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.

Located on the Michigan-Wisconsin border, this area takes its name from the large trees near the shoreline of Whisker Lake. These old pines were called "chin whiskers" by locals. Surprisingly, they were unscathed by logging and wildfires, both of which ravaged the region in the early 1900s. Here you'll find rolling uplands falling away to wetlands flooded by beaver activity. Six small lakes and three major streams provide trout fishing that can be worth the effort, most notably Riley Lake, Edith Lake (which is split by the eastern boundary), Wakefield Creek, and the Brule River. The Brule forms the northern boundary and separates Nicolet National Forest from Michigan. Hiking and camping, as in the other forestland Wildernesses of Wisconsin, are unrestricted. Six trails enter from the western side, and two of them exit from the eastern side. The Whisker Lake Trail crosses the entire Wilderness in an east-west direction, a distance of approximately 2.5 miles, with access to the lake itself. There are roughly 9.5 miles of maintained system trail in the Whisker Lake Wilderness. Deer hunting is allowed in season, and winter brings cross-country skiers.

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 Whisker 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 Whisker 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 95-494

Date: October 21, 1978
Acreage: 7,315 acres

(No official title, designates Wisconsin wildernesses) - Public law 95-494 (10/21/1978) To designate certain lands in the State of Wisconsin as wilderness

For more information (To download or see all affected Wilderness areas) visit our law library for 95-494 or legislative history for 95-494.

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.