Palen/McCoy Wilderness
Within the Palen-McCoy Wilderness lie five distinct desert mountain ranges: the Palen, McCoy, Granite, Little Maria, and Arica. They are separated from each other by broad, sloping bajadas, and don't receive a passel of human visitors. Still, interior valleys and canyons, jagged peaks above dry slopes, and the colorful cobbles of desert pavement present an ever-changing pattern for the rare traveler. An intricate array of washes in the valley between the Palen and McCoy Mountains are heavily draped in ironwood and paloverde trees–in fact, the ironwood forest is the biggest and most lush in the entire California Desert, perhaps in the world.
Description from Wilderness Connect (wilderness.net).
| Designation | Wilderness |
| Managed by | Bureau of Land Management |
| State | California |
| Size | 236,488 acres |
| Designated | 1994, by Congress |
| Center point | 33.87° N, 115.04° W |
| Night sky | Very dark ground, a faint glow at most (Black Marble reading 27) |
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.
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Reference
Questions people ask
How big is Palen/McCoy Wilderness?
236,488 acres.
Source: Wilderness Connect
Who manages Palen/McCoy Wilderness?
The Bureau of Land Management.
Source: Wilderness Connect
What state is Palen/McCoy Wilderness in?
California.
Source: Wilderness Connect
When was Palen/McCoy Wilderness designated?
Congress designated it in 1994.
Source: Wilderness Connect
How do I get to Palen/McCoy Wilderness?
A point inside the boundary is at 33.865° N, 115.044° 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.