USFS Priest Lake Ranger District

The Priest Lake Ranger District headquarters is the USFS operational element chartered with the responsibility to manage all multiple-use activities within the district. The district is part of the Idaho Panhandle National Forest system. The southern border of the district is four miles north of the town of Priest River and extends north to the Canadian border. One-third of the district lies within Pend Oreille County in Washington with the other two-thirds split between Bonner and Boundary Counties in Idaho. Priest Lake forms the geographic center of the district. The vast majority of land that adjoins the west side of Priest Lake is federal land managed by the Priest Lake Ranger District. The district headquarters is located just beyond milepost 32 on Highway 57.

A major part of the Priest Lake Ranger District’s mission is to provide recreational activities and facilities. These activities include establishing and maintaining a recreational trail system, oversight of historical sites, providing boat launch ramps and, of course, managing the numerous and varied camping/picnic/day-use facilities on federal lands within the district. Over 160 RV/camping sites are maintained within developed campgrounds on the shores of the lake. In addition, numerous dispersed campsites are available as well as several island campgrounds.

The Priest Lake Ranger District headquarters welcomes visitors and can provide up-to-date information on all recreational activities and programs within the district. In addition, a large selection of recreational pamphlets, guides, maps, etc is available at the headquarters from 7:30 AM to 4:00 PM Monday through Friday.