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.

Instead of rising into high peaks, to offer a somewhat unique Wilderness experience the gently sloping hills of North Fork Umatilla Wilderness fall into extremely steep, timbered canyons below a high plateau. Down along the river you'll probably feel more isolated than the small acreage of the area would indicate.

Vegetation ranges from juniper, sagebrush, and ponderosa pine to fir, spruce, lodgepole pine, and western larch.

Elevations drop from 5,400 feet to 2,000 feet in a relatively short distance to provide a substantial physical workout.

The North Fork Umatilla River supports populations of bull trout as well as runs of anadromous fish, including steelhead, a major force in pushing for designation of this area as well as an attraction to anglers.

However, the river is designated catch and release only.

Hunters come for big-game animals, including a fairly large population of Rocky Mountain elk.

In the northern Blue Mountains the weather tends to change radically and unpredictably any day of the year. Snow usually melts by early spring, and the lower elevation trailheads are usually accessible from April through November. The upper elevation trailheads are generally snowed in from December through early to mid-June.

The 27 miles of trails attract both backpackers and horsepackers. You can connect the Buck Creek trail with the Buck Mountain trail, by crossing a bit of non-Wilderness tableland, for a lovely 15-mile loop. The trail along North Fork Umatilla River is popular. This trail can be accessed either the trailhead along the North Fork Umatilla River, or from the Coyote Ridge trailhead.

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 North Fork Umatilla 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 North Fork Umatilla Wilderness
FS Topographic Map
Google Earth

Oregon 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 98-328

Date: June 26, 1984
Acreage: 20,200 acres

Oregon Wilderness Act of 1984 - Public law 98-328 (6/26/1984) To designate certain national forest system lands in the State of Oregon 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 98-328 or special provisions for 98-328 or legislative history for 98-328.

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.