Kofa Wilderness
Area Management
The Kofa Wilderness is part of the 110 million acre National Wilderness Preservation System. This System of lands provides clean air, water, and habitat critical for rare and endangered plants and animals. In wilderness, you can enjoy challenging recreational activities like hiking, backpacking, climbing, kayaking, canoeing, rafting, horse packing, bird watching, stargazing, and extraordinary opportunities for solitude. You play an important role in helping to "secure for the American people of present and future generations the benefits of an enduring resource of wilderness" as called for by the Congress of the United States through the Wilderness Act of 1964. Please follow the requirements outlined below and use Leave No Trace techniques when visiting the Kofa Wilderness to ensure protection of this unique area.The Kofa Refuge and Wilderness is open to visitation year-round, 24 hours a day. There are no entrance fees and visitors are free to camp wherever they choose, keeping in mind the vehicle restrictions. The vast majority of visits to the Refuge take place between October and March when winter visitors flock to southern Arizona. These “snowbirds,” however, tend to remain on or close to the designated roads, so intrepid hikers may still find vast areas of the Refuge for themselves. The Refuge is virtually devoid of human activity during the hot summer months.
The Refuge was established primarily for protection of desert bighorn sheep and their habitat, and that is still the number one management objective. Subsequently, wilderness visitor are apt to encounter remnants of human use in the form of man-made structures such as concrete dams, windmills, and enhanced wildlife waters. Many of these structures, built in the 1940s and ‘50s, are allowed to slowly deteriorate, while others are maintained by refuge staff to provide essential water needs for desert wildlife. On a few rare occasions, wilderness solitude may be interrupted by the sounds and sights of aerial overflights as refuge staff conduct wildlife surveys. Most of the airspace over the refuge is military, so you may also see and hear military jets and helicopters during your visit. By and large, however, the remoteness and solitude of Kofa’s backcountry is unmatched by other, more heavily visited wildernesses.
