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.

The rugged Dos Cabezas Mountains Wilderness rises in elevation from about 4,000 feet to 7,587 feet on Government Peak, in the southeast corner. Seasonally, water trickles down boulder-strewn streams originating on Government Peak, tumbling over waterfalls and creating pools that invite a dip.

Though Dos Cabezas Peaks are not included in the Wilderness, two other peaks rise above 7,000 feet. The scenic Indian Bread Rocks, a formation of granite domes and interestingly shaped boulders, is located in the northeastern part of the Wilderness.

From the high elevations, you'll be rewarded with outstanding views of Sulphur Springs and San Simon Valleys and the faint outlines of numerous mountain ranges in the distance.

Several springs attract an abundance of wildlife, including white-tailed deer, mule deer, mountain lions, golden eagles, and bald eagles. The endangered peregrine falcon migrates through the area. The beautiful collared lizard suns itself on desert-hot rocks.

Shrubs cover the Wilderness and can be difficult to walk through.

Average temperatures range from 40 to 75 degrees Fahrenheit, reaching as high as 95 in mid-summer and dropping as low as 27 degrees in mid-winter. This area also receives an annual average of 14.2 inches of rainfall and 8.6 inches of snowfall.

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 Dos Cabezas Mountains 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 Dos Cabezas Mountains Wilderness
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 101-628

Date: November 28, 1990
Acreage: 11,998 acres

Arizona Desert Wilderness Act of 1990 - Public law 101-628 (11/28/1990) To provide for the designation of certain public lands as wilderness in the State of Arizona

For more information (To download or see all affected wilderness areas) visit our law library for 101-628 or special provisions for 101-628 or legislative history for 101-628.

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.