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.

The Becky Peak Wilderness lies at the northern end of the Schell Creek Range in eastern Nevada. Vegetation primarily includes desert brush and grass at the lower elevations and a scattering of pinyon pine and juniper stands on the upland slopes of Becky Peak and surrounding hillsides. Atop Becky Peak itself (9,859 feet), you will encounter bristlecone and limber pine trees. Elevations drop as low as 6,500 feet in this Wilderness.

Wildflowers are abundant in the spring and include yarrow, prickly poppy, prickly pear cactus, larkspur, lupine, paintbrush, and Sego lilies. Pronghorn antelope are frequently seen through the sagebrush lowlands. Other animals that may be spotted on a visit to Becky Peak Wilderness include mule deer, wild horses, lizards and a variety of birds.

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 Becky Peak 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 Becky Peak Wilderness is located in northern White Pine County, approximately 50 miles north of Ely, Nevada. Access to this wilderness is from Ely, north on Federal Highway 93 for 40 miles. Turn right onto County Road 18 to access the east side of Becky Peak, or continue on Federal Highway 93 for an additional 10 miles to BLM Road 4149 to access the southwestern edge of the area. For access to the eastern side continue on County Road 18 for 12 miles, bearing left at the fork onto County Road 31. For the next 10 miles you will encounter several roads leading west into the Becky Peak Wilderness.

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 Becky Peak 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 109-432

Date: December 20, 2006
Acreage: 18,119 acres

Tax Relief and Health Care Act of 2006 - Public law 109-432 (12/20/2006) To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to extend expiring provisions, and for other purposes.

For more information (To download or see all affected Wilderness areas) visit our law library for 109-432 or special provisions for 109-432 or legislative history for 109-432.

General Trip Planning Information

Recreational opportunities include camping, hiking, backpacking, horseback riding, and hunting. The Becky Peak Wilderness provides opportunities for solitude in the numerous washes extending from the mountain, particularly on the eastern side of the range. Highway 93 is generally in view from the western side of Becky Peak. The forested areas also provide excellent coverage. See area management for regulations.

Contact the BLM, Ely District Office for current 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.