The United States Congress designated the Aubrey Peak Wilderness in 1990 and it now has a total of 15,400 acres. All of the wilderness is in Arizona and is managed by the Bureau of Land Management.
A large cliff-encircled mesa, Aubrey Peak dominates the middle of the eastern half of this Wilderness. It is a land of stark geologic formations eroded by wind and water into brightly colored volcanic sculptures, a world of natural windows, tufa caves, spires, slickrock terraces, and tinajas (deep, water-filled pockets). You'll find numerous other mesas, buttes, volcanic plugs, and serpentine canyons. The Wilderness is set in a transition zone between the Mojave and Sonoran Deserts. Stands of imposing saguaro, paloverde, ironwood, and smoke trees, typical of the Sonoran Desert, merge with Joshua trees and other species found in the Mojave to create a patchwork quilt of vegetation. Available water makes this area a desert bird-watcher's paradise. Keep your eyes peeled for verdins, crissal thrashers, black-throated sparrows, Abert's towhees, and black-tailed gnatcatchers, to name but a few. If you're lucky, you may catch a glimpse of a herd of desert bighorn sheep. Discovered here recently, this species is unusual for this region.
There are no established trails, but the hiking is easy. Just follow the washes and orient yourself using the distinctive rock formations. Occasional old jeep roads lead to some long-abandoned mines.
The 15,400-acre Aubrey Peak Wilderness is located in Mohave County, 70 miles south of Kingman, Arizona and 40 miles east of Lake Havasu City, Arizona.
The wilderness contains imposing landforms carved into a variety of brightly colored volcanic rhyolites, tuffs, and basalt. Aubrey Peak, a large cliff-encircled mesa, dominates the eastern portion of the wilderness, along with numerous other large mesas, buttes and volcanic plugs. Water and wind have carved the soft volcanic rock in this area into natural windows, tufa caves, spires, slickrock terraces, and tinajas...deep water-filled potholes.
The Aubrey Peak Wilderness encompasses a portion of a Mohave/Sonoran Desert transition zone. Stands of large saguaro, paloverde, ironwood and smoke trees, typical Sonoran Desert species, often merge with Joshua and other species more typical of the Mohave Desert, creating a visually intriguing, quilt-like mosaic of plants throughout the area. This wilderness offers excellent opportunities for primitive types of recreation. Hiking, backpacking, and photography have become increasingly more popular in recent years.
Water is very scarce in this unit. No naturally occurring water is present, except in potholes following rainstorms. Two wildlife water catchments are present which collect runoff from storms. Wherever found, water should always be purified.
The summer climate in this area is harsh, with temperatures in the daytime often exceeding 100 degrees. Temperatures are more moderate between October and April.
As with most areas of the desert, rain must be considered when visiting this wilderness. Alamo, Signal and 17-Mile Roads, although frequently maintained, can be difficult to travel following major rain events, because of flood damage. In particular, crossing the Big Sandy River after prolonged rain can be impossible if the river is running alot of water. One alternative to crossing the Big Sandy on the Signal Road is to take the Chicken Springs Road, between downtown Wikieup and the Alamo Road. The Chicken Springs Road avoids the Big Sandy River altogether, and mostly is a well-maintained road.
Directions
From Kingman, travel 22 miles south on Interstate 40 to the Yucca/Alamo Road turnoff. From Yucca, continue another 44 miles south on Alamo Road to where a wooden pole power line crosses the road. The wilderness boundary lies a short distance west of Alamo Road on the powerline maintenance road. Once at the wilderness boundary, jeep trails running southwest and northwest basically define the boundaries of the wilderness. From U.S. Highway 93, Alamo Road can also be accessed from Wikieup, Arizona via the county-maintained Chicken Springs Road. The Aubrey Peak Wilderness boundary is 4.5 miles south of the Signal Road/Alamo Road junction.
Some lands around and within the wilderness are not federally administered. Please respect the property rights of the owners and do not cross or use these lands without their permission.
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