8 Forests to Explore in La Paz County

Bill Williams Wildlife Refuge is home to over 6,000 acres of habitat, 355 species of birds, 34 documented reptiles, 40 species of butterflies, 57 species of mammals, 7 amphibians, and a plethora of indigenous wildlife. The refuge is ideal for both amateur and professional photographers. With one sweep of the shutter, you can capture cottonwood forests, saguaro cacti, black rock mountains, babbling streams, and breathtaking sunsets.

Cibola National Wildlife Refuge is a U.S. National Wildlife Refuge in the floodplain of the lower Colorado River between Arizona and California and surrounded by a fringe of desert ridges and washes. The refuge encompasses both the historic Colorado River channel as well as a channelized portion constructed in the late 1960s. Along with these main waterbodies, several important backwaters are home to many wildlife species that reside in this Yuma Desert portion of the Sonoran Desert.

Eagletail Mountains Wilderness is about 65 mi west of Phoenix with an area of 100,600-acre. The wilderness is of moderate size, with the Eagletail Mountains forming its northeast perimeter, and the much shorter Cemetery Ridge section, forming its southwest border. It covers nearly all of the Eagletail Mountains and the plains on its southwest. A good trekking destination and also there are so many challenging routes too.

The Gibraltar Mountain Wilderness is an 18,790-acre property located about 10 miles northeast of Parker in the western Buckskin Mountains.This desert wilderness is primarily volcanic tuff crossed with deep canyons and sandy washes. Vegetation in the area includes creosote bush, cholla, barrel cactus, and palo verde that support a small population of desert bighorn sheep.

The 25,050-acre Harcuvar Mountains Wilderness is located about 82 miles northwest of Phoenix. A lot of Harcuvar Mountains Wilderness is prime real estate for desert bighorn sheep, mountain lion, bobcat, mule deer, Gila monster and desert tortoise, but there's also a 3,500-acre island of cut-off interior chaparral habitat on the north side of that upper ridge.

The Kofa National Wildlife Refuge is located in Arizona, northeast of Yuma and southeast of Quartzsite. The refuge, established in 1939 to protect desert bighorn sheep, encompasses over 665,400 acres of the Yuma Desert region of the Sonoran Desert. Broad, gently sloping foothills as well as the sharp, needlepoint peaks of the Kofa Mountains are found in the rugged refuge. The small, widely scattered waterholes attract a surprising number of water birds for a desert area.

The New Water Mountains is a mountain range in southwestern Arizona. The range is on the northern border of the Kofa National Wildlife Refuge as well as the northern Kofa Mountains. Featuring towering canyons, sparse vegetation, and a large volcanic butte, New Water Mountains Wilderness is the place to be for RV lovers in Arizona who are seeking solitude.The terrain inside New Water Mountains Wilderness is mostly that seen in Sonoran Desert areas.

Swansea Wilderness is a protected wilderness area in the central portion of the Buckskin Mountains divided by a large gorge formed by the Bill Williams River in the U.S. state of Arizona. The 16,400-acre property straddles the Bill Williams River and the La Paz-Mohave county line. The Buckskin Mountains are on the south, Black Mesa on the north and a six-mile stretch of the Bill Williams River cuts across the center.