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.

Misty Fjords National Monument includes 2,294,343 acres on the southern tip of the Alaska Panhandle; all but about 156,000 acres near the middle have been designated Wilderness.

Misty Fjords is part of a vast coastal rain forest and the cloud-shrouded monument can receive 160 inches of rain annually.

The region is marked by deep valleys with steep slopes and sharp intervalley ridges formed by volcanism and carved by glaciation. The slopes appear to be an unbroken carpet of cedar, spruce and hemlock, but the forest floor stands open at numerous muskegs dominated by sphagnum moss. Ridges rise above the timberline to alpine heaths and grasses.

Numerous steep-walled inlets of the sea called fjords offer excellent sea-kayaking opportunities, although 25-foot changes in the tides and frequent storms can make boating challenging. Ideal beach camps may be underwater two hours after pitching a tent.

Behm Canal, the longest waterway into the Wilderness, runs for over 100 miles and old lava flows and extensive glaciers add to the wonder.

Tongass National Forest maintains 11 recreational cabins in the Misty Fjords National Monument Wilderness, 9 on inland freshwater lakes and 2 on saltwater. Advance cabin registrations are required.

About 15 miles of wet trails punch into the interior.

Winter skiing continues to become increasingly popular, but the avalanche danger often rates as high.

Both brown and black bears, mountain goats, and black-tailed deer are common sights. Moose, martens, wolves, wolverines, and river otters may be found in abundance. All five species of salmon share the waters with sea lions, harbor seals, killer whales, and porpoises. Migratory birds, from hummingbirds to trumpeter swans, fill the skies.

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 Misty Fjords National Monument 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 Misty Fjords National Monument 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 96-487

Date: December 2, 1980
Acreage: 2,136,000 acres

Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act - Public Law 96-487 (12/2/1980) Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act

For more information (To download or see all affected wilderness areas) visit our law library for 96-487 or special provisions for 96-487 or legislative history for 96-487.

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.