Apache Kid Wilderness
Angered by his relentless raids, local ranchers hunted down and killed the Apache Kid on these grounds. To mark the site of the Kid's undoing, the vengeful posse blazed a tree, the hacked remains of which you can see to this day. Narrow, steep canyons bisect the peaks of the southern San Mateo Mountains, where elevations exceed 10,000 feet. The vegetation is typical of the region, with pinion-juniper woodland at lower elevations, spruce and fir and aspen at the higher elevations, and ponderosa pine in between.
Description from Wilderness Connect (wilderness.net).
| Designation | Wilderness |
| Managed by | U.S. Forest Service |
| State | New Mexico |
| Size | 44,678 acres |
| Designated | 1980, by Congress |
| Center point | 33.63° N, 107.42° W |
| Night sky | About as dark as the ground gets (Black Marble reading 18) |
Boundary map
Boundary, simplified to about 0.005 degrees
The outline is the agency boundary simplified for display, so small parcels and inholdings may not show. The agency page has the authoritative map.
Weather by month
Large units span more than one climate. The station stands in for the center point, and the outer parts of the boundary can be warmer or colder.
Where to camp
No federal campground is within ten miles of the boundary in the Campsite Atlas index. Camping inside a wilderness is usually allowed away from trails and water, with no facilities; the managing agency page has the permit and group-size rules.
Trails
15 named Forest Service trails enter this wilderness, 91 miles in all. The 10 longest are listed here.
| Trail | Miles | Allowed uses |
|---|---|---|
| Apache Kid ↗ | 19.7 | |
| Indian Creek ↗ | 8.6 | |
| Maverick ↗ | 8.2 | |
| Skeleton Ridge ↗ | 7.1 | |
| San Mateo ↗ | 6.7 | |
| Cold Spring ↗ | 6.5 | |
| Shipman ↗ | 5.5 | |
| Drift Fence ↗ | 5.2 | |
| Teepe Peak ↗ | 5 | |
| Coffee Pot | 4.3 |
Lengths and allowed uses come from the Forest Service trail layer by way of Trailhead Atlas. This trail list was copied from Trailhead Atlas on November 1, 2026 and is copied again on each weekly run. Trails in plain text have no page there yet.
Explore
Nearby on the other atlases
Guidebooks for New Mexico
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Titles come from Open Library's catalog, matched by subject heading or by title.
Reference
Questions people ask
How big is Apache Kid Wilderness?
44,678 acres.
Source: Wilderness Connect
Who manages Apache Kid Wilderness?
The U.S. Forest Service.
Source: Wilderness Connect
What state is Apache Kid Wilderness in?
New Mexico.
Source: Wilderness Connect
When was Apache Kid Wilderness designated?
Congress designated it in 1980.
Source: Wilderness Connect
How do I get to Apache Kid Wilderness?
A point inside the boundary is at 33.632° N, 107.421° W. El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro National Historic Trail is 30 miles away. The official page carries directions and the office address.
Source: Wilderness Connect
Which national parks are near Apache Kid Wilderness?
El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro National Historic Trail (30 mi). Park Atlas has fees, hours and alerts for each.
Source: Nearby on the other atlases
Sources
- Boundary, name, acreage, designation year, states and description: Wilderness Connect.
- Campgrounds: the Campsite Atlas index of federal campgrounds, matched to this boundary at build time.
- Trailheads and sites: the Forest Service Recreation Opportunities layer, points inside the boundary.
- Trails: the Trailhead Atlas open-data file of Forest Service trails, matched on the wilderness each trail enters.
- Night sky: NASA Black Marble (VIIRS, 2016 composite) sampled at zoom 6 around the center point.
- Weather, alerts, air quality, river flow and earthquakes load live in your browser from NWS, AirNow, USGS and iNaturalist when you open the page.