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U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service

Find a Wilderness Area

Updated June 3, 2026

Wilderness areas exist on 63 refuges in 26 states. About 90% of the National Wildlife Refuge System's Wilderness is in Alaska. Explore refuges with designated wilderness.

Alaska

Small islets covered in green vegetation protrude from a blue sea with breaking waves. White seabirds fly above them in a blue sky.

Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge

Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

Becharof National Wildlife Refuge

Innoko National Wildlife Refuge

Large pool of water surrounded by low tundra grasses under cloud covered sky.

Izembek National Wildlife Refuge

A stunning landscape of blue lake, green forest and snow-capped mountains at Kenai National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska.

Kenai National Wildlife Refuge

Dramatic green lights in sky over dark tall trees

Koyukuk National Wildlife Refuge

flat tundra and distant hills covered with snow

Selawik National Wildlife Refuge

Togiak National Wildlife Refuge

Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge

Arizona

Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge

Havasu National Wildlife Refuge (partially in California)

Imperial National Wildlife Refuge (partially in California)

A view of a distant rocky ridgeline between two mountain peaks.

Kofa National Wildlife Refuge

Arkansas

Trees grow out of a swamp.

Big Lake National Wildlife Refuge

California

Rocky island with a flat platform with hand rails and a large sign with the text, Farallon National Wildlife Refuge.

Farallon National Wildlife Refuge

Havasu National Wildlife Refuge (partially in Arizona)

Imperial National Wildlife Refuge (partially in Arizona)

Florida

Cedar Keys National Wildlife Refuge

Landscape scenery with blue sky and vegetation along reflective, calm water

Chassahowitzka National Wildlife Refuge

Great white heron feeding in shallow seagrass beds.

Great White Heron National Wildlife Refuge

Sunset oranges and yellows at J.N. Ding Darling NWR

Island Bay National Wildlife Refuge

J.N. 'Ding' Darling National Wildlife Refuge

Fishermen on the water at Key West NWR

Key West National Wildlife Refuge

View from a kayak of one of Lake Woodruff National Wildlife Refuge's wilderness areas

Lake Woodruff National Wildlife Refuge

A small deer visits a feeder while another grazes in the background.

National Key Deer Refuge

Panorama view of Passage Key with blue sky and sandy beach

Passage Key National Wildlife Refuge

Pelican Island National Wildlife Refuge

St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge

Georgia

Sunrise on the shore of Blackbeard Island National Wildlife Refuge

Blackbeard Island National Wildlife Refuge

Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge

Shorebirds on the beach at Wolf Island NWR

Wolf Island National Wildlife Refuge

Illinois

Crab Orchard National Wildlife Refuge

Louisiana

Breton National Wildlife Refuge

Lacassine National Wildlife Refuge

Maine

A green forest surrounds a large lake, under a blue sky

Moosehorn National Wildlife Refuge

Massachusetts

Monomoy National Wildlife Refuge

Michigan

Rocky shoreline at Huron National Wildlife Refuge

Huron National Wildlife Refuge

Aerial view of Scarecrow Island.

Michigan Islands National Wildlife Refuge

Seney National Wildlife Refuge

Minnesota

Agassiz National Wildlife Refuge

Red and orange trees line a pond in fall.

Tamarac National Wildlife Refuge

Missouri

A waterway surrounded by vegetation

Mingo National Wildlife Refuge

Montana

Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge

Medicine Lake NWR landscape

Medicine Lake National Wildlife Refuge

A snowy wintery mountain landscape is shown.

Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge

A black-footed ferret emerges from its burrow in a grassy field under a night sky lit by the Milky Way at UL Bend National Wildlife Refuge.

UL Bend National Wildlife Refuge

Nebraska

Fort Niobrara National Wildlife Refuge

New Jersey

Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge

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Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge

New Mexico

An orange sun bursts through the clouds over green wetlands at Bitter Lake Refuge

Bitter Lake National Wildlife Refuge

Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge

North Carolina

A forest fringed by grassy marsh is bordered by a partially submerged rock wall

Swanquarter National Wildlife Refuge

North Dakota

summer native prairie landscape

Chase Lake National Wildlife Refuge

A field of blue and purple flowers with green vegetation surrounding them

Lostwood National Wildlife Refuge

Ohio

West Sister Island National Wildlife Refuge

Oklahoma

A yellow sunset washes over a grassy field

Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge

Oregon

Oregon Islands National Wildlife Refuge

A historical image of the arched rocks as seen from Shag Rock

Three Arch Rocks National Wildlife Refuge

South Carolina

Upper Summerhouse Pond at Bulls Island, Cape Romain NWR

Cape Romain National Wildlife Refuge

Washington

Washington Islands from Shi Shi Beach

Copalis National Wildlife Refuge

Point of Arches at Sunset

Flattery Rocks National Wildlife Refuge

Jagged Island

Quillayute Needles National Wildlife Refuge

Streaks of brightly lit clouds at sunrise reflect on a body of water with distant islands

San Juan Islands National Wildlife Refuge

Wisconsin

Three dark gray, spotted bird eggs lie on a bed of broken mussel shells

Gravel Island National Wildlife Refuge

Green Bay National Wildlife Refuge

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