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.

More than a century ago the Chiricahua Apache Tribe called the Chiricahua Mountains their own. From here the Apache defended their homeland by launching surprise attacks on U.S. Army troops and pioneer settlements, and here the Chiricahua Apache Indian Reservation stood for a short time.

Today, the Wilderness adjoins Chiricahua National Monument, home to some of the most starkly spectacular geology of the southwestern United States. This mountainous realm rises to a climax of 9,797 feet at Chiricahua Peak.

Many of the unusual birds that live here are most often seen in Mexico. The terrain supports diverse plant life including Mexican white pine, Apache pine, Chiricahua pine, Douglas-fir, Engelmann spruce, white fir, aspen, juniper, pinion, madrone, and oak. Wildlife includes javelinas, coatis, deer, mountain lion, and black bears.

Due to dense brush and timber growth, steep elevations, precipitous canyon walls, and an undependable water supply, few humans venture from the 13 established trails. Trailheads in Rucker Canyon, Turkey Creek and Cave Creek give easy access to the Wilderness, and the Morse Canyon Trail rewards hikers for their efforts with excellent views over some of the roughest country in southeastern Arizona.

Evidence of the 1994 Rattlesnake Fire can be seen in many places, and trails are frequently blocked by fire-killed trees that are still falling.

Visitors to this Wilderness are urged to use caution due to increasing illegal drug and human smuggling activity associated with the international border a few miles away. If suspicious activity is seen move away before attempting to contact authorities. Camping away from trails and water sources is encouraged.

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 Chiricahua 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 Chiricahua 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 88-577

Date: September 3, 1964
Acreage: 18,000 acres

The Wilderness Act - Public law 88-577 (9/3/1964) To establish a National Wilderness Preservation System for the permanent good of the whole people, and for other purposes

For more information (To download or see all affected wilderness areas) visit our law library for 88-577 or special provisions for 88-577 or legislative history for 88-577.

Public Law 98-406

Date: August 28, 1984
Acreage: 69,700 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.