About this place
The Tres Alamos Wilderness covers 8,300 acres in Yavapai County. It sits 80 miles northwest of Phoenix, and six miles south of the Santa Maria River.
The east side takes in the ridgelines, canyons and washes of the southern Black Mountains. The west side is lower ground, mostly desert plains.
Sawyer Peak stands at 4,293 feet. It is the highest point in the wilderness and the highest in the Black Mountains.
The colorful stone monolith of Tres Alamos is the most striking thing here. A single great block of rock.
Saguaro and paloverde cover the hills, Joshua trees and creosote bush dot the plains, and mesquite and acacia line the washes.
Gila monsters live here, along with prairie falcons and golden eagles. There may be Cooper’s hawks and kit fox as well.
There is walking, backpacking, sightseeing, photography and camping here, and the flatter ground on the west side suits anyone on a horse.
Experienced backcountry campers and beginners both do well here.
Bring a four-wheel drive. The agency is firm about that.
The terrain is extremely rugged. A few old vehicle ways make walking routes in places, but most people use the sand washes that cut through the area.
Burro trails can often be found and followed on the uplands. There are no marked trails at all.
The summer climate here is harsh. Daytime temperatures run over 100 degrees.
Between October 1 and April 30th it is more moderate.
Water is scarce. Carry all you need, and purify anything you find.
Follow the rules for the area, and leave no trace, so it stays that way.
Motors and machines are generally banned on any federal land designated as wilderness. That covers motor vehicles and off-highway vehicles, motorboats, bicycles, hang gliders, wagons, carts and portage wheels. Landing an aircraft or a helicopter counts too.
Ask the agency if you need more on the rules. The detail matters in a wilderness, and getting it wrong carries a penalty.
Some of the land around the wilderness, and inside it, is not federal. Do not cross it or use it without the owner’s permission.
The facts
- Cost
- Free to camp
- Roads around it
- Four-wheel drive strongly advised
- Drinking water
- No, bring your own
- Type
- Open area. Camp anywhere within it
- Managed by
- Bureau of Land Management
Getting there
The Tres Alamos Wilderness lies east of Alamo Lake State Park. From Wickenburg, follow highway 60 west to Wenden. Turn north onto the paved road toward Alamo Lake State Park. At milepost 28, turn right, east, onto a bladed dirt road. Drive 3 miles to the junction with Alamo Lake Road, at the Wayside RV Park. Turn right, south, onto Alamo Lake Road, go 0.5 miles, then turn left, east, onto Palmerita Road. Drive 5.3 miles and turn right at the junction. Another 13 miles brings you to the western boundary. Four-wheel drive is strongly advised.
Coordinates 34.236804, -113.192865
Open in Google Maps Agency page
What is near here
Nothing nationally famous is close. These are the landmarks nearby.
- White Picacho Directions
- Sugarloaf Mountain Directions
- Granite Mountain Directions
- Mount Union 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
- Alamo Lake, AZ Directions
- Congress, AZ Directions
Congress 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; opened and read by a person on 2026-08-27.