Spotlight on the Gila National Forest
 The Gila National Forest has spectacular scenery ranging from high cool mountains with aspen and Douglas-fir to warm semi-arid lowlands with juniper, oak and cactus. It is one of the more remote and least developed national forests in the Southwest. Covering 3.3 million acres of publicly-owned forest and range land, the Forest is the sixth largest national forest in the continental United States. The Forest is also home to the first proclaimed Wilderness area.
 The Forest boasts a rich history of the Mogollon and Apache Indians, Spaniards, Mexicans, ranchers, prospectors, and miners. Apache Chiefs Mangas Coloradas, Geronino, and Victorio; Aldo Leopold—conservationist, ecologist and author of the Sand County Almanac; and renowned lion hunter Ben Lilly are but a few of the personalities from the past that have left their mark on the Gila. Place names like Raw Meat Canyon, Tepee Canyon and Grave Canyon tell the tales of the past.
There are hundreds of miles of hiking trails, a number of interpretive trails, picnic grounds, primitive and developed camping grounds. If you are looking for a more primitive recreation experience, the Gila is the place to be.
Special Places
The San Franscisco, Gila, and Mimbres Rivers, the Catwalk, Gila Cliff Dwellings, Mogollon Baldy, Castle Rock, Eagle Peak Mountain, Emory Pass, and the Burro Mountains are among the many islands of beauty on the Gila.
Wilderness Areas
 The Gila includes more wilderness than any other forest in the Southwest. This undeveloped natural country can refresh the human spirit simply by its grandeur, purity and remoteness. These wilderness areas comprise a vast, roadless realm on the Black, Mogollon, Diablo, and Blue Mountain ranges, varying from grassland foothills upward through juniper woodland, ponderosa pine, and then spruce-fir forests on the high peaks. Mountain meadows, aspen glades, and spruce forests border on narrow, rock-walled canyons which in some places plunge to depths of more than a thousand feet. more about the Gila's wilderness areas »
Catwalk Recreation Area
 A major feature of the Glenwood District is the historically intriguing Catwalk National Recreation Trail. The area offers a beautiful picnic spot next to Whitewater Creek, a challenging one mile trail along the historic water line route from the 1890's, a trailhead access into the Gila Wilderness, a bird watcher's paradise and a sense of place that creates images of an earlier time. The Catwalk has undergone extensive construction to upgrade the facilities and add an accessible trail that meets universal design standards. more about the catwalk »
 Gila Cliff Dwellings
The Cliff Dwellings National Monument is a National Park Service managed area that is surrounded by the Gila National Forest. The surrounding area includes a number of campsites, an interpretive trail and an educational/visitors center.
WE INVITE YOU TO VISIT THE BEAUTIFUL GILA NATIONAL FOREST
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