Fossil Ridge Wilderness is a small wilderness of about 32,000 acres and is located approximately 16 miles northeast of the town of Gunnison. The area contains several high mountain lakes. The 26 miles of trail within the wilderness are open to foot and horse travel. The wilderness is surrounded by the Fossil Ridge Recreation Management area which is approximately 44,000 acres in size. Roads and trails within the Recreation Management Area are open to mechanized and motorized uses. The Fossil Ridge Trail is a very popular motorcycle trail within the RMA.

Above Lamphier Lake, accessible on a well-developed, three-mile-long trail, a slim cut in the bare rock called Gunsight Pass (barely shoulder-width!) opens the ridge for foot travel from South Lottis Creek's drainage to Crystal Creek's drainage. Searching for gold, miners dug at several sites still scarred by their efforts but, these pieces of history somehow may enhance the area's overall attractiveness. Square Top Mountain, approximately 12,500 feet high and about an hour's worth of climbing above Lamphier Lake, allows a virtually unparalleled view of almost half of Colorado's fourteeners.