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.

In the southern Blue Mountains of eastern Oregon, Monument Rock, Bullrun Rock, and Table Rock tower over the many streams that form the headwaters of the Little Malheur River and the upper drainages of the South Fork of the Burnt River.

Elevations range from 5,120 feet on the Little Malheur to 7,815 feet on Table Rock, with subalpine fir growing in the higher elevations. Ponderosa pine, Douglas fir, white fir, lodgepole pine, and quaking aspen cover the more moderate slopes. Large, grassy meadows bright with summer wildflowers appear willy-nilly, a sunny contrast to the shadowy forest.

Black bears, deer, elk, and badgers still find a reclusive hideaway in this quiet Wilderness. Hawks commonly swoop overhead, and grouse scurry down below.

Summers are dry here, hence the fire-lookout station on Table Rock; snow usually falls by December and melts by the end of March.

Remnants of past wildfires, the most recent one in 2002, are very evident and dominate the landscape in most areas.

About 15 miles of relatively easy trails provide access to the area and to excellent viewpoints. From Table Mountain, the Bullrun Rock Trail takes you an easy two miles to Bullrun Rock, from where you can bushwhack your way south about one mile to Monument Rock itself.

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 Monument Rock 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 Monument Rock 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: 19,800 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.

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.