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.

You're practically in another state in Trigo Mountains Wilderness; the Golden State to be precise. Only a thin strip of Imperial National Wildlife Refuge along the lower Colorado River separates this Wilderness from California.

The Yuma Military Proving Ground lies to the east. A road divides the area into northern and southern sections. Here, you'll find 14 miles of the Trigo Mountain ridgeline cut by Red Cloud Wash in the south, Clip Wash in the center, and Hart Mine Wash in the north.

Elevations range from about 300 to 1,700 feet.

Numerous washes further dissect the area's sawtoothed ridges. Water often seeps to the surface in several springs.

Folks set off on extended horsepacking and backpacking trips along the washes, and rock climbers scale the Trigo Mountains.

The Colorado River supports diverse wildlife, including bighorn sheep, mule deer, gray foxes, coyotes, and ring-tailed cats, and typical Sonoran Desert vegetation covers the area.

Year-round temperatures range from the low 50s to mid-90s and less than 5 inches of rain falls, annually.

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 Trigo 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

The Trigo Mountains Wilderness is located about 25 miles north of Yuma, Arizona, in La Paz County.

From Yuma, travel north along Highway 95 to the Martinez Lake Road. Travel west on Martinez Lake Road to the Imperial National Wildlife Refuge. Travel northwest on Red Cloud Mine Road to Red Cloud Wash. Roads near the wilderness include Cibola Road, Hart Mine Wash Road, and Lopez Wash Road. High-clearance or four-wheel-drive vehicles are recommended for access to the wilderness boundary.

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 Trigo Mountain 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: 29,095 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.

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.