Arapaho National Forest

Arapaho National Forest
IUCN category VI (protected area with sustainable use of natural resources)
Location	Colorado, USA
Nearest city	Denver, CO
Coordinates
Area	723,744 acres (2,928.89 km2)
Established	July 1, 1908
Governing body	U.S. Forest Service
fs.usda.gov

Map of Colorado. The area of the Arapaho National Forest area in red.

Arapaho National Forest is a National Forest located in north-central Colorado, United States. The facility is managed jointly with the Roosevelt National Forest and the Pawnee National Grassland from the United States Forest Service office in Fort Collins, Colorado. The combined facility of 1,730,603 acres (2,704.07 sq mi, or 7,420.35 km²) is denoted as ARP (Arapaho, Roosevelt, Pawnee) by the Forest Service. Separately, Arapaho National Forest consists of 723,744 acres (1,130.85 sq mi, or 2,928.89 km²).

The forest is located in the Rocky Mountains, straddling the continental divide in the Front Range west of Denver. It was established on July 1, 1908 by President Theodore Roosevelt and named for the Arapaho tribe of Native Americans which previously inhabited the Colorado Eastern Plains. The forest includes part of the high Rockies and river valleys in the upper watershed of the Colorado River and South Platte River. The forest is largely in Grand and Clear Creek counties, but spills over into neighboring (in descending order of land area) Gilpin, Park, Routt, Jackson, and Jefferson counties. There are local ranger district offices located in Granby and Idaho Springs.

Wilderness areas

There are six officially designated wilderness areas lying within Arapaho National Forest that are part of the National Wilderness Preservation System. Four of them are partially in neighboring National Forests, and one of these also onto National Park Service land (as indicated).

• Byers Peak Wilderness
• Indian Peaks Wilderness (partly in Roosevelt NF; also partly in Rocky Mountain National Park)
• James Peak Wilderness (mostly in Roosevelt NF)
• Mount Evans Wilderness (partly in Pike NF)
• Never Summer Wilderness (partly in Routt NF)
• Vasquez Peak Wilderness

In popular culture

Most of the movie Red Dawn is set in Arapaho National Forest.

External links

• Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forests and Pawnee National Grassland (United States Forest Service)
• ColoradoGuide.com Archived 12 March 2005 at the Wayback Machine