Wallowa-Whitman National Forest

Recreation

Wilderness

"Wilderness areas are among the few places on earth where we have agreed to allow nature, for the most part, to operate on her own terms. Desirable behavior is more likely to occur if people understand how their actions affect the way nature operates."
-- Dr. George Wallace

The Info	The Areas	Locator Map
General Information Wilderness Locator Guides and Outfitters Wilderness Regulations Wilderness Etiquette and "Leave No Trace" Northwest Forest Pass Wild and Scenic Rivers	Eagle Cap Wilderness Hells Canyon Wilderness North Fork John Day Wilderness Monument Rock Wilderness	Click the map to view a larger version (18kb)

Welcome to Wilderness!

Welcome to your National Forest Wilderness. If you are planning a backcountry trip into wilderness you are about to enjoy one of our nation's greatest treasures. The very concept of wilderness is the stuff that dreams are made of. The word itself conjures up visions of adventure, challenge, and romance with just a bit of mystery. These wildlands hold great significance in our country as they are the only designated lands where nature is allowed to operate freely, where man is a visitor who does not remain. Wilderness is important for those like yourself who visit it, but it is equally important for many who only dream about it. There are other important aspects of wilderness such as the scientific and educational values associated with having large areas where nature is allowed a free reign.

Designated wilderness areas were created by congress with passage of the Wilderness Act in 1964. The Act established the National Wilderness Preservation System which gave federal land management agencies responsibility for administering wilderness to benefit the nation as a whole. This landmark conservation legislation established for the American people an enduring resource of wilderness. The Act defined wilderness as areas:

• affected primarily by the forces of nature, where man is a visitor who does not remain;
• possessing outstanding opportunities for solitude or a primitive and unconfined type of recreation;
• federally owned, undeveloped, and generally over 5,000 acres of size;
• protected and managed to allow natural ecological processes to operate freely;
• containing ecological, geological, or other features of scientific, educational, scenic, or historic value;
• formally designated by Congress as Wilderness

The Wilderness Act itself makes allowances for certain activities that were taking place before the Act came into play. While you are recreating in wilderness you may encounter some of these activities. They are: grazing by cattle and sheep through a permitted allotment, old airstrips that are still in use, mining, and dams that were created for agricultural irrigation. These activities are permitted in wilderness as historical practices as described in the Wilderness Act.

Within the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest, visitors will discover four wilderness areas:   Eagle Cap, Hells Canyon, Monument Rock, and North Fork John Day Wildernesses. Each area holds a unique beauty of its own from high alpine lakes and meadows to sheer rock bluffs that jet into rambling rivers. Hiking, horseback riding, fishing, hunting, sightseeing, and camping are popular recreation uses among these wild lands. 

Upon entering the wilderness visitors are taken back to a time when travel was without automobiles or bicycles and before the luxury of mechanized equipment. In addition, wilderness is closed to motorized equipment requiring all trails to be constructed and maintained by hand, using primitive skills, with cross cut saws, pulaskis, and shovels.

Recreationists can choose from hundreds of miles of trail in these wilderness areas. Trailheads are located on all sides of each area, and location information can be found on the page describing each wilderness.  

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