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.

Colorado's fourth largest Wilderness exemplifies Rocky Mountain splendor: 100 miles of trail lead over nine passes above 12,000 feet, vast regions lie above the tree line, and long glacial valleys point the way to glistening alpine lakes.

Six peaks rising above 14,000 feet draw mountaineers to challenge themselves on the rugged terrain. These peaks are among the most difficult to scale in the state. Caution and skill are advised.

In midsummer, the wildflowers are abundant. Native Bighorn Sheep make their home in the rocky terrain. Elk and deer currently thrive in the Elk Mountains, but development threatens their habitat.

Historically what is now the Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness was the territory of the Paranuche and Tabeguache bands of the Ute Tribe.

The Maroon Bells Scenic Area, which lies outside of the Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness, provides access to some of the popular Wilderness trailheads.

Due to the popularity of recreation in the Maroon Bells Scenic Area, shuttle buses operate during the summer months (approximate mid-June through Labor Day, plus weekends in September) to Maroon Lake. The Maroon-Bells Snowmass Wilderness draws over 100,000 visitors (day hikers and backpackers) each year.

Advance reservation overnight permits are required for the busiest areas of the Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness including Conundrum Hot Springs (all of Conundrum Creek Valley from Silver Dollar Pond to Triangle Pass, and includes the popular hot springs), Capitol Lake, Crater Lake, and the Four Pass Loop (including Snowmass Lake and Geneva Lake). This permit must be acquired in advance at recreation.gov. If you (and your group) plan to camp in a permitted zone, you will need to reserve a spot in each zone that you plan to camp.

All other overnight visitors to the Maroon Bells - Snowmass Wilderness are required to self-register at trailhead registration boxes. For more information, visit the US Forest Service site for Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness.

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 Maroon Bells-Snowmass 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 Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness
FS Topographic Map
Google Earth

Colorado 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 88-577

Date: September 3, 1964
Acreage: 66,100 acres

The Wilderness Act - Public law 88-577 (9/3/1964) To establish a National Wilderness Preservation System for the permanent good of the whole people, and for other purposes

For more information (To download or see all affected wilderness areas) visit our law library for 88-577 or special provisions for 88-577 or legislative history for 88-577.

Public Law 96-560

Date: December 22, 1980
Acreage: 103,000 acres

Colorado Wilderness Act - Public Law 96-560 (12/22/1980) To designate certain National Forest System lands in the States of Colorado, South Dakota, Missouri, South Carolina, and Louisiana for inclusion in the National Wilderness Preservation System

For more information (To download or see all affected wilderness areas) visit our law library for 96-560 or special provisions for 96-560 or legislative history for 96-560.

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.