Ashley National Forest

Spanning 1.38 million acres across northeastern Utah and southwestern Wyoming, Ashley National Forest encompasses the High Uintas Wilderness, the largest wilderness area in Utah, where Kings Peak rises to 13,534 feet as the highest point in the state. The Uinta Mountains are geologically unique as the highest east-west trending range in the contiguous United States, sculpted by ancient glaciers that carved over 1,000 alpine lakes into the granite bedrock. The forest flanks the Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area, where the Green River cuts through dramatic red-rock gorges offering world-class trout fishing below the dam. Backpacking in the High Uintas provides some of the most remote wilderness experiences in the Intermountain West, with multi-day routes linking chains of alpine lakes above timberline. The forest's diverse ecosystems range from high desert sagebrush at lower elevations to alpine tundra above 12,000 feet, supporting moose, elk, mountain goats, and black bears. The Sheep Creek Geological Loop and the scenic drive along the Flaming Gorge-Uintas Scenic Byway reveal billions of years of geological history exposed in colorful canyon walls.