About this place
The Coyote Mountains Wilderness covers 5,080 acres, 40 miles southwest of Tucson, in Pima County. It is not an easy place.
The mountains here have rugged peaks, big rounded bluffs, sheer cliff faces and wide open canyons.
The plants are palo verde, saguaro, chaparral and oak woodland.
People walk here for the day, climb, look at the country and take photographs. The ground is varied and it is hard going.
The facts
- Cost
- Free to camp
- Type
- Open area. Camp anywhere within it
- Managed by
- Bureau of Land Management
Getting there
40 miles southeast of Tucson, in Pima County. From Tucson, take Highway 86 west toward the Kitt Peak Observatory, then Highway 286 south for about 8 miles. The Coyote Mountains stand four miles east of Kitt Peak.
There is no legal way in at present. You need permission from the private landholder or from the Tohono O’odham Nation to park and to reach the wilderness boundary.
Coordinates 32.010367, -111.478675
Open in Google Maps Agency page
What is near here
This is a good base for somewhere people travel a long way to see.
- Kitt Peak National Observatory Directions
- Baboquivari Peak Wilderness Directions
- Etoi Ki Directions
- Black Mountain Directions
Every distance on this page is the driving distance. A short distance can still take a long time. The road may be closed for the season, covered in snow, or washed out. Many of these roads are dirt. Plan your route before you leave home. Out here there is often no phone signal to look it up on the way.
Nearest town and supplies
- Three Points, AZ Directions
Three Points is big enough that you’d normally expect fuel and somewhere to buy food. Nobody from here has been to check, so don’t count on it if you’re running low.
Have you been here?
Fees and access change, and the records do not always keep up. If you have been, tell us what you found.
Thank you, that is recorded. It helps the next person.
Add road notes for this site
The thing we cannot get from any government record is what the drive in is actually like. If you have done it, this is the most useful thing you can leave behind. We read everything before it appears, and we print a first name with it if you give one.
Thank you. A person will read it before it goes on the page.
Where this information comes from
The description on this page is ours. The facts in it, and the fee and facility details below it, come from the Bureau of Land Management’s own records, read in August 2026.