Pasayten Wilderness is one of Washington’s largest and least developed protected backcountry areas, spanning 531,539 acres in north-central Washington near the Canada–US border. Centered on the Three Forks of the Pasayten River, it includes rugged Cascade peaks in the west and more open grasslands and alpine tundra in the east, with forests and deep drainages shaped by terrain and climate. The area supports deer, moose, mountain goats, mountain lions, bighorn sheep, gray wolves, and the largest lynx population in the Lower 48 states. More than 600 miles of trails cross this remote landscape, which was long used as traditional hunting territory by the Nlaka'pamux peoples.