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 Rattlesnake Mountains, located four miles north of Missoula, Montana, form a rugged and scenic vista for the Missoula Valley.

The Rattlesnake Wilderness receives its name from Rattlesnake Creek which originates from within the Wilderness and is also part of the City of Missoula's municipal watershed.

The rolling hills of the Rattlesnake National Recreation Area (NRA) lie to the south and adjacent to the Wilderness. The mountains and ridges along the northern boundary of the Wilderness form the border with the South Fork Jocko Tribal Primitive Area.

The Rattlesnake Wilderness is characterized by scenic lakes, forested ridges, open cliff-banded slopes, and mountain peaks.

Elevations in the Wilderness range from 4200 feet at the southern boundary to 8,620 feet at McLeod Peak.

Ponderosa Pine, Lodgepole Pine, Larch, Fir, and Spruce can be found throughout the Wilderness depending on elevation and slope aspect.

The area is also home to deer, elk, coyotes, wolves, mountain goats, bighorn sheep, black bears, grizzly bears, moose, and mountain lions.

Approximately 33 miles of trail and thousands of acres of untrailed terrain allow visitors to explore this area.

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 Rattlesnake 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 Rattlesnake Wilderness
FS Topographic Map
Google Earth

Montana Wildernesses

Printed Maps

Fetching MyTopo from Database
Cairn Cartographics Map

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 96-476

Date: October 19, 1980
Acreage: 33,000 acres

Rattlesnake National Recreation Area and Wilderness Act of 1980 - Public law 96-476 (10/19/1980) To establish the Rattlesnake National Recreation Area and Wilderness in the State of Montana

For more information (To download or see all affected wilderness areas) visit our law library for 96-476 or special provisions for 96-476 or legislative history for 96-476.

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.