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.

Columns of colorful stone are the most striking landscape features of Tres Alamos, a Wilderness in the southern Black Mountains. The landscape rises from about 2,300 feet and tops out at Sawyer Peak (4,293 feet), the highest point in the Black Mountains. The eastern portion of the area contains the Blacks' scenic ridgelines, canyons, and washes, while the western side consists of lower desert bajadas (slopes) and plains. On the bajadas and hills you'll find saguaro and paloverde. Joshua trees and creosote bushes dot the plains, and mesquite and acacia line the washes. The Gila monster lives here in seclusion, and prairie falcons and golden eagles rule the skies.

Although there are no established trails, the area is suitable for hiking and camping. Horsepackers sometimes journey through. Daytime temperatures during the summer months are over 100 degrees. Temperatures are more moderate between October 1 and April 30th.

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 Tres Alamos 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

The Tres Alamos Wilderness is in Yavapai County, 80 miles northwest of Phoenix, Arizona and six miles south of the Santa Maria River.

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 Tres Alamos 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 101-628

Date: November 28, 1990
Acreage: 8,700 acres

Arizona Desert Wilderness Act of 1990 - Public law 101-628 (11/28/1990) To provide for the designation of certain public lands as wilderness in the State of Arizona

For more information (To download or see all affected Wilderness areas) visit our law library for 101-628 or special provisions for 101-628 or legislative history for 101-628.

General Trip Planning Information

Plan ahead, always check weather conditions prior to your trip. Summer time temperatures often exceed 100° F.Water is relatively scarce in this wilderness. Springs shown on topographic maps can generally be relied upon for drinking water, but a call to the BLM office to confirm this would be prudent. Purification of all water is a necessity.

Recreational Opportunities

Recreational opportunities in the area include hunting, hiking, sightseeing, horseback riding, camping, and nature study. There are no established group size restrictions at this time.

Climate and Special Equipment Needs

The summer climate in this wilderness unit is harsh. Daytime temperatures during the summer months are over 100 degrees. Temperatures are more moderate between October 1 and April 30th.

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.