About this campground
The 63,200-acre North Maricopa Mountains Wilderness Area lies in the Sonoran Desert National Monument in southwestern Maricopa County, about 12 miles east of Gila Bend and 20 miles southwest of Phoenix. The wilderness provides outstanding opportunities for solitude and primitive recreation, including hiking, backpacking, horseback riding, camping, wildlife observation and photography. The Margies Cove and Brittlebush Trails take you through the heart of the North Maricopa Mountains Wilderness. The North Maricopa Mountains Wilderness contains a 10-mile section of the Maricopa Mountains, a low-elevation (1,000 to 2,813 feet) Sonoran Desert range, and extensive surrounding desert plains. The North Maricopa Mountains are a jumble of long ridges and isolated peaks, separated by bajadas and washes. Vegetation includes saguaro, cholla, ocotillo and other Sonoran Desert plant species. Desert bighorn sheep, desert tortoise, coyotes, bobcat, fox, deer, Gambel's quail and raptors live in this wilderness.
Getting there
You can get to the North Maricopa Mountains Wilderness Area from the west via State Route 85 and BLM route 8001 to Margies Cove West. From the south, off of State Route 238/Maricopa Road, BLM route 8004 connects to the Brittlebush Trailhead. BLM route 8002 parallels the east side of the wilderness and connects to Margies Cove East on route 8002A. Download a map.
Activities
- HIKING
- WILDERNESS
- Dispersed Camping
- WILDLIFE VIEWING
- PHOTOGRAPHY
- HORSEBACK RIDING
- CAMPING
- BACKPACKING
- BIRD WATCHING
Nearby federal campgrounds
- Margies Cove West CampgroundBureau of Land Management3 mi
- Margies Cove West TrailheadBureau of Land Management3 mi
- South Maricopa Mountains Wilderness AreaLava Flow Trail14 mi
- Painted Rock Petroglyph CampgroundLower Sonoran Field Office30 mi
- Painted Rock Petroglyph Site and CampgroundLower Sonoran Field Office30 mi
- Boulders OHV Staging AreaBureau of Land Management51 mi
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