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.

Sequoia National Park, America's second oldest park, was eventually joined with Kings Canyon National Park to form an area described only with multiple superlatives, a parkland of which everything off the beaten track has been designated Wilderness.

Here in the heart of California wildland, almost surrounded by other designated Wildernesses, you'll find some of the most glorious scenery on Earth, a world of high peaks, deep canyons, lush meadows, bright lakes, rushing rivers, sparkling streams, and big, big trees.

To the west, the park descends to dry foothills of oak and chaparral toward the San Joaquin Valley. To the south runs the Middle Fork of the Kaweah River, as well as the Wild and Scenic North Fork of the Kern River. To the east stands the crest of the Sierra Nevada and the highest mountain in the Lower 48, Mount Whitney at 14,505 feet, shared with John Muir Wilderness.

Across the heart of the area runs Kings Canyon at depths virtually unparalleled, prompting John Muir to dub it "a rival to Yosemite." It is cut by the Wild and Scenic South Fork of the Kings River, which flows out of the park to meet with the Wild and Scenic Middle Fork of the Kings River.

Fishing for rainbow, brown, brook, and golden trout can be outstanding in the Kings River, in the forks of the Kaweah, and in high-mountain lakes and streams.

Even if the fish aren't biting, the scenery is worth the trip.

Traveling north-south, 101 miles of the Pacific Crest Trail and 97 miles of the John Muir Trail cross the heart of the Wilderness. Numerous other trails provide access to much of the wonders of the area.

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 Sequoia-Kings Canyon 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

See driving directions to Sequoia-Kings Canyon from towns in California.

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 Sequoia-Kings Canyon Wilderness
Google Earth

California 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 98-425

Date: September 28, 1984
Acreage: 736,980 acres

California Wilderness Act of 1984 - Public Law 98-425 (9/28/1984) California Wilderness Act of 1984

For more information (To download or see all affected wilderness areas) visit our law library for 98-425 or special provisions for 98-425 or legislative history for 98-425.

Public Law 111-11

Date: March 30, 2009
Acreage: 45,186 acres

Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009 - Public law 111-11 (3/30/2009) An act to designate certain land as components of the National Wilderness Preservation System, to authorize certain programs and activities in the Department of the Interior and the Department of Agriculture, and for other purposes.

For more information (To download or see all affected wilderness areas) visit our law library for 111-11 or special provisions for 111-11 or legislative history for 111-11.

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.