Sylvania Wilderness is an 18,327 acres (7,417 ha) protected area located a few miles west of Watersmeet Township, Michigan. Sylvania is located entirely within the bounds of the Ottawa National Forest, and is currently being managed as a wilderness area as part of the National Wilderness Preservation System by the U.S. Forest Service. Within its borders lie 34 lakes set against a backdrop of old-growth forests. It represents one of only a handful of such areas left in the Midwest.