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 Government Peak Wilderness sits like a ship off the northern "coast" of the Snake Range in eastern Nevada. Vegetation includes mostly desert brush and grass at the lower elevations, with a scattering of pinyon and juniper stands on the upper slopes. Bare rock cliffs jut skyward on the eastern side of the area. Paintbrush is the most common wildflower, along with the blooms of cactus. Elevations within the Wilderness boundaries range from 6,000 to 8,100 feet.

Mule deer, elk and wild horses are known to roam the region, along with the ever present jackrabbits and coyotes. Raptors, such as red tail hawks and golden eagles, may be encountered.

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 Government 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

Access to this wilderness from Baker is via State Highway 487 northwest to Federal Highway 6/50 west. After driving approximately 30 miles, turn north onto State Road 893 into North Spring Valley. Continue on this road for 40 miles, after the pavement ends, turn right (eastward) onto County Road 37. Follow the County Road for approximately 8 miles to BLM Road 23, continue straight through the intersection. The road forks in another two miles, take the right fork. Another 14 miles leads you to the northern tip of Government 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 Government 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: 6,313 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 area provides opportunities for solitude in Indian George Wash, south of Government Peak and in the higher juniper covered areas. Little to no water can be found in the wilderness.

See area management for regulations.

Safety and Current Conditions

Contact the 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.