Visit Wilderness

Search for a wilderness as the destination for your next outdoor adventure.

Bob Marshall Wilderness Area, Minnesota

Why Visit Wilderness?

While wilderness can be appreciated from afar—through online content, television, or books—nothing compares to experiencing it firsthand. Activities like camping, hiking, or hunting allow you to fully enjoy the recreational, ecological, spiritual, and health benefits that wilderness areas offer. These areas provide “outstanding opportunities for solitude or a primitive and unconfined type of recreation,” chances to observe wildlife, moments to renew and refresh, and the physical benefits of outdoor exercise. In many wilderness areas, you can even bring your well-behaved dog.

Learn more about the diverse ways in which we benefit from wilderness and threats wilderness areas face today.

This sprawling Arizona Wilderness encompasses all of Sycamore Canyon, from its pine- and fir-forested rim on the Colorado Plateau down through the Mogollon Rim to its desert mouth in the Verde Valley.

The canyon winds for over 20 miles along Sycamore Creek, at places stretching seven miles from rim to rim. Carved walls reveal layers of lovely red sandstone, spectacular white limestone, and rugged brown lava. Pinnacles tower above the high, colorful cliffs, and the water of the creek allows a rich habitat to flourish, including sycamores, walnuts, and cottonwoods. It is one of Arizona's most dramatic and beautiful canyons.

Many ring-tailed cats, wide-eyed cousins of the raccoon, live here, along with black bears, mountain lions, seasonal elk and deer, rattlesnakes, scorpions, and many smaller animals. Canyon wrens and hermit thrushes send their delightful songs along the trail with you.

Although you can choose from several trails, year-round water is limited to the lower reaches of the canyon. Take the 11-mile-long Sycamore Rim Trail Loop for a great look into the canyon.

Backpackers should always carry ample water when venturing up the canyon. It's best to avoid the screaming-hot summers.

A small portion of the southern end, from a half mile above Parson's Spring, has been closed to overnight camping.

The Wilderness lies within three national forests: Coconino, Kaibab, and Prescott.

Leave No Trace

How to follow the seven standard Leave No Trace principles differs in different parts of the country (desert vs. Rocky Mountains). Click on any of the principles listed below to learn more about how they apply in the Sycamore Canyon Wilderness.

Plan Ahead and Prepare
Travel and Camp on Durable Surfaces
Dispose of Waste Properly
Leave What You Find
Minimize Campfire Impacts
Respect Wildlife
Be Considerate of Other Visitors

For more information on Leave No Trace, Visit the Leave No Trace, Inc. website.

Location

Maps

Digital and paper maps are critical tools for wilderness visitors. Online maps can help you plan and prepare for your visit ahead of time. You can also carry digital maps with you on your GPS unit or other handheld GPS device. Having a paper map with you in the backcountry, as well as solid orienteering skills, however, ensures that you can still route-find in the event that your electronic device fails.

Online Maps

Interactive Map of the Sycamore Canyon Wilderness
FS Topographic Map
Google Earth

Arizona Wildernesses

Printed Maps

Fetching MyTopo from Database

USGS Store

Rules & Regulations

Motorized equipment and equipment used for mechanical transport is generally prohibited in all wilderness areas. This includes the use of motor vehicles, motorboats, motorized equipment, bicycles, hang gliders, wagons, carts, portage wheels, and the landing of aircraft including helicopters.

Wilderness-Specific Regulations

Learn more about why regulations may be necessary in wilderness.

Contacts

Applicable Wilderness Law(s)

Public Law 92-241

Date: March 6, 1972
Acreage: 48,500 acres

(No official title, designates Sycamore Canyon Wilderness) - Public law 92-241 (3/6/1972) To designate the Sycamore Canyon Wilderness, Coconino, Kaibab, and Prescott National Forests, State of Arizona

For more information (To download or see all affected wilderness areas) visit our law library for 92-241 or legislative history for 92-241.

Public Law 98-406

Date: August 28, 1984
Acreage: 8,180 acres

Arizona Wilderness Act of 1984 - Public Law 98-406 (8/28/1984) Arizona Wilderness Act of 1984

For more information (To download or see all affected wilderness areas) visit our law library for 98-406 or special provisions for 98-406 or legislative history for 98-406.

Want to Volunteer for Wilderness?

People who volunteer their time to steward our wilderness areas are an essential part of wilderness management. Contact the following groups to inquire about volunteer opportunities. Groups are listed alphabetically by the state(s) in which the wilderness is located.