Visit Wilderness

Search for a wilderness as the destination for your next outdoor adventure.

Bob Marshall Wilderness Area, Minnesota

Why Visit Wilderness?

Although you can certainly appreciate wilderness from afar—online, on television, or in books—first-hand experiences in nature such as campng or hunting enable you to enjoy the recreational, ecological, spiritual, and health benefits that wilderness areas provide. Wilderness areas provide “outstanding opportunities for solitude or a primitive and unconfined type of recreation,” opportunities to see wildlife, a chance to renew and refresh, and the health benefits of exercising outside. You can even bring your well-behaved dog to many wilderness areas.

Learn more about the diverse ways in which we benefit from wilderness and threats wilderness areas face today.

Twenty-three lakes, ranging in size from 5 to 149 acres are found in this wilderness where ducks, loons, and great blue herons are often seen feeding. Bald eagles are occasional visitors, and sandhill cranes frequent the open upland in the area's northern section. Hardwoods (maple, white birch, beech, and quaking aspen) dominate the uplands which are inhabited by black bears, pine martens, bobcats, raccoons, porcupines, and chipmunks. Hemlock, spruce, and balsam fir are found in the low wetlands along streams and bogs. Logged between the 1890s and 1930s, old stumps can be seen scattered among second-growth, but the area has recovered much of its appearance of the earlier forest, with large trees and a closed canopy overhead. Although this is a small Wilderness and outside sounds can sometimes be heard, the area provides a glimpse of a northern hardwood forest from earlier times. The primary access to this area is by canoe in which numerous lakes are joined by marked portage trails. Although the terrain rolls easily, trails are limited, and hikers may find movement off-trail challenging due to brush. Fishing is popular, and the state has special regulations in place. The 54 clear-water acres of Twilight Lake provide a trout fishery. Between mid-December and mid-March, the snow pack averages four feet and attracts snowshoers and cross-country skiers. When the snow melts, 34 inches of annual precipitation keeps the countryside wet.

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 Big Island Lake 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 Big Island Lake Wilderness
FS Topographic Map
Google Earth

Michigan 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 100-184

Date: December 8, 1987
Acreage: 5,500 acres

Michigan Wilderness Act of 1987 - Public law 100-184 (12/8/1987) To designate certain lands in the State of Michigan as wilderness, and for other purposes

For more information (To download or see all affected Wilderness areas) visit our law library for 100-184 or special provisions for 100-184 or legislative history for 100-184.

Want to Volunteer for Wilderness?

People who volunteer their time to steward our wilderness areas are an essential part of wilderness management.

The Hiawatha is seeking volunteer assistance for ongoing maintenance and monitoring projects. Please contact your local ranger district to request more information on volunteering.

Contact the following groups to inquire about volunteer opportunities. Groups are listed alphabetically by the state(s) in which the wilderness is located.