In 1943, the State of Oregon purchased near Sun Mountain to establish Sun Pass State Forest. Additional land was added to the forest in 1944, 1947, and 1948. In 1955, the Oregon Board of Forestry deeded of Sun Pass land to the Oregon State Highway Division to create Jackson F. Kimball State Park. The park was named after Jackson F. Kimball, a district forest warden for the Klamath-Lake Forest Protective Association. The park was officially renamed the Jackson F. Kimball State Recreation Site in 2004.