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.

This wilderness area consists of the Piute Mountains and the surrounding bajadas and extensive flat aprons of alluvium. The elevations within the Wilderness range from 2,000 to 4,132 feet. The Piute Mountains exhibit strong color contrast and texture that vary from very angular, jagged volcanics to rounded, smooth granite hills; and the ridges are cut by numerous canyons and washes. Dominant vegetation is typical of much of the Mojave Desert, consisting of creosote bush scrub, which gradually changes into a mixed desert scrub at higher elevations. The dry washes are characterized by catclaw acacia, smoketree, cheesebush, desert lavender, little-leaf ratany, and desert almond. Wildlife is also typical for the Mojave Desert; including coyote, black-tailed jackrabbits, ground squirrels, kangaroo rats, quail, roadrunners, rattlesnakes, and several species of lizards. The area provides transient ranges for mule deer and bighorn sheep, as the Piute Mountains are too small and too sparsely watered to accommodate permanent populations. Prairie falcon eyries are known to exist within the Wilderness area. The large bajadas provide excellent habitat for the threatened desert tortoise; the entire wilderness area has been identified as critical habitat for the desert tortoise.

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 Paiute 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

Paiute Wilderness is located in extreme northwestern Arizona approximately 15 miles southeast of Mesquite, Nevada and 40 miles south of St. George, Utah, as the crow flies. The northern half of this wilderness is outside Grand Canyon-Parashant National Monument on Arizona Strip District BLM-administered land while the southern half of the wilderness is within this monument, designated by Presidential proclamation in 2000. Access can be obtained from Mesquite, Nevada south through Lime Kiln Canyon on rugged dirt roads and from St. George, Utah south via Quail Hill Road and Wolf Hole Valley. These routes may be impassable during winter because of snow accumulation and wet roads. The portion of the route from St. George, Utah across Black Rock Mountain is closed during the winter. Services or facilities are only available in nearby communities (St. George, Beaver Dam and Mesquite). Maps and information can be obtained from the St. George Interagency Visitor's Center, 345 East Riverside Drive, St. George, Utah (435-688-3200).

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 Paiute 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: 84,700 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.

General Trip Planning Information

Paiute Wilderness is lcoated in a remote, rugged portion of Arizona where you will not likely encounter any other human being. Access is via maintained dirt roads which require high clearance vehicles (two spare tires recommended), which may be impassable during wet weather. Black Rock Mountain and the access from St. George, Utah is closed during the winter because of snow.

Recreational Opportunities

Excellent opportunities exist for primitive recreation including hiking, backpacking, exploring, photography, birding, wildlife viewing (mule deer, wild turkey, wild pigs), and primitive camping. Opportunities for solitude and natural quiet are outstanding in this area. Hiking trails to the top of Mt. Bangs and down Sullivan Canyon provide miles of rugged, difficult hiking and backpacking possibilities.

Climate and Special Equipment Needs

Elevation ranges from 2,000 feet asl to over 8,000 feet asl with corresponding climate and vegetation changes; from the hot, extreme Mojave Desert to ponderosa-pine covered mountain tops. Temperatures range from over 120 degrees to well below zero. Four wheel drive recommended, high clearance vehicle necessary.

Safety and Current Conditions

Bring plenty of water (minimum of 1 gallon/person/day) and food and be prepared for unexpected overnight stays. No services or facilities are available. Cell phone service is sporadic on higher elevation areas above local towns and Interstate 15. GPS devices used without local maps and information can provide misleading information. High clearance vehicle with two spare tires recommended. Be sure to tell someone where you are going because you will not likely see another human being in 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.