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 Jedediah Smith Wilderness was designated because of the unique karst limestone features, including numerous caves and outstanding scenery. It was named after Jedediah Strong Smith, a well-educated and energetic mountain man from New York who explored the West in the early 1800's. Long and narrow, the Wilderness lies on the west slope of the Teton Range in western Wyoming and stretches from Yellowstone National Park south to Teton Pass. The Jedediah Smith Wilderness is part of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem and home to a variety of wildlife including black and grizzly bear, big horn sheep, wolverine, moose and elk. The Forest Service and Park Service are working together to return fire to the ecosystem. Some lightning-ignited fires may be burning for Wildland Fire Use. The Teton Range receives heavy snowfall in the winter and heavy recreation use in the summer. Approximately 175 miles of trail provide access including some trails that cross into Grand Teton National Park. Dogs are not allowed and permits are required to camp overnight in Grand Teton National Park.

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 Jedediah Smith 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 Jedediah Smith Wilderness
FS Topographic Map
Google Earth

Wyoming 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 98-550

Date: October 30, 1984
Acreage: 116,535 acres

Wyoming Wilderness Act of 1984 - Public law 98-550 (10/30/1984) To designate certain lands in the state of Wyoming for inclusion in the National Wilderness Preservation System, to release other forest lands for multiple use management, to withdraw designated wilderness areas in Wyoming from minerals activity, and for other purposes

For more information (To download or see all affected Wilderness areas) visit our law library for 98-550 or special provisions for 98-550 or legislative history for 98-550.

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.