U.S. Forest Service - Mendocino National Forest

U.S. Forest Service - Mendocino National Forest Welcome to Mendocino National Forest! This U.S.

Offering nearly 1 million acres of rugged, unique landscape from the Sacramento Valley foothills to the North Coast mountains. Forest Service - Mendocino National Forest page is a combined effort of the National Forest Foundation and the USDA Forest Service. The Mendocino National Forest straddles the eastern spur of the Coastal Mountain Range in northwestern California, just a three hour

drive north of San Francisco and Sacramento. Some 65 miles long and 35 miles across, the Forest's 913,306 federally-owned acres of mountains and canyons offer a variety of recreational opportunities - camping, hiking, backpacking, boating, fishing, hunting, nature study, photography, and off-highway vehicle travel. The Mendocino is divided into three ranger districts: Covelo, Grindstone, Upper Lake, and also manages two units that are located outside the Forest boundaries: the Genetic Resource and Conservation Center and the Red Bluff Recreation Area. The Mendocino partly or wholly manages four wilderness areas: the 37,679-acre Snow Mountain Wilderness, the 147,070-acre Yolla Bolly-Middle Eel Wilderness, the 53,887 acre Yuki Wilderness, and the 10, 571 acre Sanhedrin Wilderness. The National Forest Foundation, chartered by Congress, engages Americans in community-based and national programs that promote the health and public enjoyment of the 193-million-acre National Forest System and administers private gifts of funds and land for the benefit of the National Forests. http://www.nationalforests.org/

The Forest Service manages a system of 155 national forests, 20 national grasslands, and 222 research and experimental forests, as well as other special areas, covering more than 192 million acres of public land. The Forest Service has evolved into a 30,000 employee agency that manages the national forests for a number of multiple uses, including recreation, timber, wilderness, minerals, water, grazing, fish, and wildlife. Comment Policy: https://www.usda.gov/usda-comment-guidance

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Join us to celebrate National Trails Day.  Together we’ll leave the trails and the outdoor community better than we foun...
05/28/2026

Join us to celebrate National Trails Day. Together we’ll leave the trails and the outdoor community better than we found them. Mendocino National Forest has several events planned to celebrate our trails and promote trail stewardship.
📍Snow Mountain Wilderness Waterfall Hike - Friday, June 5, 10:30am-3:30pm at West Crockett Trailhead.
📍Stonyford OHV Trail Stewardship - Saturday, June 6, 8:00am-4:00pm at Stonyford Work Center
📍Lake Pillsbury Nature Trail - Saturday, June 6, 9:00am to 4:00pm, Sunset Campground

More details about these events are available on our website: https://www.fs.usda.gov/r05/mendocino/newsroom/releases/mendocino-national-forest-invites-community-participate-national

National Trails Day was established by the American Hiking Society in 1993 and occurs annually on the first Saturday in June. It brings together federal land managers, partners, and volunteers to celebrate trails and accomplish trail stewardship projects to ensure they are safe, well-maintained, easy-to-follow and accessible.

Chico Seed Orchard will close at 12 p.m. Friday, May 29 for 24 hours due for evening pest control treatment. The pedestr...
05/27/2026

Chico Seed Orchard will close at 12 p.m. Friday, May 29 for 24 hours due for evening pest control treatment. The pedestrian gate will reopen at 12 p.m., Saturday, May 30. Treatments are weather dependent and could change. Signs will be posted at the gate; please obey all posted signs.

05/22/2026

In early April, crews from CLERC, the U.S. Forest Service, and Patriot Restoration Ops (PROPS) returned to the hills above Clear Lake with a shared goal: helping the forest recover from the devastating 2018 Ranch Fire.

Several of our district ranger stations are closed for the long weekend. If you are planning to stop by it’s a good idea...
05/22/2026

Several of our district ranger stations are closed for the long weekend. If you are planning to stop by it’s a good idea to call ahead to make sure the office is open. Regular scheduling should resume next Wednesday.

Holiday weekend schedule:
📍Stonyford - Open Friday. Closed Sat - Tuesday, reopens Wednesday.
📍Upper Lake - Closed Friday- Monday, reopens Tuesday.
📍Covelo - Closed Friday- Monday, reopens Tuesday.
📍Willows - Closed Friday- Monday, reopens Tuesday.

🔥Prescribed burn operations are completed today at the Red Bluff Recreation Area. Firefighters accomplished 249 acres. F...
05/22/2026

🔥Prescribed burn operations are completed today at the Red Bluff Recreation Area. Firefighters accomplished 249 acres. Fire burned at low intensity, and smoke is dispersing overhead and minimal. Crews are actively mopping up to minimize smoke impacts over the holiday weekend and will be patrolling the units over the next several days. This multi-agency burn included engines and crews from Mendocino National Forest, CAL FIRE Tehama-Glenn Unit/ Tehama County Fire Department, Red Bluff City Fire Department and Paskenta Band of Nomlaki Indians-- all working together to support community protection, habitat restoration and cultural resources. Tribal elders led the ignitions on the test fire, a historic moment of bringing cultural burning to this public land. We appreciate the support from the community, and the recreation area and trails will be back open for public use tomorrow.

05/21/2026

Today personnel from CAL FIRE, U.S. Forest Service - Mendocino National Forest, Red Bluff City Fire Department, Paskenta Band of Nomlaki Indians, and other allied agencies are conducting a prescribed burn in the Lake Red Bluff area. Smoke will be visible to residents in the Red Bluff area. Lake Red Bluff Recreation Area is closed to the public today.

🔥Firefighters successfully completed 25 acres of prescribed fire today at the Red Bluff Recreation Area. Smoke impacts a...
05/19/2026

🔥Firefighters successfully completed 25 acres of prescribed fire today at the Red Bluff Recreation Area. Smoke impacts are minimal, and the units will be patrolled over the next several days.

On Thursday, May 21, we will continue for the remaining 275 acres in the recreation area alongside our partners CAL FIRE Tehama-Glenn Unit/ Tehama County Fire Department and Red Bluff City Fire Department.

The Rec Area will be CLOSED to the public on Thursday during prescribed burning operations for public and firefighter safety. Please follow all posted signs and limit traffic along Sale Lane to residents only.

+ + + + + +
Today's burn was a special event. The Paskenta Band of Nomlaki Indians shared their knowledge and expertise in cultural burning, demonstrating techniques to protect native plants, food and medicine. Participants from the National Interagency Prescribed Fire Training Center joined for the last day of their Agency Administrator training workshop in Northern California. The broadcast burn was a successful learning environment for all involved, and we appreciate all the coordination behind the scenes to make this happen!

🔥🔥🔥Multi-agency prescribed burn planned for Red Bluff Recreation Area next week on May 19-22. Firefighters will attempt ...
05/14/2026

🔥🔥🔥Multi-agency prescribed burn planned for Red Bluff Recreation Area next week on May 19-22.

Firefighters will attempt up to 300 acres of understory burning, pending favorable conditions and available resources. About 25 acres will be burned as part of a training exercise on May 19, and the remaining 275 acres will be burned on May 21.

The location of the recreation area is south of Hwy 36 and east of I-5 and within the Red Bluff city limits. Reintroducing low-intensity frequent fire to the area can decrease risk of future wildfire and help restore fire-dependent native plant communities.

Forest staff are carefully coordinating the 300-acre maintenance burn with partners, including CAL FIRE Tehama-Glenn Unit/ Tehama County Fire Department, Red Bluff City Fire Department and the Paskenta Band of Nomlaki Indians.

Access to the Red Bluff Recreation Area will be limited, and firefighters ask the public to avoid the area during prescribed fire operations. Smoke may be visible in the city of Red Bluff and along the I-5 corridor. Please do not report smoke or call 911 as the prescribed fires are carefully monitored. Individuals who are sensitive to smoke are encouraged to take precautions and minimize exposure.

The area may close to the public for several days for public safety. Watch for warning signs along roads near all prescribed fire areas before and during burns. For those with a reservation at Camp Discovery or Sycamore Grove campgrounds, an es**rt will be provided.

We will provide additional updates on the burn next week!

A huge shoutout and round of applause to our volunteers and partners for the successful Lake Pillsbury Trail Revival, a ...
05/11/2026

A huge shoutout and round of applause to our volunteers and partners for the successful Lake Pillsbury Trail Revival, a few rainy weekends ago in April. 👏👏👏

Despite less-than-ideal weather, 34 volunteers showed up, had some fun and got a ton of work done. Here's a few highlights of their impact:
✅Trail 69 (Famous Windy Gap): fully cleared to the snow line (~6 miles)
✅Browns Gulch Trail: fully cleared
✅Kiosk at 19N50: restored with hundreds of nameplates salvaged
✅19N50: approximately 75% cleared
✅Gravelly Valley Airstrip: extensive debris removed from the shooting area, leaving organized piles that will be hauled away
✅San Hedrin/Lake Pillsbury kiosk: cleaned and painted, ready for plywood install

🙏Many thanks to RestoreTrails.org, Lake Pillsbury Fire, onX Offroad, Upper Lake Ranger District staff, and ALL the volunteers for supporting the event and building this community.
🙏And special thanks to Dean Joyner for the project report and to Anna Joyner for the awesome photos.

Address

825 N Humboldt Avenue
Willows, CA
95988

Opening Hours

Monday 8am - 4:30pm
Tuesday 8am - 4:30pm
Wednesday 8am - 4:30pm
Thursday 8am - 4:30pm
Friday 8am - 4:30pm

Telephone

+15309343316

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