Gila National Forest


Gila National Forest

Parks Directory of the United States / National ForestsAddress:3005 E Camino del Bosque
Silver City, NM 88061

Phone:505-388-8201
Fax:505-388-8204
Web: www.fs.fed.us/r3/gila
Size: 3,321,101 acres.
Location:West-central New Mexico. Accessible by US 180; NM 15, 32, 35, 78, 90, 152, and 159. Nearby cities/towns include Deming, Glenwood, Las Cruces, Lordsburg, Reserve, Silver City, and Truth or Consequences.
Facilities:30 campgrounds, group camp, picnic sites, trails (100s of miles).
Activities:Camping, hunting, fishing, rafting, hiking, horseback riding, mountain biking, ORV riding, bird watching, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing.
Special Features:Forest is semi-desert to alpine country, most of it remote and undeveloped, with elevations of 4,500 to 10,700 feet. Three wilderness areas: Gila Wilderness, the first designated wilderness in the nation, Aldo Leopold Wilderness, and Blue Range Wilderness. Major rivers include Gila River, Mimbres River, and San Francisco River. Points of interest include Catwalk National Recreation Trail, a unique trail of suspended walkways; Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument (see entry in national parks section), well-preserved cliff dwellings dating back to 1200; natural hot springs.

See other parks in New Mexico.