Visit Wilderness

Search for a wilderness as the destination for your next outdoor adventure.

Bob Marshall Wilderness Area, Minnesota

Why Visit Wilderness?

While wilderness can be appreciated from afar—through online content, television, or books—nothing compares to experiencing it firsthand. Activities like camping, hiking, or hunting allow you to fully enjoy the recreational, ecological, spiritual, and health benefits that wilderness areas offer. These areas provide “outstanding opportunities for solitude or a primitive and unconfined type of recreation,” chances to observe wildlife, moments to renew and refresh, and the physical benefits of outdoor exercise. In many wilderness areas, you can even bring your well-behaved dog.

Learn more about the diverse ways in which we benefit from wilderness and threats wilderness areas face today.

Deseret Peak Wilderness is located in the Stansbury Mountains of Tooele County, near the towns of Tooele and Grantsville, not far from the Great Salt Lake.

This semi-arid Wilderness is part of the Great Basin ecosystem. It contains rugged terrain and high peaks that include Deseret Peak itself at 11,030 feet and many steep-walled canyons shadowed by rocky outcroppings. The summit of Deseret Peak offers a splendid 360-degree view

Here in the Stansbury Mountains, with barren Skull Valley to the west, you'll find some springs and intermittent creeks, despite the general dryness of the area. Much of the higher country is alpine, with open basins and barren rocky ridges–and from December through May, you can expect much of these higher areas to be covered in snow.

Fir and aspen are commonly found growing in patches at higher elevations. Juniper, mountain brush, sagebrush, and grass cover much of the lower territory.

Cattle are still allowed to graze on range allotments in portions of the area.

Backpackers and horse packers enjoy this area. Hunters come in search of mule deer.

Some very rough terrain is covered on the trails. Deseret Peak Wilderness has 4 system trails totaling approximately 14 miles. Other system trails access the edge of the Wilderness area.

Access is limited along the western side of the Wilderness.

Leave No Trace

How to follow the seven standard Leave No Trace principles differs in different parts of the country (desert vs. Rocky Mountains). Click on any of the principles listed below to learn more about how they apply in the Deseret Peak Wilderness.

Plan Ahead and Prepare
Travel and Camp on Durable Surfaces
Dispose of Waste Properly
Leave What You Find
Minimize Campfire Impacts
Respect Wildlife
Be Considerate of Other Visitors

For more information on Leave No Trace, Visit the Leave No Trace, Inc. website.

Location

Maps

Digital and paper maps are critical tools for wilderness visitors. Online maps can help you plan and prepare for your visit ahead of time. You can also carry digital maps with you on your GPS unit or other handheld GPS device. Having a paper map with you in the backcountry, as well as solid orienteering skills, however, ensures that you can still route-find in the event that your electronic device fails.

Online Maps

Interactive Map of the Deseret Peak Wilderness
FS Topographic Map
Google Earth

Utah Wildernesses

Printed Maps

Fetching MyTopo from Database

USGS Store

Rules & Regulations

Motorized equipment and equipment used for mechanical transport is generally prohibited in all wilderness areas. This includes the use of motor vehicles, motorboats, motorized equipment, bicycles, hang gliders, wagons, carts, portage wheels, and the landing of aircraft including helicopters.

Wilderness-Specific Regulations

Learn more about why regulations may be necessary in wilderness.

Contacts

Applicable Wilderness Law(s)

Public Law 98-428

Date: September 28, 1984
Acreage: 25,500 acres

Utah Wilderness Act of 1984 - Public law 98-428 (9/28/1984) To designate certain national forest system lands in the state of Utah for inclusion in the National Wilderness Preservation System to release other forest lands for multiple use management, and for other purposes

For more information (To download or see all affected wilderness areas) visit our law library for 98-428 or special provisions for 98-428 or legislative history for 98-428.

Want to Volunteer for Wilderness?

People who volunteer their time to steward our wilderness areas are an essential part of wilderness management. Contact the following groups to inquire about volunteer opportunities. Groups are listed alphabetically by the state(s) in which the wilderness is located.