Francis Marion National Forest

33°10′00″N 79°40′00″W / 33.166667°N 79.666667°W / 33.166667; -79.666667Area263,904 acres (1,067.98 km²)^[1]Max. elevation80 ft. (24 m), 33.3912, -79.9054EstablishedJuly 10, 1936^[2]Governing bodyU.S. Forest ServiceWebsiteFrancis Marion and Sumter National Forests

The Francis Marion National Forest is located north of Charleston, South Carolina. It is named for revolutionary war hero Francis Marion, who was known to the British as the Swamp Fox. It lies entirely within the Middle Atlantic coastal forests ecoregion.^[3] The park is also entirely in the Subtropical coniferous forest.

This National Forest is contained entirely in the counties of Charleston and Berkeley and is 263,904 acres (1,070 km²) in size. The forest contains the towns of Awendaw, Huger, Jamestown, and McClellanville. Charleston provides emergency services to the southeastern portions of the forest. Forest headquarters are located in Columbia, together with those of Sumter National Forest. There are local ranger district offices located in Cordesville.

In 1989, the forest was nearly destroyed by Hurricane Hugo; only the young growth survived the storm and its aftermath. Today, most trees in the forest do not predate this hurricane.

The forest is a multiple use area. Recreation opportunities include campsites, rifle ranges, boat ramps, and several trails for hiking, horseback riding, mountain biking, including the Palmetto Trail, as well as off-road motorcycling and atv riding specifically at the Wambaw Cycle Trailhead. (OHV) The Forest Service also administers wilderness areas, experimental forests, timber production, and protection and management of wildlife and the watershed.

Wilderness areas

There are four officially designated wilderness areas lying within Francis Marion National Forest that are part of the National Wilderness Preservation System.

An image of the forest next to the Santee River in Berkeley County.
Information in Palmetto Trail.

Bibliography

^ "Land Areas of the National Forest System" (PDF). U.S. Forest Service. September 30, 2023. Retrieved February 4, 2024.
^ "The National Forests of the United States" (PDF). ForestHistory.org. Retrieved July 30, 2012.
^ Olson, D. M, E. Dinerstein; et al. (2001). "Terrestrial Ecoregions of the World: A New Map of Life on Earth". BioScience. 51 (11): 933–938. doi:10.1641/0006-3568(2001)051[0933:TEOTWA]2.0.CO;2.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)

Jerman, Patricia (2000). South Carolina Nature Viewing Guide. Charleston: University of South Carolina Press.
(1941). South Carolina: A Guide to the Palmetto State. New York: Oxford University Press.

External links

Media related to Francis Marion National Forest at Wikimedia Commons

Official website

Protected areas of South Carolina

Federal

National Parks	Congaree
National Historic Sites and Historical Parks	Charles Pinckney NHS Fort Sumter and Fort Moultrie NHP Ninety Six NHS Reconstruction Era NHP
National Military Parks and Battlefields	Cowpens NB Kings Mountain NMP
National Historic Trail	Overmountain Victory
National Forests	Francis Marion Sumter
National Wildlife Refuges	Cape Romain Carolina Sandhills Ernest F. Hollings ACE Basin Pinckney Island Santee Savannah Tybee Waccamaw
National Estuarine Research Reserves	Ashepoo Combahee Edisto Basin North Inlet-Winyah Bay
Wilderness Areas	Cape Romain Congaree Ellicott Rock Hell Hole Swamp Little Wambaw Swamp Wambaw Creek Wambaw Swamp
Wild and Scenic River	Chattooga River

State

State Parks	Aiken Andrew Jackson Baker Creek Barnwell Caesars Head Calhoun Falls Cheraw Chester Colleton Croft Devils Fork Dreher Island Edisto Beach Givhans Ferry Goodale H. Cooper Black Jr. Memorial Field Trial and Recreation Area Hamilton Branch Hickory Knob Hunting Island Huntington Beach Jones Gap Keowee-Toxaway Kings Mountain Lake Greenwood Lake Hartwell Lake Warren Lake Wateree Landsford Canal Lee Little Pee Dee Myrtle Beach Oconee Paris Mountain Poinsett Sadlers Creek Santee Sesquicentennial Table Rock Woods Bay
State Historic Sites	Charles Towne Landing Colonial Dorchester Hampton Plantation Musgrove Mill Oconee Station Redcliffe Plantation Rivers Bridge Rose Hill Plantation
State Forests	Harbison Manchester Poe Creek Sand Hills Wee Tee
Heritage Preserves	Aiken Gopher Tortoise Altamaha Towne Ashmore Bald Rock Bear Branch Belvue Springs Bennett's Bay Blackwell Botany Bay Plantation Brasstown Creek Bunched Arrowhead Buzzard Island Buzzard Roost Capers Island Cartwheel Bay Cathedral Bay Chestnut Ridge Childsbury Towne Clear Creek Congaree Bluffs Congaree Creek Crosby Oxypolis Daws Island Ditch Pond Dungannon Plantation Eastatoe Creek Eva Russell Chandler Fort Frederick Fort Lamar Forty Acre Rock Glassy Mountain Gopher Branch Great Pee Dee River Green's Shell Enclosure Henderson Janet Harrison High Pond Laurel Fork Lewis Ocean Bay Lighthouse Inlet Little Pee Dee Little Pee Dee State Park Bay Long Branch Bay Longleaf Pine Lynchburg Savanna Nipper Creek Old Island Pacolet River Peachtree Rock Peters Creek Poinsett Bridge Rock Hill Blackjacks Savage Bay Savannah River Bluffs Segars-McKinnon Shealy's Pond South Bluff St. Helena Sound Stevens Creek Stoney Creek Battery Stumphouse Mountain Tillman Sand Ridge Tom Yawkey Wildlife Center Victoria Bluff Heritage Preserve Waccamaw River Wadakoe Mountain Wateree Watson-Cooper Woods Bay
Wildlife Management Areas	Bear Island Belfast Bonneau Ferry Campbell's Crossroads Canal Causey Tract Cliff Pitts Clinton Reservoir Tract Crackerneck Donnelley Draper Edisto River Fant's Grove Gray Court Tract Hamilton Ridge Hatchery Herbert Kirsh Hickory Top James L. Mason James Ross Jim Timmerman Keowee Landsford Canal Forest Liberty Hill Marsh McBee McCalla McConnells Tract Moultrie Hunt Unit Nine Times Oak Lea Palachucola Pee Dee Station Samworth Santee Coastal Reserve Santee Cooper Santee Cooper Tract Santee Dam Santee-Delta Thurmond Tract Turtle Island Webb Wild Turkey Woodbury Worth Mountain
Seabird Sanctuaries	Bay Point Shoal Bird Key - Stono Crab Bank Deveaux Bank Joiner Bank North Santee Bar

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