Description:
Hiking along the river. White Mountains National Forest in Maine. Over cast Autumn day light rain and beautiful foliage and birch trees. Photography by Bob Orsillo ... The White Mountain National Forest (WMNF) is a federally managed forest contained within the White Mountains in the northeastern United States. It was established in 1918 as a result of the Weeks Act of 1911;federal acquisition of land had already begun in 1914. It has a total area of 784,505 acres (3,175 km2) (1,225 sq mi). Most of the WMNF is in New Hampshire; a small part (about 5.65% of the forest) is in the neighboring state of Maine. While often casually referred to as a park, this is a National Forest, used not only for hiking, camping, and skiing, but for logging and other limited commercial purposes. The WMNF is the only National Forest located in either New Hampshire or Maine. Most of the major peaks over 4,000 feet high for peak-bagging in New Hampshire are located in the National Forest. Over 100 miles (160 km) of the Appalachian Trail traverses the White Mountain National Forest. In descending order of land area the forest lies in parts of Grafton, Coos, Carroll, and Oxford counties. (Oxford County is the only one that is in Maine.)
