San Juan Wilderness
Area Management
The San Juan Wilderness is part of the 110 million acre National Wilderness Preservation System. This System of lands provides clean air, water, and habitat critical for rare and endangered plants and animals. In wilderness, you can enjoy challenging recreational activities like hiking, backpacking, climbing, kayaking, canoeing, rafting, horse packing, bird watching, stargazing, and extraordinary opportunities for solitude. You play an important role in helping to "secure for the American people of present and future generations the benefits of an enduring resource of wilderness" as called for by the Congress of the United States through the Wilderness Act of 1964. Please follow the requirements outlined below and use Leave No Trace techniques when visiting the San Juan Wilderness to ensure protection of this unique area.To provide undisturbed habitat, boaters are requested to stay 200 yards away from all refuge islands while observing wildlife. Public entry to the designated land is not permitted, with the exception of Matia Island, which is accessed at Rolfe cove with a dock. Here you will find a 5-acre campground with a limited number of campsites, and the trailhead to a 1-mile walk through the Wilderness.
