With colorful sandstone, petroglyphs, and rare plant species, Pinto Valley Wilderness is an often overlooked area. Containing Guardian Peak, one of the highest points in the area, Pinto Valley Wilderness stretches from higher elevations down to the desert and Lake Mead. All you plant enthusiasts will be most interested in the gypsum mudhills. They support an odd array...

The Powderhorn Wilderness in Colorado is found in a rugged, glacier-carved landscape of the northern reaches of the San Juan Mountains, located 5 miles (8.0 km) northeast of Lake City. The area consists of large expanses of alpine tundra, spruce forests, and several alpine lakes at nearly 12,000 feet in elevation. Breathtaking views of the San Juan Mountains are avai...

The 8,120-acre Rio San Antonio Wilderness is located in New Mexico. Along one of the world's great avian migratory routes, these areas provide an important stopover for eagles, hawks, and falcons. The areas are also important habitat for bears, deer, elk, antelope, and bighorn sheep. Additionally, the spectacular Rio Grande, which cuts through the monument, is home ...

The Ruby Mountains Wilderness is a protected wilderness area in the Ruby Mountains of Elko County, Nevada, United States. It covers an area of approximately 90,000 acres (36,000 ha), and is administered by the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest.

The Saint Lazaria Wilderness (formerly the Saint Lazaria National Wildlife Refuge) or St. Lazaria Island is a nesting bird colony located twenty miles (32 km) west of Sitka, Alaska and is a part of the Gulf of Alaska unit of the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge. It is located in Sitka Sound, just south of Kruzof Island, and within the limits of the City and Bo...

The Sawtooth Wilderness (SAW-tooth) is a federally-protected wilderness area that covers 217,088 acres (87,852 ha) of the state of Idaho. Managed by the U.S. Forest Service in the U.S. Department of Agriculture, it was designated the Sawtooth Primitive Area in 1937 to preserve the exceptional scenic beauty of the Sawtooth Mountains. On August 22, 1972 Public Law 22-40...

The Sheep Hole Mountains are a mountain range in the Mojave Desert, to the north of Joshua Tree National Park, in San Bernardino County, California. The mountains were once Chemehuevi hunting grounds. Sheephole Valley Wilderness is the largest wilderness in Mojave Trails National Monument and the closest to the city of 29 Palms. It’s a great place to explore the...

Sheep Mountain Wilderness is a wilderness area of 41,883 acres (169 km2) in the Angeles National Forest located in southern California. The U.S. Congress passed the California Wilderness Act of 1984 which created the wilderness and added it to the National Wilderness Preservation System. Notable hiking in the area includes Heaton Flat along the East Fork of the San Ga...

Sleeping Giant Wilderness Study Area is a non-motorized recreation area located on the west side of the Missouri River and Holter Lake located about 30 miles (48 km) north of Helena, Montana. Designated as a wilderness study area in 1981, the Sleeping Giant Wilderness Study Area contains approximately 6,666 acres (2,698 ha) of nearly roadless land, about half of which...

The Snow Mountain Wilderness is a 60,076-acre (243.12 km2) federally designated wilderness area located 65 miles (105 km) north of Santa Rosa, California, USA in the Mendocino National Forest. The U.S. Congress passed the California Wilderness Act of 1984 which created 23 new wilderness areas including Snow Mountain. It lies within the North Coast Range of mountains. ...

The Spaulding Wilderness Study Area (WSA) is located 18 miles east of Adel, Oregon, in both Lake and Harney counties. Its boundaries are defined by the right-of-way of Oregon State Highway 140 for approximately 3 miles on the southwest, a high standard dirt road on the west and low standard roads on the north, east, and south. The WSA boundary extends up the dead end ...

Visible for miles around, Spirit Mountain is so-named because it is held sacred to the Native American cultures found in this area. The mountain plays a prominent role in the religion and mythology of the Yuman tribes of the lower Colorado River. They believe it is their spiritual birthplace and that the spirits of their ancestors dwell there. Treat this area with par...

The long narrow canyon that surrounds the Deschutes River in the Steelhead Falls area pulls visitors away from nearby human influences and places them in a spectacular steep-sloped channel of unique character. Noise from human infrastructure is masked by the roar of the river at the falls, and hikers become entranced by the colors of the stream-side vegetation and the...

The Steens Mountain Wilderness is a wilderness area surrounding a portion of Steens Mountain of southeastern Oregon in the United States. The reserve falls within the Steens Mountain Cooperative Management and Protection Area (CMPA). Both the reserve and the CMPA are administered by the Bureau of Land Management. The wilderness area encompasses 170,166 acres (68,864 h...

Strawberry Mountain Wilderness is a wilderness area of the Strawberry Mountain Range, within Malheur National Forest in the Blue Mountains of east Oregon. The area comprises 69,350 acres (28,060 ha), including mountain peaks and several lakes, and contains more than 125 miles (201 km) of hiking trails. Strawberry Mountain was designated wilderness under...