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.

On a map, this piñon, juniper, and sagebrush covered wilderness looks like two small "peninsulas" divided by Cottonwood Canyon. Extending south from the Arizona-Utah border, the land rises to 6,322 feet on Cottonwood Point itself, at the lower end of the western peninsula. Craggy pinnacles and 1,000-foot cliffs of multicolored Navajo sandstone cap this irregular plateau. Elevations within the Wilderness boundaries range from about 5,100 to 6,600 feet. Between the crags lie deep and narrow canyons, the wetter ones filled with willow and cottonwood. Mule deer, bobcat, and mountain lions hide in this area, and coyotes lift their voices to splendid moonlit nights. Cottonwood Point Wilderness is a convoluted, rugged country as "reminiscent of the landscapes of Zion National Park." Without trails, Cottonwood Point receives few human visitors. It's a prime opportunity for quiet canyon backpacking, hiking, and horsepacking. Immediately to the north lies Utah's Canaan Mountain Wilderness.

The higher elevations generally receive much more precipitation and much cooler temperatures than lower elevations. This wilderness receives approximately 14 inches of annual precipitation. Summers at high elevations bring warm daytime temperatures with cool nights. Low elevations often experience very hot summer temperatures. Afternoon thunderstorms are common in the summer. The winter and early spring months bring snow and sometimes cold temperatures to the highest elevations but frequent clear, sunny days. Winter temperatures are more moderate at low elevations - a great time to recreate in these snow free areas - allowing both winter and summer type activities within very short distances.

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 Cottonwood Point 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

Cottonwood Point Wilderness is located directly east of Colorado City, AZ on the Utah/Arizona border. The closest services are in Colorado City but the nearest major town is St. George, Utah 45 minutes drive west. Access to this wilderness is limited because of private property that nearly surrounds the wilderness boundaries. Access to the steep slopes and cliffs of the western boundary of this wilderness can be obtained from Colorado City while access from the southwest corner of the wilderness (BLM-administered section) can be obtained off the Cane Beds Road, south of Colorado City. No trailheads or trails exist in this wilderness other than old stock trails.

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 Cottonwood Point 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 98-406

Date: August 28, 1984
Acreage: 6,500 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.

General Trip Planning Information

Access to this wilderness is limited because of private property that surrounds the wilderness.

Recreational Opportunities

Hiking and backpacking

Safety and Current Conditions

Cell phone coverage may not exist in most portions of this wilderness

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.