If the National Park System is America’s best idea, then publicly owned national forests may be America’s best kept secret. Spread across 40 states and Puerto Rico, these 154 forests cover an area the size of Texas and Louisiana combined, and as savvy travelers have long known, offer an opportunity to enjoy outdoor recreation in largely undisturbed areas, with far smaller crowds than are found at many national parks.

Custer Gallatin National Forest, Stanislaus National Forest, and the Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forests may not be household names, but millions of people visit these places annually to enjoy scenery and recreation opportunities that are similar to these forests’ more-famous neighbors (Yellowstone, Yosemite, and Rocky Mountain national parks, respectively). In fact, national forests contribute some $13 billion to the U.S. economy from visitor spending, and support more than 200,000 jobs.