Prescott National Forest is a protected landscape of 1.25 million acres in north central Arizona, centered on the mountains around Prescott and extending mainly through Yavapai County into a small part of southwestern Coconino County. Created as the Prescott Forest Reserve in 1898, it passed to the U.S. Forest Service in 1906 and became a National Forest in 1907. Its present shape expanded with the absorption of Verde National Forest in 1908 and Tusayan National Forest in 1934. Managed through three ranger districts, it includes eight designated wilderness areas and remains a major center for conservation, recreation, and camping in central Arizona.