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.

Known as the Columbia Gorge Recreation Area prior to Wilderness designation, this area lies just south of the sheer cliffs of the Columbia River Gorge. Most of the land adjacent to the river and along Interstate 84 is privately owned and often developed and, of course, outside the Wilderness boundary. The breaks of the gorge are spectacular basalt cliffs, rocky slopes, and rock outcroppings. Rugged and steep, the slopes of the Wilderness rise to a slightly uneven plateau and on to mountain peaks, talus slopes, and lakes with elevations ranging from approximately 100 feet near the river to 4,900 feet on Mount Defiance. Sparkling waterfalls and mossy-green cliff faces often highlight the deep drainages slashing through the broad, flat ridge tops. The main waterways--Herman Creek, Eagle Creek, and Tanner Creek--flow north toward the river, supporting borders of western hemlock and fir. Most of the 200 miles of trails follow drainages. Approximately 14 miles of the Pacific Crest Trail and the Eagle Creek Trail receive the most use. The Eagle Creek Trail, with seven waterfalls, a tunnel, and designated campsites, can be hiked in a 16-mile-plus loop that hurdles Tanner Butte. Its proximity to Portland translates into lots of people. If you require solitude, take one of the quieter trails; Tanner Butte, Herman Creek, and Nick Eaton Ridge. Each of these is approximately 10 to 12 miles round-trip.

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 Mark O. Hatfield 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 Mark O. Hatfield Wilderness
FS Topographic Map
Google Earth

Oregon 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 98-328

Date: June 26, 1984
Acreage: 39,000 acres

Oregon Wilderness Act of 1984 - Public law 98-328 (6/26/1984) To designate certain national forest system lands in the State of Oregon for inclusion in the National Wilderness Preservation System, and for other purposes

For more information (To download or see all affected Wilderness areas) visit our law library for 98-328 or special provisions for 98-328 or legislative history for 98-328.

Public Law 104-208

Date: September 30, 1996
Acreage: 0 acres

Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 - Public law 104-208 (9/30/1996) Making omnibus consolidated appropriations for the fiscal year ending September 30, 1997, and for other purposes. (SEE PAGE 547 for the start of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996)

For more information (To download or see all affected Wilderness areas) visit our law library for 104-208

Public Law 111-11

Date: March 30, 2009
Acreage: 25,960 acres

Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009 - Public law 111-11 (3/30/2009) An act to designate certain land as components of the National Wilderness Preservation System, to authorize certain programs and activities in the Department of the Interior and the Department of Agriculture, and for other purposes.

For more information (To download or see all affected Wilderness areas) visit our law library for 111-11 or special provisions for 111-11 or legislative history for 111-11.

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.