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.

During the ice age, glaciers covered this area, scouring it into rolling hills in the west and dropping to swampland in the east. Many lakes dot the area--six of them larger than five acres. Sugar maples, red maples, yellow birches white and red pine, and hemlock form a dense canopy overhead. Logged at the turn of the century, the area has recovered much of its appearance from the earlier forest. This is a small Wilderness, and outside sounds can sometimes be heard, but the area, now largely recovered from past uses, provides a glimpse of how the northern hardwood forests used to be.

The North Country National Scenic Trail traverses the Wilderness from east to west for approximately eight miles and touches the northern tip of Porcupine Lake. Two other short trails, entering from the northern boundary, connect to the North Country Trail. Black bears are frequently seen; store your food hung off the ground and away from your campsite. Fishing and paddling attract visitors to Porcupine Lake, which is filled with northern pike, largemouth bass, and bluegill. All of the major streams in this area contain trout. Cross-country skiers enjoy this Wilderness in winter.

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 Porcupine 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 Porcupine Lake Wilderness
FS Topographic Map
Google Earth

Wisconsin 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 98-321

Date: June 19, 1984
Acreage: 4,235 acres

Wisconsin Wilderness Act of 1984 - Public law 98-321 (6/19/1984) To establish wilderness areas in Wisconsin

For more information (To download or see all affected Wilderness areas) visit our law library for 98-321 or legislative history for 98-321.

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.