The 8 Most Beautiful Rainforests in the United States

Nestled along the coast of the Big Island in Hawaii, the Hamakua Coast rainforest is filled with incredible waterfalls and lush vegitation. A bonus is that while you trek through the rainforest, you’ll be flanked by two volcanos, Mauna Kea and Kohala.

Occupying the southern Appalachian mountains and stretching from southern Virginia through North Carolina, Georgia, and Tennessee, the Appalachian temperate rainforest receives over 60 inches of rain per year.

Clocking in at 17 million acres, Alaska’s Tongass National Forest is the largest forest in the United States, and most of its territory is occupied by temperate rainforest. It is home to many endangered species of plants and animals, and includes fjords and glaciers along with an archipelago and a border with Canada.

Puerto Rico’s El Yunque National Forest, formerly known as the Caribbean National Forest, is the only tropical rainforest in the United States. The forest records well over 200 inches of rain annually, and is home not only to an incredible array of biodiversity, but also to the famous Taino petroglyphs – carvings and etchings from indigenous tribes in the sides of boulders in the forest.

Located on the Olympic Peninsula in western Washington State, the Hoh Rainforest is one of the largest temperate rainforests in the United States. Often referred to and recognised as America’s Amazon. The park is now protected from commercial exploitation, but for much of the 20th century, the forest was heavily logged. And looking up at the massive trees in awe, it is easy to understand why the trees were so heavily prized. The Hoh Rainforest is one of the best temperate rainforests in the US, with spectacular old-growth spruces, redwoods, and firs growing up to 300 feet (91 meters).

Known as a sub-polar rainforest, Alaska’s Chugach National Forest contains something unique for a rainforest: a bald eagle population larger than that of all the contiguous 48 states combined. The rainforest has been home to Russian fur-trappers in the past, and was also the site of a gold rush in the late 19th century.

While most of Mount Hood in Oregon is full of pine trees and snow, a temperate Douglas-fir rainforest slopes along the west side of Mount Hood. At springtime, absolutely everything is covered in a breathtaking thick coat of moss after the rains.

Redwood National Park in northern California is an old-growth temperate rainforest with some of the most jaw-dropping trees you’ll ever see. The park is dominated by the tallest trees in the world and, true to rainforest form, is foggy, damp, and rainy more days than not. Nearly half the world’s remaining old-growth redwood trees lie in Redwood National and State Parks, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and International Biosphere Reserve comprising three state parks and Redwood National Park.