Leatherwood Wilderness is a federally designated wilderness area in Arkansas's Ozark-St. Francis National Forest and, at 16,838 acres, the state's largest. Named for Leatherwood Creek and the leatherwood plant, it is known for some of the Ozarks' most rugged terrain, with deeply cut drainages and sheer cliffs rising more than 1,200 feet above the creeks. Managed by the U.S. Forest Service since its 1984 designation, it is kept primitive, allowing backpacking and camping but no constructed trails. The area also preserves traces of old roads, farms, and cabins, and supports diverse wildlife, forests, cedar glades, old-growth pine stands, and many caves closed to protect bats from white-nose syndrome.