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.

Senator Henry Jackson of Washington was instrumental in the designation of many of the state's Wildernesses, and this "forest" of fabled peaks recalls his efforts.\

Straddling more than 30 miles of the craggy north-south trending crest of the Cascade Mountains, with deep glacial valleys spreading out east and west from the crest, this Wilderness is perhaps most distinctive in its northwest section. Here you will find terrain reminiscent of the Swiss Alps: glacial basins surrounded by raggedy ridgelines supporting sharp spires and imposing rock towers, attractions to many mountain climbers.

Snow often accumulates to a depth of 20 feet in the higher country, and remains well into summer, eventually melting into the 60-plus lakes, which range from small pools of water to Blanca Lake's approximately 180 acres in the northwest section. A tall forest covers the lower elevations, then thins out and changes in species to eventually open into broad meadows on many ridge tops.

This Wilderness shares its northeast border with the huge Glacier Peak Wilderness.

The Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail (PCT) winds down the high heart of the area for about 32 miles. Other trails snake up from the east and west to join the PCT. The Blanca Lake Trail leads 3.5 miles to Blanca Lake, and five short pathways approach the center of the northwest section and fade to bushwhacking terrain.

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 Henry M. Jackson 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 Henry M. Jackson Wilderness
FS Topographic Map
Google Earth

Washington 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 98-339

Date: July 3, 1984
Acreage: 103,591 acres

Washington State Wilderness Act of 1984 - Public law 98-339 (7/3/1984) To designate certain National Forest System lands in the State of Washington for inclusion in the National Wilderness Preservation System, and for other purposes.

For more information (To download or see all affected wilderness areas) visit our law library for 98-339 or special provisions for 98-339 or legislative history for 98-339.

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.