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.

Worthington Mountain rises like a ship, 4,000 rugged feet above dry valleys of central Nevada to almost 9,000 feet. The extremely severe limestone backbone of the mountain presents a difficult challenge to visitors with heavily dissected, maze-like canyons, precipitous cliffs, knifelike limestone surfaces, and no surface water. Those who persist will be rewarded by endless vistas, natural arches, ancient forest (the oldest tree dated at 2,100 years), and limestone caves, the largest being Leviathan. Wildlife species inhabiting this Wilderness area include mountain lions, bobcats, deer, desert bighorn sheep, kit foxes, coyotes and raptors, as well as smaller common mammal and reptile species. Forest cover in the mountains vary from sparse to dense stands of juniper and pinyon pine at lower elevations while ponderosa, limber and bristlecone pines cling to the jagged peaks. The Worthington Mountains feature a divergent flora from the curious combination Great Basin/Sonoran desert including cholla and cactus of the valley through pinyon - juniper, Limber and Ponderosa Pine, to the Bristlecone Pine of the craggy 9,000 foot summit ridge. Worthington Mountains wonderfully expresses the Wilderness characteristics of stark beauty, chaotic topography, and remoteness of Nevada wildlands.

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 Worthington Mountains 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

The Worthington Mountains Wilderness is located in a remote part of the Ely District within Lincoln County in east-central Nevada. The nearest paved highway is about 15 miles to the south, and the nearest incorporated town is Alamo, 38 miles southeast.
Access to this wilderness from Hiko, Nevada is achieved via state highway 375 northwest towards Rachel. Approximately 1.5 miles before Rachel take a right on an unnamed county road for 18 miles northbound.

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 Worthington Mountains Wilderness
Google Earth

Nevada 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 108-424

Date: November 30, 2004
Acreage: 30,664 acres

Lincoln County Conservation, Recreation, and Development Act of 2004 - Public law 108-424 (11/30/2004) To establish wilderness areas, promote conservation, improve public land, and provide for the high quality development in Lincoln County, Nevada, and for other purposes.

For more information (To download or see all affected Wilderness areas) visit our law library for 108-424 or special provisions for 108-424 or legislative history for 108-424.

Recreational Opportunities

The immense scenery of the area, natural arches, caves, and vistas from the ridgeline of Worthington steep-walled rock canyons that drop away from the top of the ridgeline provide an amazing backdrop for nature study, technical rock climbing, rock scrambling, hiking, backpacking, and camping. The spelunking opportunities in Leviathan Cave are extraordinary with its huge entrance (100x180), cave formations, enormous chambers, narrow constricted passageways, and large ice formations during winter and spring months.

Safety and Current Conditions

Contact Bureau of Land Management Caliente Field Office for current weather, road conditions, and hazards.

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.