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.

Don't let this area deceive you.

It looks devoid of scenery from a distance, but is full of surprises as you explore the trails.

The same held true in the early 1700s, when explorers visiting a small village on the eastern edge of these mountains discovered very old manzanos (apple trees), a fruit tree not native to this country. The name Manzano was given to the area due to the discovery of the old apple trees.

Spread out across the western slope of the Manzano Mountain Range, this Wilderness varies in elevation from about 6,000 feet to 10,098 feet atop Manzano Peak.

Pinion and juniper grow low, gradually submitting to ponderosa pine and then spruce, fir, and aspen higher up.

This is steep and rugged terrain for the most part, cut with canyons and marked with outcroppings of rock.

Thousands of raptors migrate along the Manzanos in spring and fall as they work their way between Canada and Mexico.

More than 64 miles of a well-developed trail system provide access to the Wilderness, although the lack of reliable water sources and campsites may explain why so few people take advantage.

One hike starts at Fourth of July Campground near the eastern boundary and leads 1.5 miles to the crest of the area. From there, a trail runs along the crest for 22 miles to Manzano Peak.

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 Manzano Mountain 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 Manzano Mountain Wilderness
FS Topographic Map
Google Earth

New Mexico 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 95-237

Date: February 24, 1978
Acreage: 37,000 acres

Endangered American Wilderness Act - Public law 95-237 (2/24/1978) To designate certain endangered public lands for preservation as wilderness, and for other purposes

For more information (To download or see all affected wilderness areas) visit our law library for 95-237 or special provisions for 95-237 or legislative history for 95-237.

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.