Due to frequent fires resulting in road and campground closures, birders should always check the US Forest Service web page prior to beginning their trip to this hotspot.

These campgrounds are good locations for Grace’s Warbler, Red-faced Warbler, and Painted Redstart in summer. Night birding may produce Spotted and Northern Pygmy-Owls all year and Whip-poor-will in late April-August. Note: Using tapes to attract Spotted Owls is illegal.

In the Black Range west of Emory Pass, the Gila National Forest maintains three campgrounds. Iron Creek is 3.5 miles west of the pass, Upper Gallinas is 1.6 miles west of Iron Creek, and Lower Gallinas is 1.6 miles west of Upper Gallinas.

From Silver City, take US-180 east to Central and turn left on NM-152. Stay on NM-152 to Lower and then Upper Gallinas Campgrounds on the south side of the road at 25.1 and 26.5 miles respectively. Iron Creek Campground appears further east along NM-152 on the right. 

From I-25 take the Hillsboro exit 63 (NM-152) and go west 27.5 miles to Iron Creek Campground.

With over three million acres of forested hills, majestic mountains, and range land, Gila National Forest is best known for its wilderness areas, in particular the Gila Wilderness, the first wilderness in the United States. The magnificent mountain scenery, cool summer temperatures, and relatively warm winters permit a wide range of recreational opportunities during all seasons.

The Gila National Forest includes more wilderness than any other national forest in the Southwest. This undeveloped natural country can refresh the human spirit simply by its grandeur, purity, and remoteness.

The wilderness areas on the Gila comprise a vast, roadless realm astride the Black, Mogollon, Diablo, and Blue mountain ranges, varying from grassland foothills upward through juniper woodland, ponderosa pine, and then spruce-fir forests on the high peaks. Mountain meadows, aspen glades, and spruce forests border on narrow, rock-walled canyons which in some places plunge to depths of more than a thousand feet.

Three wilderness areas together total 792,584 acres or approximately 24% of the Gila National Forest. The Gila Wilderness, at 559,688 acres, is New Mexico's largest wilderness with an extensive trail system providing access. The Gila Wilderness, the world's first designated wilderness, was created on June 3, 1924, at the urging of the great conservation pioneer Aldo Leopold. The Aldo Leopold Wilderness lies to the east, while towards the west, the smaller Blue Range Wilderness adjoins Arizona's rugged Blue Range Primitive Area.

Aldo Leopold Wilderness
The Aldo Leopold Wilderness is 202,016 acres and straddles the Black Range on the eastern side of the Forest.
Blue Range Wilderness
The 29,304-acre Blue Range Wilderness adjoins Arizona's rugged Blue Range Primitive Area.
Gila Wilderness
The 558,065-acre Gila Wilderness, created in June 1924 at the urging of the great conservation pioneer Aldo Leopold, was the world's first designated wilderness.