The Hoover Wilderness is a

wilderness area Wilderness or wildlands (usually in the plural), are natural environments on Earth that have not been significantly modified by human activity or any nonurbanized land not under extensive agricultural cultivation. The term has traditionally re ...

in the Inyo and Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forests. It lies to the east of the crest of the central Sierra Nevada in

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

, to the north and east of

Yosemite National Park Yosemite National Park ( ) is an American national park in California, surrounded on the southeast by Sierra National Forest and on the northwest by Stanislaus National Forest. The park is managed by the National Park Service and covers an ...

- a long strip stretching nearly to Sonora Pass on the north and

Tioga Pass Tioga Pass is a mountain pass in the Sierra Nevada mountain range of California. State Route 120 runs through it, and serves as the eastern entry point for Yosemite National Park, at the Tioga Pass Entrance Station. It is the highest elevation ...

on the south. The headwaters of the

East Walker River The East Walker River is an approximately long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed March 17, 2011 tributary of the Walker River, in eastern California and western Nevada i ...

begin in the Hoover Wilderness. It comprises 48,601 acres (197 km²). Many trails lead into it from the east, from Walker Meadow (off the

Sonora Pass Sonora Pass (el. 9,624 ft. / 2,933 m.) is a mountain pass in the Sierra Nevada in California. It is the second-highest in California and in the Sierra Nevada. lower by 321 ft. (about 98 m.) than Tioga Pass to the south. State Route 108 ...

road), Buckeye Creek, Green Lakes,

Virginia Lakes Virginia Lakes refers to a basin of lakes in the Eastern Sierra Nevada in Mono County, California. Virginia Lakes is located a few miles off U.S. Highway 395; the road to the lakes turns off U.S. 395 at Conway Summit, roughly halfway between ...

, Lundy Lake, and Saddlebag Lake (off the Tioga Pass road). The Hoover Wilderness was originally designated as a

Primitive Area A Primitive Area is a land designation previously used by the United States Forest Service. Although there are still lands with this title, most are now known as wilderness areas. The Forest Service began this new designation in 1929 with the L- ...

by the Forest Service in 1931. It was named in honor of President

Herbert Hoover Herbert Clark Hoover (August 10, 1874 – October 20, 1964) was an American politician who served as the 31st president of the United States from 1929 to 1933 and a member of the Republican Party, holding office during the onset of the Gr ...

. In 1956, it was designated as a Wild Area and became a Wilderness Area when the 1964

Wilderness Act The Wilderness Act of 1964 () was written by Howard Zahniser of The Wilderness Society. It created the legal definition of wilderness in the United States, and protected 9.1 million acres (37,000 km²) of federal land. The result of a lon ...

was passed. It was significantly expanded to its present size in 2009. The Hoover Wilderness was the setting of ''Camping Adventure'', a children's book published in 1976 by the

National Geographic Society The National Geographic Society (NGS), headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States, is one of the largest non-profit scientific and educational organizations in the world. Founded in 1888, its interests include geography, archaeology, an ...

as part of its "Books for Young Explorers" series. Hoover Wilderness sign at Summit Lake

Places

Notable locations in the Hoover Wilderness include: * Twenty Lakes Basin, above Saddlebag Lake *

Basin * The Sawtooth Ridge and

Matterhorn Peak Matterhorn Peak is located in the Sierra Nevada, in California, at the northern boundary of Yosemite National Park. At elevation, it is the tallest peak in the craggy Alps-like Sawtooth Ridge and the northernmost peak in the Sierra Nevada. T ...

Notes

External links

*
official Hoover Wilderness Area website

Wilderness.net: Hoover Wilderness

official Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest website

National Atlas: Map of Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest

Hoover Wilderness
- Wilderness Connect {{Authority control Wilderness areas of California Humboldt–Toiyabe National Forest Inyo National Forest Protected areas of Mono County, California Sierra Nevada (United States) Protected areas established in 1964 1964 establishments in California