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.

Together with neighboring Gates of the Arctic Wilderness, Noatak Wilderness protects almost the entirety of the largest untouched river basin in America, that of the Noatak River. Noatak Wilderness also comprises all, except for about 700,000 acres around the village of Noatak, of the Noatak National Preserve.

From glacial melt on Mount Igikpak in the Brooks Range (in Gates of the Arctic National Park), the mostly gentle Noatak River flows westward 425 miles through the heart of the preserve to Kotzebue Sound, patiently carving the scenic Grand Canyon of the Noatak along its course. From its source to its confluence with the Kelly River, 330 miles have been designated Wild and Scenic, making it the longest river in the Wild and Scenic System.

More and more visitors each year come to canoe and kayak on the Noatak, and almost the entire river may be paddled easily. Those who fish can try to catch Arctic char, grayling, whitefish, or salmon.

Here in the land of the summer midnight sun, above the Arctic Circle, the huge Western Arctic caribou herd roams, 200,000-plus strong. Bird life abounds in the migratory seasons.

Backpacking in the foothills, among the bears, wolves, lynx, and Dall sheep, has been increasing in popularity, and backcountry travelers must move with care, as this land is fragile.

Alpine tundra occurs at high elevation, and moist tundra, the most common condition, supports cottongrass, willows, Labrador tea, mountain alder, dwarf birch and other tundra species at lower elevations. Boggy areas support cranberry, bog rosemary and salmonberry.

Camping is unrestricted, but you should avoid the numerous private lands on the lower Noatak River. Otherwise, campsites are best on river sandbars and high, dry tundra knobs, but firewood is scarce.

Plan on encountering swarms of ravenous mosquitoes during summer.

Motorboats, small airplanes, and snowmobiles are permitted, and hunting and fishing are allowed.

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 Noatak 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 Noatak Wilderness
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: 5,800,000 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.

Public Law 104-333

Date: November 12, 1996
Acreage: 17,168 acres

Omnibus Parks and Public Lands Management Act of 1996 - Public Law 104-333 (11/12/1996) Omnibus Parks and Public Lands Management Act of 1996

For more information (To download or see all affected wilderness areas) visit our law library for 104-333 or special provisions for 104-333 or legislative history for 104-333.

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.