Wilderness area

Pahute Peak Wilderness

Pahute Peak Wilderness is a 56,890-acre wilderness area in Humboldt County, Nevada. It rises from about 3,990 to 8,592 ft. The nearest town is Gerlach, 37 miles away in a straight line.

Pahute Peak Wilderness
Photo: Bureau of Land Management, Public domain

Pahute Peak Wilderness map

Pahute Peak 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

Gerlach, NV is the nearest town, 37 miles in a straight line from the boundary (not a driving distance).
The highest ground in Pahute Peak Wilderness is about 8,592 ft, and its lowest about 3,990 ft (USGS 3DEP elevation model). Its highest named summit is Big Mountain, about 8,592 ft.

Who manages Pahute Peak Wilderness

Agency Acres Permit Group size Stay limit Office
BLM 56,890 Not on record Not on record Not on record Black Rock Field Office, Winnemucca District, 775-623-1500

Getting to Pahute Peak Wilderness

  • Gerlach, NV is the nearest town, 37 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 Pahute Peak Wilderness, accessed 2026-09-25. Roads and conditions change; check with the managing office before driving in.

Named summits, canyons, and springs in Pahute Peak Wilderness

  • Big Mountain summit about 8,592 ft
  • Little Big Mountain summit about 7,703 ft
  • Copper Canyon canyon
  • Cancer Spring spring
  • Cherry Springs 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 Pahute Peak 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