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

Why Visit Wilderness?
Learn more about the diverse ways in which we benefit from wilderness and threats wilderness areas face today.
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Search for a wilderness as the destination for your next outdoor adventure.

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 Big Island of Hawaii is home to Hawai'i Volcanoes Wilderness and its volcanoes. This Wilderness is fragmented into four areas lying within Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park.
In order to protect humans from hazardous fumes, the areas surrounding erupting vents are closed to travel. The northwestern extension of the Wilderness holds Mauna Loa. To the southwest, a large chunk of this Wilderness includes several miles of coastline.
More than 150 miles of trail crisscross the park, mostly within Wilderness. The Ka'aha Trail leads hikers down the fault scarps of Hilina Pali to the ocean. The Napau Trail crosses lava from the Mauna Ulu Lava Shield (1969-1974) and follows above the path of magma flowing to the vent on Kilauea's east rift.
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 Hawai'i Volcanoes Wilderness.
For more information on Leave No Trace, Visit the Leave No Trace, Inc. website.
The Hawai'i Volcanoes Wilderness includes four separate units within Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park on the big island in Hawai'i.
These units are very diverse and include: Mauna Loa, 'Ola'a Forest, Ka'u Desert and East Rift. Much of Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park and these wilderness units are currently closed due to volcanic activity.
Check the park website for current conditions and closures.
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.
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.
Date: November 10, 1978
Acreage: 123,100 acres
National Parks and Recreation Act of 1978 - Public Law 95-625 (11/10/1978) National Parks and Recreation Act of 1978
For more information (To download or see all affected wilderness areas) visit our law library for 95-625 or special provisions for 95-625 or legislative history for 95-625 for this law.
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.