Clover Mountains Wilderness

The Clover Mountains are the remains of what was a major volcanic caldera that spewed huge lava flows all across this countryside millions of years ago. The Clover Mountains Wilderness is 85,748 acres of rugged peaks, rolling hills, jagged, multi-colored rhyolite outcroppings, cliffs and narrow serpentine canyons beneath sharp ridges. Elevations vary between 3,000' and 7,790'. There are old-growth stands of aspen and Ponderosa pine high in the mountains. The riparian areas are filled with aspen, cottonwood and ash. At the southern end of the Clover Mountains Wilderness, the landscape descends into the Thule Desert and the vegetation turns to yucca, sagebrush and joshua trees. You'll find mountain lion, desert bighorn sheep, mule deer, badger, bobcat, prairie and peregrine falcon and golden eagle in these mountains. In the lower areas you'll find kit fox and lots of reptiles, including the endangered banded Gila monster.

The Clover Mountains Wilderness presents the visitor with a superb array of scenery, travel routes and challenges. There are historical sites along Cottonwood Creek and prehistoric pictographs and petroglyphs scattered all through the mountains. Access to the Clover Mountains Wilderness is via State Highway 317, heading south from Caliente to Elgin near the western edge of the wilderness.