The Carson National Forest contains five (5) wilderness areas which offer 86,193 acres of pure nature. Wilderness areas are land set aside as part of wild America, where man can be a visitor, not an intruder. The natural environment hasn’t been disturbed and travel is restricted to foot or horseback.
First designated as the Wheeler Peak Wild Area in 1960, Wheeler Peak Wilderness was established in 1964. Today it includes almost 20,000 acres of wild and wonderful forest.
A plaque at the summit explains that the mountain was named to honor Major George Montague Wheeler (1842–1905), who for ten years led a party of surveyors and naturalists collecting geologic, biologic, planimetric and topographic data in New Mexico and six other southwestern states.
Elevations in the Wilderness area range from a low of 7,650 feet to above timberline for a height of 13,161 feet at Wheeler Peak, the highest point in the state. Formerly named Taos Peak, after the town of Taos, it was renamed Wheeler Peak in 1950.
Wildlife is abundant. Marmots, pikas, bighorn sheep, and golden eagles are year-round residents. Rocky Mountain elk and mule deer dwell in the area during the summer season, feeding on new aspen growth in the higher elevations. Although bighorns are native to the area, the local population was re-introduced to the area in 1993. Other local avian fauna include many common rocky mountain species such as magpies, Canada jays, chickadees and woodpeckers.
The Columbine-Hondo Wilderness is 44,698-acres located within easy access to Red River. The area is the newest Wilderness area of the five in the Carson, added to the National Wilderness Preservation System on December 19, 2014. It is a tribute to the dedication and hard work of the people who saw the need for this wondrous place to be protected.
Latir Peak is a 20,506-acre wilderness area located within the Carson National Forest in northern New Mexico. It was designated in 1980 as alpine tundra.
Cruces Basin is a 18,876-acre wilderness area located within the Carson National Forest in New Mexico just south of the Colorado border.
The Pecos Wilderness lies within the Camino Real Ranger District of the Carson National Forest, and the Pecos Ranger District and Española Ranger District of the Santa Fe National Forest. It is 223,667 acres (350 square miles), the largest wilderness in the state.