Barnsley head into the second leg knowing a win will see them back at Wembley.
A goal apiece in the second half saw the spoils shared in this Sky Bet League One Play-Off Semi Final First Leg encounter.
The Reds went ahead when Nicky Cadden stroked home from the edge of the box before Dion Charles levelled the tie up just four minutes later.
In a very tight contest during the opening 45 minutes it was edged in terms of the chances by Michael Duff's side, but the hosts did have a couple of nearly moments also.
One cross from the Bolton right flashed across goal, going behind off Whites' striker Dion Charles who was unmarked and knew little about it.
The Reds grew into the fixture and a well-worked free-kick saw the ball laid off for Luca Connell to strike from 25 yards and his low, fizzing strike was only parried by James Trafford in the hosts' goal.
Great link-up play between the two Barnsley forwards saw Devante Cole slip in Slobodan Tedić but the Serbian's dinked effort one-on-one with Trafford was wonderfully clawed to safety.
The breakthrough nearly came on the half-hour when Adam Phillips rocketed a trademark piledriver from range but the true strike whistled just a foot over the Bolton crossbar.
HALF-TIME: Bolton Wanderers 0-0 Barnsley
Duff's side remained the dominant force on the attacking front, whilst Wanderers did enjoy plenty of the ball without creating much of note.
And just after the hour-mark, Cadden sent over 2,000 Reds fans in the away end into raptures when he fired home through a sea of legs from the edge of the box, giving Player of the Match on the day, Trafford no chance.
However, the lead didn't last long. Randell Williams broke down the left flank, beating his namesake, Jordan before seeing his low cross only pushed by Harry Isted into Charles who knew little about it as he watched the ball loop into the net for 1-1.
The home side dominated for a good 15 minutes after the equaliser, but again, their opportunities created were very limited, with Mads Andersen making a superb block to deny Dan Nlundulu the best of the bunch.
Indeed, the Reds could have won it when Bobby Thomas tried to lift the ball over Trafford one-on-one, but just as the 'keeper had done in the first half, he repelled the attempt and made sure Bolton remained level heading to Oakwell next Friday night.
FULL-TIME: Bolton Wanderers 1-1 Barnsley
Isted, Williams, B.Thomas, Andersen, Kitching, Cadden, Phillips, Connell, Kane, Cole (Watters), Tedić (Norwood).
Unused: Collins, Russell, J.Benson, L.Thomas, Larkeche.
