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.

Although sometimes listed as two areas, Laurel Fork Wilderness straddles the Laurel Fork of the Cheat River, and only the corridor of County Route 40 separates the northern and southern portions.

The narrow river valley runs north-south below regularly dissected slopes and long, slim ridges, fed by numerous side streams. Immediately to the east stands Rich Mountain; to the west looms Middle Mountain, with elevations over 3,700 feet. An almost continuous forest cover dominated by beech, maple, black cherry, birch, and yellow poplar is broken only by grassy meadows along the Laurel Fork itself.

White-tailed deer live here with wild turkeys, bobcats, and beavers. You might occasionally spot a few black bears, although you're more likely to see some of the myriad resident bird species. You may catch native brook and brown trout in the river, but heavy brush can make casting difficult.

Winters typically bring heavy snows; temperatures are pleasant in summer.

The Laurel River North and Laurel River South Trails, both five miles long, follow the river from a central trailhead at Laurel Fork Campground. One side trail in the northern portion and three in the south leave the Wilderness and head west to Forest Service Road 14. No trails exist on the east side of the area. There are approximately 14 miles of trails in the Laurel Fork North and Laurel Fork South systems.

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 Laurel Fork North 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 Laurel Fork North Wilderness
FS Topographic Map
Google Earth

West Virginia 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 97-466

Date: January 13, 1983
Acreage: 6,100 acres

(No official title, designates various West Virginia wildernesses) - Public law 97-466 (1/13/1983) To designate certain lands in the Monongahela National Forest, West Virginia, as wilderness; and to designate management of certain lands for uses other than wilderness

For more information (To download or see all affected wilderness areas) visit our law library for 97-466 or special provisions for 97-466 or legislative history for 97-466.

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.