Milpitas Wash Wilderness
The Milpitas Wash Wilderness is near the southern end of the Mule Mountains and the Opal Hill Mine. The landscape is primarily desert mountain foothills as well as wash and floodplain habitats. The Milpitas Wash Wilderness provides habitat for desert tortoise, mountain lion, long-eared owl, leaf nose bat, Merriam and desert kangaroo rat, long tail and little pocket mice, Bullock’s and hooded orioles, towhees, white-crowned sparrow, Brewer’s sparrow, warbler, black-headed grosbeak, diamondback rattler, and the endangered Gila woodpecker. The Milpitas Wash region supports the largest Sonoran Desert woodland in North America. Most of the trees are legumes: mesquites, acacias, palo verdes, and ironwoods; and there are also desert willows.
Description from Wilderness Connect (wilderness.net).
| Designation | Wilderness |
| Managed by | Bureau of Land Management |
| State | California |
| Size | 17,250 acres |
| Designated | 2019, by Congress |
| Center point | 33.28° N, 114.88° W |
| Night sky | Very dark ground, a faint glow at most (Black Marble reading 32) |
Boundary map
Boundary, simplified to about 0.005 degrees Federal campground
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 1 federal campground within ten miles sits inside the boundary. Nearest first. Distances are from the campground point to the boundary edge, from the Campsite Atlas index.
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Reference
Questions people ask
How big is Milpitas Wash Wilderness?
17,250 acres.
Source: Wilderness Connect
Who manages Milpitas Wash Wilderness?
The Bureau of Land Management.
Source: Wilderness Connect
What state is Milpitas Wash Wilderness in?
California.
Source: Wilderness Connect
When was Milpitas Wash Wilderness designated?
Congress designated it in 2019.
Source: Wilderness Connect
Can I camp at Milpitas Wash 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 Milpitas Wash Wilderness?
A point inside the boundary is at 33.279° N, 114.876° W. The official page carries directions and the office address.
Source: Wilderness Connect
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.
- 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.