Blue Range Wilderness
Combine New Mexico's Blue Range Wilderness with Arizona's Blue Range Primitive Area and you have two pieces of earth that encompass a wild, generally dry, and seemingly endless expanse of rough but beautiful terrain. The state line is all that separates the two areas, with New Mexico's Wilderness tucked into the Blue Range Mountains and halved by the Mogollon Rim, a dramatic edge of the Colorado Plateau that runs east to west. Grassland foothills rise to juniper woodland and higher up to peaks forested in ponderosa pine, spruce, and fir. On occasion, just when you can't see the trees for the forest, the dense woods will give way to a mountain meadow or a cool aspen glade.
Description from Wilderness Connect (wilderness.net).
| Designation | Wilderness |
| Managed by | U.S. Forest Service |
| State | New Mexico |
| Size | 29,106 acres |
| Designated | 1980, by Congress |
| Center point | 33.56° N, 108.99° W |
| Night sky | About as dark as the ground gets (Black Marble reading 18) |
Boundary map
Boundary, simplified to about 0.005 degrees Federal campground Forest Service recreation site
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
None of the 4 federal campgrounds within ten miles sit inside the boundary. Nearest first. Distances are from the campground point to the boundary edge, from the Campsite Atlas index.
Trailheads and sites
The Forest Service lists 1 recreation site inside this wilderness, among them 1 trailhead. Each links to its page on fs.usda.gov, which carries the season, fees and current status.
- 3 miWS Mountain #43 Trailhead ↗Trailhead
Distance is from the center point of the boundary, not from a road or town.
Trails
9 named Forest Service trails enter this wilderness, 57 miles in all.
| Trail | Miles | Allowed uses |
|---|---|---|
| Bonanza Bill ↗ | 20.4 | |
| Tige Rim ↗ | 10.7 | |
| W.S. Mountain ↗ | 8.9 | |
| Kelly Camp | 4.3 | |
| Bonanza Bill | 3.2 | |
| Franz Spring | 3.1 | |
| Tige Canyon Trail | 3 | |
| Saliz | 2.5 | |
| Devil'S Monument | 0.4 |
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.
Fire nearby
- PrescribedD6 - Luna Rx
19 mi from the center point · 2,156 acres
- PrescribedD6 - Heifer Rx
24 mi from the center point · 3,116 acres
- PrescribedD3 Hagen Rx
25 mi from the center point · 5,757 acres
- PrescribedD3 Bear Rx
25 mi from the center point · 5,072 acres
Distance is to the reported incident point, not the fire edge, and is measured from the center of a boundary that may be many miles across. Check the agency page for closures.
Explore
Nearby on the other atlases
- 5.6 miBear Mountain Lookout Complex ↗Mogollon Rim, AZ
Landmarks are listed first, then by distance from the boundary.
Guidebooks for New Mexico
We earn a small commission if you buy through these links. It does not change what we list.
Titles come from Open Library's catalog, matched by subject heading or by title.
Reference
Questions people ask
How big is Blue Range Wilderness?
29,106 acres.
Source: Wilderness Connect
Who manages Blue Range Wilderness?
The U.S. Forest Service.
Source: Wilderness Connect
What state is Blue Range Wilderness in?
New Mexico.
Source: Wilderness Connect
When was Blue Range Wilderness designated?
Congress designated it in 1980.
Source: Wilderness Connect
Can I camp at Blue Range Wilderness?
Camping inside a wilderness is usually allowed away from roads, with no facilities, and the managing agency page has the permit rules. The federal campgrounds within ten miles are listed under Where to camp.
Source: Where to camp
How do I get to Blue Range Wilderness?
A point inside the boundary is at 33.561° N, 108.987° W. The official page carries directions and the office address.
Source: Wilderness Connect
Is there a fire near Blue Range Wilderness right now?
4 active incidents within 50 miles as of 2026-11-01, the nearest D6 - Luna Rx at 19 miles. Distance is to the reported incident point, not the fire edge.
Source: Fire nearby
Are there historic places near Blue Range Wilderness?
The National Register has 1 listing within 15 miles, including Bear Mountain Lookout Complex.
Source: Register Atlas
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.