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 45 miles west of Salt Lake City, the Cedar Mountain is a north-south trending range typical of the Great Basin. The wilderness is generally accessible year-round and offers open-country hiking, backpacking, horseback riding, hunting, photography, and nature study amid rolling sagebrush-grassland benches, steep juniper woodland slopes, and rugged limestone outcrops. On the east side of the mountains the main ridge breaks into sheer cliffs. These mountains rise from a low point of 4,200 feet to 7,700 feet and offer outstanding views. The arid high desert environment supports a diverse population of wildlife including, mule deer, raptors, snakes, lizards, coyotes, badgers, and mountain lion. The lower benches of the mountains provide year-round habitat for antelope. Bighorn sheep occasionally pass through from surrounding ranges. Temperatures are typically around 100 in the summer, and below freezing in the winter. The Cedar Mountains receive about 15 inches of annual precipitation.

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 Cedar Mountain Wilderness Area.

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

South of Interstate 80 approximately 50 miles west of Salt Lake City. Take Exit 70 at Delle to access the east side boundary road. Take Exit 56 at Aragonite to access the west side boundary road.

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 Cedar Mountain Wilderness Area
Google Earth

Utah 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 109-163

Date: January 6, 2006
Acreage: 100,000 acres

National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2006 - Public law 109-163 (1/6/2006) To authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2006 for military activities of the Department of Defense, for military construction, and for defense activities of the Department of Energy, to prescribe military personnel strengths for such fiscal year.

For more information (To download or see all affected Wilderness areas) visit our law library for 109-163 or special provisions for 109-163 or legislative history for 109-163.

Public Law 114-328

Date: December 23, 2016
Acreage: 0 acres

National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017 - Public law 114-328 (12/23/2016) To authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2017 for military activities of the Department of Defense, for military construction, and for defense activities of the Department of Energy, to prescribe military personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for other purposes.

For more information (To download or see all affected Wilderness areas) visit our law library for 114-328 or special provisions for 114-328.

General Trip Planning Information

The Cedars Mountains do not have designated trails, trailheads, or campsites. Signs and visitor kiosks are found along boundary roads only. Travel is generally over open, unconfined terrain. Topography consists of rolling benches rising to steep slopes with shallow canyons. Vegetation consists mostly of grassland, sagebrush, and scattered juniper woodlands. Heavy timber is not present. Cattle grazing occurs from November to May each year.

Recreational Opportunities

Hiking, climbing, backpacking, horseback riding, hunting, wildlife and wild horse viewing, nature photography, and touring the Hastings Cutoff on the California National Historic Trail. Follow in the footsteps of Fremont, Kit Carson, the Donner party, and many pioneer emigrants over Hastings Pass.

Climate and Special Equipment Needs

This is an arid, high desert environment typical of the Great Basin. Natural water sources are limited to a few brackish springs and seeps. Most available water has been piped to troughs for livestock grazing which can be used but come prepared to treat any water found or bring your own supply. Temps range from the upper 90s/low 100s in summer to below freezing in winter. Snow level in the winter is generally above 5000 feet. Spring and fall are ideal seasons to visit.

Safety and Current Conditions

Between June and September, check with BLM for current fire restrictions. Access to the area is over periodically-maintained dirt roads that can become very muddy and impassable during wet weather. High-clearance, four-wheel drive vehicles are recommended. Attempting to drive over Hastings Pass or Rydalch Pass during inclement weather is not recommended. Cell phone coverage is usually fair to good in most locations.

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.