Mountain Pine Ridge Forest Reserve, Protected forest reserve in Cayo District, Belize.

Mountain Pine Ridge Forest Reserve covers about 106,352 acres in the Cayo District of Belize, established in 1944 around native Caribbean pine (Pinus caribaea var. hondurensis) on a granite massif, with limestone in the west. Pine covers 58.5% and broadleaf forest 36.8%, with small patches of grassland and wetland. The Macal River bounds it west and south; Baldy Beacon, at 1,017 m, is the highest point.

The reserve received protected status in 1944 to conserve native pine forests from logging and development. A major fire in 1949 devastated large sections, reshaping the forest's composition and recovery over the following decades.

Barton Creek Cave, reached only by boat, holds Maya relics on ledges above the river, suggesting ritual use. Mennonites settled at Barton Creek around 1958, when they first arrived in Belize. The reserve's administrative base is the Douglas D'Silva Forest Station, home to a few hundred people.

Visitors typically reach the reserve by vehicle and explore it through guided tours offering hiking, mountain biking, horseback riding, and swimming in natural pools. The dry season provides the easiest access and most stable trail conditions throughout the forest.

The reserve's highest point, Baldy Beacon at 1,017 m, has soil too poor to support anything but hardy grasses, so it gives uninterrupted views over the forest. The pine forest itself has been hit hard by the southern pine beetle, with 80% of trees showing signs of attack.