In July, thousands of Americans celebrated National Forest Week™ with us. As part of our celebrations, we held our fifth annual National Forest Week™ Photo Contest.

We received more than 1,300 photo submissions featuring incredible moments, landscapes, and memories from the National Forest system.

Check out this year’s winners below.

Thank you to all who participated in the contest. Be sure to follow the NFF on Instagram to see additional photos from this year's photo contest.

A special thank you to our prize sponsors: Coffeebar, goodr, Level Frames, the Landmark Project, Lands' End, onX Backcountry, Orvis, Pink Jeep Tours, Polaris , Recreation.gov & Booz Allen Hamilton, and Vuori.

Landscape

First Place

Hiawatha National Forest

"Crystal Ice Cave. I felt like I was in a crystal castle when I captured this winter image looking out over Lake Superior."

Photo by Dale Fehr.

Second Place

Apache Sitgreaves National Forest

"A monsoon storm produces a lightning strike along the Mogollon Rim in the Apache Sitgreaves National Forest near Payson, Arizona."

Photo by Ryan McGinley.

Third Place

Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest

"First light on the Canyon Creek Lime Kilns."

Photo by Eric Henderson.

Recreation

First Place

San Juan National Forest

"While camping in the San Juan National Forest with my family, I loved watching my two little boys explore nature. One evening, during an especially ethereal golden hour, I snapped this photo of my youngest son throwing rocks into the river. It was such a magical scene."

Photo by Nina Ritchie.

Second Place

George Washington-Jefferson National Forest

"Just a girl and her cat in the forest."

Photo by Cassondra Jones.

Third Place

Lassen National Forest

"Camping at Lassen National Forest."

Photo by Elaine Zhang.

Youth Photography

First Place

Umpqua National Forest

"Tokatee Falls flowing heavily."

Photo by Avery Long.

Second Place

Tonto National Forest

"Great Egret Incoming. During a little scuffle, I managed to capture this moment when a regal egret came in for a landing."

Photo by Aidan Yu.

Third Place

Tonto National Forest

"Sunset on the Salt River. This soft sunset at the Salt River frames the incredible diversity of the Tonto National Forest. From striking green moss to a pair of mallards, the forest is an important home for plants and animals alike."

Photo by Aidan Yu.

Thank you to our 2023 Photo Contest Judges

Cover photo by Chris Nigro.

--------

As you’ve just read, the National Forest System is large and varied. Your unrestricted support enables the National Forest Foundation to work across the entire National Forest System so we can apply funds to the highest priority projects. Please consider making a general gift today to support this critical work by clicking here. Thank you!

National Forest Foundation Tree Symbol