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.

Karta Bay, one of the western extensions off the head of Kasaan Bay, forms the eastern border of the Karta River Wilderness on east-central Prince of Wales Island. The area includes the drainage of the Karta River system (which empties into the southwest corner of Karta Bay) and two major lakes, Salmon and Karta.

Fire burned the area around the turn of the century, but second-growth spruce, cedar, and hemlock stand an average of 60 feet tall.

One of Alaska's more recent additions to the National Wilderness Preservation System, Karta River Wilderness is best known for large salmon runs and the scenic quality of the large river drainage system.

Wildlife fills the area, including wolves, black bears, black-tailed deer, beavers, otters, minks, martens, and weasels. Trumpeter swans and various other waterfowl are commonly seen on the river.

Native Alaskans, particularly the Haida, historically lived around the bay and utilized the rich food sources of this area.

The 5-mile Karta River Trail follows the Karta River up from Karta Bay to Salmon Lake, allowing excellent access to the river for steelhead, sockeye and coho salmon runs.

Three Forest Service rental cabins are located in the Karta Wilderness: Karta River, Karta Lake, and Salmon Lake, and all are accessible via floatplane. Boat access is available for the Karta River cabin.

The Karta River Wilderness is one of Prince of Wales Island's easier Wildernesses to access.

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 Karta River 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 Karta River Wilderness
FS Topographic Map
Google Earth

Alaska 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 101-626

Date: November 28, 1990
Acreage: 38,046 acres

Tongass Timber Reform Act - Public law 101-626 (11/28/1990) To amend the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act, to protect certain lands in the Tongass National Forest in perpetuity, to modify certain long-term timber contracts, to provide for protection of riparian habitat, and for other purposes

For more information (To download or see all affected wilderness areas) visit our law library for 101-626 or legislative history for 101-626.

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.