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.

Eighteen thousand years ago, the Mississippi River flowed through what is now Mingo Wilderness, forming a rich swampland of bottomland hardwoods, cypress, and tupelo. This biologically diverse habitat attracted Native Americans and later settlers, who logged and drained much of the forest. In 1944, Congress established the Mingo National Wildlife Refuge to preserve the remaining forest. Today, this Wilderness protects crucial habitat for river otters, bald eagles, wood ducks, swamp rabbits, and migratory waterfowl along the Mississippi Flyway.

Located in the western third of the refuge, Mingo Wilderness features rolling hills of the Ozark Plateau, Monopoly Marsh, and miles of canoeable waterways under a canopy of cypress and hardwoods.

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 Mingo 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

Mingo Wilderness nestles between the gentle rolling hills of the Ozark Plateau and the boothill region of southeast Missouri. Located one mile north of Puxico, Missouri off Highway 51, the Refuge Visitor Center is a good place to find information on the wilderness, visitor rules, wildlife viewing opportunities, and other information.

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 Mingo Wilderness
Google Earth

Missouri 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 94-557

Date: October 19, 1976
Acreage: 8,000 acres

(No official title, designates Fish and Wildlife Service wildernesses) - Public law 94-557 (10/19/1976) To designate certain lands as components of the National Wilderness Preservation System and to provide designation for certain lands as Wilderness Study Areas

For more information (To download or see all affected Wilderness areas) visit our law library for 94-557 or legislative history for 94-557.

General Trip Planning Information

Visitors should contact the Refuge Visitor Center for the latest information on seasonal regulations, fees, etc. Camping is not permitted. Peak visitation to the wilderness occurs in the spring and fall.

Recreational Opportunities

The Mingo Basin is a canoeist paradise. Fishing, flat-water kayaking, wildlife observation, and photography are common visitor activities on the wilderness area.

Portions of the Mingo Wilderness Area are also open to hunting for species such as deer, turkey, and squirrels. Each year the refuge hosts a Muzzle-loader Deer Hunt that primarily takes place in the 7,730-acre Wilderness Area. Contact the Refuge Visitor Center for more information on recreational activities within the Mingo Wilderness Area.

Climate and Special Equipment Needs

When exploring the Mingo Wilderness remember to dress for the weather and always bring a compass or hand-held GPS to help navigate through the bottomland hardwood forest habitat.

Safety and Current Conditions

Contact the Refuge Visitor Center for current conditions or visit the refuge website located at http://www.fws.gov/refuge/mingo/

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.