Bear Wallow Wilderness

The Bear Wallow Wilderness was the origin point of the Wallow Fire of June 2011, the largest wildfire in Arizona history. Though much of the area was affected, much of the Wilderness experienced a lower intensity burn due to earlier fires that reduced fuel loading; post-fire flooding has since created landslides in some drainages. Much of the Wilderness is already renewing, with native grasses and thickets of aspen regenerating among the burned trunks of mixed conifer. The Wilderness is home to some of the largest acreage of virgin ponderosa pine in the Southwest — venerable reminders of a once extensive forest of these giants, though affected by fire in places. Along the length of the area, through a blanket of pine, fir, and spruce, Bear Wallow Creek flows year-round and is shaded by green riparian hardwoods during summer. Early explorers were impressed by the large number of well-used wallows, which revealed how plentiful the area's population of black bears was. Black bears still abound, and you may see elk, deer, and a diverse community of smaller mammals, birds, and reptiles. Wildflowers bloom in profusion, especially during the summer rains. Poison ivy is present and can be dangerously abundant in places. Bear Wallow Creek provides a habitat refuge for the endangered Apache trout and is currently closed to all fishing. Five trails offer foot and horse access. The Reno Trail #62 (1.9 miles) and the Gobbler Point Trail #59 (2.9 miles) drop into the canyon of the creek from easily accessible trailheads on Forest Service roads. The Bear Wallow Trail #63 follows the rocky stream bed 8.2 miles to the boundary of the San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation, and visitors to the reservation must have an advance permit from the San Carlos Tribal Office. The Schell Canyon Trail #316 (2.8 miles) connects the Bear Wallow Trail and the canyon floor to the Rose Spring Trail #309 (4.5 miles), which skirts the southern boundary along the precipitous Mogollon Rim, the southern edge of the vast Colorado Plateau; from atop the Rim the views to the south are remarkable.