Four Peaks Wilderness
Tonto National Forest, Arizona

The 61,074 acres of the Four Peaks Wilderness are centered around a major mountain with four peaks. The highest of these peaks is Brown's Peak (7,657'), and the land drops from here down a series of complex ridges and drainages to deep gorges and bluffs to a low point of about 1,900'. The highlands are covered with Ponderosa pines and some Douglas firs. There's even a few aspen on the north side of Brown's Peak. Below that you'll find dense thickets of pinon, manzanita and Gambel oak. Below that the grasslands blend into the ocotillo, cholla, saguaro and paloverde growth of typical Sonoran Desert countryside. Canyons that hold water flows often are shaded with sycamores and cottonwoods.

This area is pretty dense with the black bears but you'll also find skunks, ring-tailed cats, deer, javelinas, mountain lions and coyotes. You'll also want to look out for centipedes, millipedes, black widow spiders, scorpions and rattlesnakes.

Most of the 40-mile trail network in Four Peaks Wilderness is in terrible shape, partly because only a few trails actually see any use. The busiest trails (and therefore the best maintained) are probably the Four Peaks Trail, the Brown's Peak Trail and the Pigeon Trail. Water is often impossible to find because most of the springs and streams are barely even seasonal, although the July and August monsoons can often cause flash flooding. But once you get up on the hill a bit, you've got a great view down on either Roosevelt Lake or Apache Reservoir...

Group size is limited to 15 head of people and 15 head of livestock. The stay limit is 14 days in any 30-day period.

Legend has it that Jacob Waltz (Arizona's famous "Lost Dutchman") traveled through the Four Peaks Wilderness area to shake off any would-be followers who might be seeking his legendary gold mine in the Superstition Mountains.