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.

Leave No Trace

1. Plan Ahead and Prepare
You must obtain a permit and pay a fee for any use of the wilderness. Permits are self-issued at the primary wilderness trailheads (Chukar, Bobcat, Duncan, and Ute). Day-use fees are $3/person. Overnight use is $10/person for one night, $15/person for two nights. The maximum stay length is 2 nights/3 days. The Gunnison River within the wilderness has technical Class IV whitewater. Boaters must have strong whitewater skills. The river access is via a 1.1 mile wilderness trail. All equipment must be hiked in to the put-in, or packed in by horse. A commercial horse-packing service is available from mid-May through September.

2. Travel and Camp on Durable Surfaces
All camping in the river corridor is limited to designated campsites. Boaters register for camps at the put-in on the day of the launch. Hikers register at their trailhead on the first day of the trip.

3. Dispose of Waste Properly
All trash, including toilet paper, must be packed out. Trash and toilet paper may not be burned. Boaters must carry and use an approved river toilet (groover) or EPA approved disposable bag system such as Wag Bag or Restop 2. Hikers may use the vault toilet at the Chukar campsite, or the primitive toilets at the Duncan camps and Ute Park. Within the river corridor people should urinate directly into the river.

4. Leave What You Find
Preserve the past: examine, but do not touch cultural or historic structures and artifacts. Leave rocks, plants and other natural objects as you find them. Avoid introducing or transporting non-native species. Do not build structures, furniture, or dig trenches.

5. Minimize Campfire Impacts
Wood fires are prohibited in the wilderness. Charcoal may be used for cooking. A firepan is required for charcoal use. All ashes and coals must be packed out.

6. Respect Wildlife
Observe wildlife from a distance. Do not follow or approach them. Never feed animals. Feeding wildlife damages their health, alters natural behaviors, and exposes them to predators and other dangers. Protect wildlife and your food by storing rations and trash securely. Control pets at all times, or leave them at home. Avoid wildlife during sensitive times: mating, nesting, raising young, or winter.

7. Be Considerate of Other Visitors
Respect other visitors and protect the quality of their experience. Be courteous. Yield to other users on the trail. Step to the downhill side of the trail when encountering pack stock. Let nature's sounds prevail. Avoid loud voices and noises.