Wilderness area

Calico Mountains Wilderness

Calico Mountains Wilderness is a 64,968-acre wilderness area in Humboldt County, Nevada. It rises from about 3,945 to 8,525 ft. The nearest town is Gerlach, 18.8 miles away in a straight line.

Calico Mountains Wilderness
Photo: BLM Nevada, Public domain

Calico Mountains Wilderness map

Calico Mountains Wilderness boundary from USGS PAD-US or the managing agency, simplified for display. Not for navigation or legal boundaries.

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Fire restrictions

2 fire restriction orders are recorded for this unit as of Sept. 30, 2026. Each links the signed order.

  • BLM Winnemucca District Stage 1 Fire Restrictions Order Applies to this wilderness, managed by the Black Rock Field Office, Winnemucca District. Stage 1. Listed under Central Nevada on Nevada Fire Info. The signed order states the exact area, what it prohibits, and exemptions.
  • BLM Nevada Prevention Order: BLM statewide restrictions Effective May 1, 2026. Applies to all BLM and Forest Service land in Nevada. Prohibited: Possessing, discharging, using or allowing the use of fireworks, pyrotechnic or incendiary devices; possessing, discharging, igniting or causing to burn; explosives or explosive material, including binary explosive targets; discharging a firearm using tracer, incendiary, or steel-component ammunition. [Use of tracer or incendiary ammunition is always prohibited on public lands]; operating or using any internal or external combustion engine without a spark arresting device properly installed, maintained and in effective working order.

Nevada Fire Info, BLM Nevada's interagency fire site, keeps the Nevada fire restrictions map and signed orders for every fire zone, and a Nevada fire map of active fires.

Common questions

Camping in Calico Mountains Wilderness is limited to 14 days.
Campfires are allowed: Campfire permit required.
Gerlach, NV is the nearest town, 18.8 miles in a straight line from the boundary (not a driving distance).
The highest ground in Calico Mountains Wilderness is about 8,525 ft, and its lowest about 3,945 ft (USGS 3DEP elevation model). Its highest named summit is Donnelly Peak, about 8,525 ft.

Who manages Calico Mountains Wilderness

Agency Acres Permit Group size Stay limit Office
BLM 64,968 Not on record Not on record 14 days Black Rock Field Office, Winnemucca District, 775-623-1500

Getting to Calico Mountains Wilderness

  • Gerlach, NV is the nearest town, 18.8 miles in a straight line from the boundary (not a driving distance). (US Census places, accessed 2026-09-25)
  • Access roads named on the area's wilderness.net page: Soldier Meadows Road.

Position, roads and vehicle notes: wilderness.net page for Calico Mountains Wilderness, accessed 2026-09-25. Roads and conditions change; check with the managing office before driving in.

Named summits, canyons, and springs in Calico Mountains Wilderness

  • Donnelly Peak summit about 8,525 ft
  • South Donnelly Peak summit about 7,711 ft
  • Sheep Buttes summit about 7,327 ft
  • Black Canyon canyon
  • Copper Canyon canyon
  • Buck Springs spring
  • Burro Spring spring

Features whose official location is inside the boundary, from the USGS Geographic Names Information System, accessed 2026-09-25. Summit elevations measured on the USGS 3DEP elevation model, which can read a few feet under a surveyed summit height.

Public lands next to Calico Mountains Wilderness

Measured between the units' boundaries as mapped in USGS PAD-US. Distances are straight line, not driving.

Other wilderness areas in Nevada

Nevada wilderness areas