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.

The Desolation Wilderness spans 63,475 acres of rugged alpine terrain, featuring subalpine and alpine forests, jagged granite peaks, and glacially sculpted valleys and lake basins. Straddling the Sierra Nevada, this Wilderness measures an average of 12.5 miles in length and 8 miles in width, with elevations ranging from 6,500 to nearly 10,000 feet. Its striking, sparsely vegetated landscape lies just west of Lake Tahoe, shaped by glacial forces and dotted with numerous streams and around 130 lakes, some as large as 900 acres.

Snow often blocks high mountain passes until mid-July. Recognized early for its stunning beauty, the area was designated as the Desolation Valley Primitive Area in 1931 and became a federally designated wilderness in 1969. The Pacific Crest Trail traverses approximately 17 miles of this Wilderness, crossing Dicks Pass (9,380 feet)—the highest pass between Desolation Wilderness and Canada.

Thirteen trailheads provide access to miles of well-maintained paths, with popular starting points at Wrights, Echo, Eagle Falls, and Fallen Leaf trailheads. The less-traveled northwest section offers a more remote experience, requiring map-reading or GPS navigation skills.

Due to its stunning landscapes, accessibility, and proximity to urban centers, Desolation Wilderness is one of the most visited wilderness areas of its size in the United States. Permits are required for both day and overnight use. Day users can self-register at trailheads, while overnight visitors must secure permits online via Recreation.gov or at Forest Service offices. A quota system and fees apply to overnight permits, with 75% available for advance reservations and the remainder on a first-come, first-served basis.

Campfires are prohibited, and hard-sided bear-resistant canisters are mandatory throughout 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 Desolation 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 Desolation Wilderness
FS Topographic Map
Google Earth

California 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 91-82

Date: October 10, 1969
Acreage: 63,500 acres

(No official title, designates Desolation Wilderness) - Public law 91-82 (10/10/1969) To designate the Desolation Wilderness, Eldorado National Forest, in the State of California

For more information (To download or see all affected Wilderness areas) visit our law library for 91-82 or special provisions for 91-82 or legislative history for 91-82.

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.