Emigrant Wilderness is a protected high-country region in the Sierra Nevada within Stanislaus National Forest in Tuolumne County, California. Shaped by glaciation, it includes volcanic ridges in the northeast, broad granite country, meadows, and many lakes, with elevations from below 5,000 feet to 11,570 feet at Leavitt Peak. People have used this landscape for about 10,000 years, including Native communities who came seasonally to hunt and trade across the Sierra. After the California gold rush, emigrants and settlers entered in large numbers; the difficult West Walker route over Emigrant Pass was briefly used in the early 1850s before being abandoned. Protected first in 1931 and formally designated in 1975, the area is now known for hiking, alpine scenery, and ongoing debate over old stone fishing dams.