Gila Wilderness
Silver City, NM
Silver City, NM
The first place on earth ever set aside as wilderness, a vast roadless country of mountains, canyons, and wild rivers.
The Gila Wilderness holds a landmark place in the history of conservation: it was the first area anywhere in the world to be formally designated as wilderness, set aside in the early twentieth century. Championed by the ecologist and writer Aldo Leopold, it protected a vast, roadless sweep of mountains, canyons, and forest in southwest New Mexico, and helped launch the idea of preserving wild land for its own sake.
The wilderness remains one of the wildest places in the Lower 48, a rugged country of forested peaks, deep river canyons, and remote high mesas within the enormous Gila National Forest. There are no roads inside it, and reaching its heart means traveling on foot or horseback. For those willing to make the effort, it offers a rare experience of genuine solitude, abundant wildlife, and a landscape much as it has been for ages.
What Guests Love
- The deep solitude of the first and one of the wildest wilderness areas in the country
- Trails following the forks of the Gila River through steep canyons
- Superb wildlife watching, from elk and deer to rare and returning species
- Some of the darkest, most star-filled night skies in the Southwest
Worth Knowing
- This is true wilderness with no roads or services inside, so come fully self-sufficient and well prepared
- River crossings, remote trails, and big weather demand real backcountry skills and good navigation
- Summer monsoon storms can cause dangerous flash floods in the canyons, so watch the sky and the water
- Practice leave-no-trace and respect the wild character that this place was set aside to protect
Details
Silver City, NM
Learn about Gila Wilderness
Aldo Leopold and the birth of wilderness
In the early 1920s, a young forester named Aldo Leopold, then working in the Southwest, argued that some wild lands should be kept forever free of roads and development, preserved for their own sake and for the kind of experience they offered. His advocacy led the Forest Service to designate the Gila as a wilderness area in 1924, the first such designation in the world, decades before the national Wilderness Act enshrined the idea in law.
Leopold went on to become one of the most influential voices in American conservation, and his book A Sand County Almanac shaped how generations think about the land. The Gila is thus not only a magnificent wild place but a birthplace of an idea. Its designation set a precedent that spread across the country and the world, making this remote New Mexico backcountry a cornerstone of the wilderness movement.
The land and its rivers
The wilderness centers on the rugged mountains and canyons carved by the forks of the Gila River, whose waters wind through steep-walled gorges lined with cottonwood and sycamore. Above the canyons rise forested slopes of ponderosa pine, fir, and aspen, with high mesas and open parks between the peaks. It is a landscape of great variety, from riverside bottoms to cool high country.
The rock records a long volcanic history, with ancient eruptions having built and shaped much of the terrain. The rivers have since cut deep into these old flows, creating the dramatic canyons that give the wilderness its character. Trails follow the river forks and climb into the high country, but travel is slow and demanding, and the land keeps its wild, untamed feel at every turn.
A stronghold of wildlife
The Gila is one of the great wildlife regions of the Southwest. Elk, mule deer, and wild turkey are common, black bear and mountain lion range through the high country, and the rivers and forests support a rich variety of birds, including species prized by naturalists. The wilderness has also been central to efforts to return rare and once-vanished animals to the wild.
This is famously the region where the Mexican gray wolf, once eliminated from the wild, has been the focus of reintroduction efforts, and the Gila remains vital habitat for the species. The vastness and roadlessness of the wilderness are exactly what make it such important refuge for wildlife, offering the space and quiet that many species need to thrive.
The people, the seasons, and going in
The Gila country has been home to people for a very long time. The ancestral Mogollon built cliff dwellings along the rivers here, and this was later the heartland of the Chiricahua and other Apache bands, whose knowledge of these mountains shaped the region's history. The Apache leader Geronimo was born in this country. That deep human history underlies the wild land travelers cross today.
Spring and fall offer the best conditions for backcountry travel, with mild days and manageable rivers. Summer brings heat in the lower canyons and dangerous flash-flood potential during the monsoon, so caution near water is essential. Winter turns the high country cold and snowy, closing off much of the terrain. In any season, entering the Gila means going fully prepared and self-sufficient into genuine wilderness.
Closest Boutels
The closest Boutel™ stays, so you can turn this stop into an overnight. Each is an independently owned, editorially selected place to stay.
Things to Do Near Silver City
Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument
At the wilderness edge
Ancestral Mogollon dwellings built into natural caves in the canyon walls, on the northern edge of the wilderness.
Silver City
About 40 miles south
A historic mining and arts town, the main gateway to the Gila country, with galleries, cafes, and a walkable downtown.
Gila Hot Springs
At the wilderness edge
Natural geothermal springs along the Gila River, a warm soak near the cliff dwellings and wilderness trailheads.