Innoko Wilderness, US Wilderness Area in Innoko National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska.

Innoko Wilderness is a vast protected area in western Alaska featuring dense spruce forest, wetlands, and winding river valleys. The river systems wind through the remote landscape and form the primary features of this untouched terrain.

The wilderness was established in 1980 through the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act to protect the state's largest waterfowl breeding and resting grounds. This action recognized the ecological importance of this region for wildlife conservation.

The Koyukon Athabascan people have long inhabited these lands and continue to use seasonal camps for fishing and hunting. Their traditional practices remain visible in how the landscape is used today.

No roads reach Innoko Wilderness; access is by small aircraft or boat, and the Innoko and Yukon rivers serve as the main routes through the area. More than half of the wilderness is muskeg, marsh, lakes and streams, so travel is largely on water. Plan for self-reliance, since the terrain is undeveloped and the subsistence camps along the rivers are privately owned.

More than 20,000 beavers live in Innoko Wilderness, the largest concentration the sources record for this area. Their dams and lodges shape the muskeg, lakes and streams that cover over half the 1,240,000-acre area. Look for gnawed black spruce and piled branches along the waterways.