Park
National Lakeshore · 30 mi
Apostle Islands National Lakeshore
National Register listings within 15 miles · 97 in all · Register Atlas

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

Reference

Questions people ask

How big is Ottawa National Forest?

1.6 million acres.

Source: Forest Service boundary data

Who manages Ottawa National Forest?

The U.S. Forest Service.

Source: U.S. Forest Service

What state is Ottawa National Forest in?

Michigan.

Source: How states are assigned

Can I camp at Ottawa National Forest?

17 federal campgrounds sit inside the boundary, including Bob Lake Campground, Bobcat Lake Camp and Clark Lake Pavilion. 23 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 Ottawa National Forest?

The Forest Service lists 49 recreation sites here, including 16 campground campgrounds, 14 day hikings and 5 boating - non-motorizeds. Each one links to its Forest Service page.

Source: Trailheads and sites

How do I get to Ottawa National Forest?

A point inside the boundary is at 46.453, -89.242. North Country National Scenic Trail is 25 miles away. The official page carries directions and the office address.

Source: U.S. Forest Service

Is there a fire near Ottawa National Forest right now?

2 active incidents within 50 miles as of 2026-09-18, the nearest Watersmeet Admin Rx at 14 miles. Distance is to the reported incident point, not the fire edge.

Source: Fire nearby

How dark is the night sky at Ottawa 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 Ottawa National Forest?

North Country National Scenic Trail (25 mi), Keweenaw National Historical Park (29 mi) and Apostle Islands National Lakeshore (30 mi). Park Atlas has fees, hours and alerts for each.

Source: Nearby on the other atlases

Are there historic places near Ottawa National Forest?

97 National Register listings within 15 miles, including Beechwood Store and Bergland Administrative Site.

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: Ottawa 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.