Arizona--Ranking #3 with 4,528,913 acres of designated Wilderness

Only Alaska and California have more acres of Wilderness area than Arizona, which has over 4.5 million acres of protected wilderness. And a large part of that is right here in southern Arizona.

Cabeza Prieta Wilderness Area

The Cabeza Prieta Wilderness Area is Arizona's largest Wilderness Area, encompassing nearly 93 percent of the Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge. This Wilderness spans across 803,418 acres of pristine desert. Rugged mountains and broad desert valleys along with sand dunes and lava flows dominate the region.

Watch for mule deer, rabbits, kangaroo rats, pocket gophers, and cactus wrens living among the chollas, creosote bushes, mesquite, and ocotillo. The Sonoran desert climate is ideal for the giant saguaro as well as the many reptiles such as side-blotched lizards, desert horned lizards, Great Basin whiptails, and six species of rattlesnakes. Among these are the sidewinders, Mojave rattlers, and western diamondback rattlers.

Four federal agencies manage designated Wilderness areas; they are the Bureau of Land Management, the Fish and Wildlife Service, the Forest Service and the National Park Service. Below is a list of the Wilderness areas of southern Arizona sorted by managing agency.

BLM--Safford Field Office

• Aravaipa Canyon Wilderness
• Dos Cabezas Mountains Wilderness
• Fishhooks Wilderness
• North Santa Teresa Wilderness
• Peloncillo Mountains Wilderness
• Redfield Canyon Wilderness
  

BLM--Tucson Field Office

• Baboquivari Peak Wilderness
• Coyote Mountains Wilderness
  
• Needle's Eye Wilderness
  
• White Canyon Wilderness

Fish and Wildlife Service

• Cabeza Prieta NWR, Cabeza Prieta Wilderness
• Kofa NWR, Kofa Wilderness

Forest Service, Coronado National Forest

• Chiricahua Wilderness
• Galiuro Wilderness
• Miller Peak Wilderness
• Mt. Wrightson Wilderness
• Pajarita Wilderness
• Pusch Ridge Wilderness
• Rincon Mountain Wilderness
• Santa Teresa Wilderness
  

National Park Service

• Chiricahua NM, Chiricahua National Monument Wilderness
  
• Organ Pipe Cactus NM, Organ Pipe Cactus Wilderness
• Saguaro NP, Saguaro Wilderness

Learn more about Wilderness areas and the Wilderness Act of 1964 at Wilderness.net

Coronado National Forest

All of the mountain ranges in Cochise County are part of the Coronado National Forest. They include the Dos Cabezas and Chiricahuas in the east, the Dragoon and Mule Mountains in the middle and the Whetstones and Huachucas in the west.

Graham County offers recreational opportunities in the Pinaleno and Galiuro Mountains in the Safford District of the Coronado National Forest. It is only about fifty miles from Willcox to Safford, the major city of Graham County.

Each of these ranges has its own character and special blend of resources and attractions. The higher elevations, which offer cool temperatures, are popular in the summertime, while the woody canyon areas are full of spectacular beauty in the spring and fall. In the winter snow can be found on most of the higher peaks. Throughout the forest, there are literally hundreds of miles of hiking trails suited to hikers of every level of ability and endurance. Birding and camping and picnicking are popular activities offered at many locations in the forest. Parker Canyon Lake offers boating and fishing.

Note:
Some areas may be closed when fire danger is high.
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