These are just a few of the unique experiences and challenges that await the Hells Canyon Wilderness visitor. Hells Canyon Wilderness, in parts of Oregon and Idaho, was classified wilderness with the establishment of the Hells Canyon National Recreation Area in 1975. Additional acres were added as part of the Oregon Wilderness Act of 1984 resulting in a total of 219,006 acres. The Idaho portion is characterized by three geologic-vegetative regions. The upper areas are alpine and subalpine with several lakes and geologic formations of glacial origin.
Vegetation is sparse and broken by large areas of rock.
The middle portions contain dense forests of larch, lodgepole pine, and true firs. Lower elevations are characterized by dry, rocky, barren, steep slopes breaking into the Snake River and its major tributaries. Trees are sparse consisting mostly of ponderosa pine and Douglas-fir. This entire area is dissected by several major drainages including Sheep Creek, Granite Creek, and Deep Creek. These are separated by a benchland from Saddle Creek to Dug Bar.