Kofa National Wildlife Refuge

Why go

Kofa was established from public lands on January 25, 1939 by Executive Order 8039, for the protection of desert bighorn sheep. It took its name from the King of Arizona gold mine. The refuge covers 666,641 acres, and its two ranges, the Kofa and Castle Dome Mountains, are not especially high but are extremely rugged and rise sharply from the surrounding plains.

The wildlife is the reason the place exists and much of the reason to visit. FWS puts the long-term average at approximately 400 to 800 desert bighorn sheep, and says that since the 1950s the refuge has provided over 560 of them for transplanting to other parts of Arizona and neighbouring states. Endangered Sonoran pronghorn were reintroduced to a breeding pen here in 2011 and first released into the wild in 2013.

The other landmark is Palm Canyon, at the west end of the Kofa Mountains, which holds a stand of California fan palms, the only native palm species in Arizona. FWS says fewer than 100 trees remain there, probably remnants from an era when the area was wetter and cooler.

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When to go

FWS keeps its seasonal advice short: dress appropriately for the seasons, because summer temperatures can be extreme while winter temperatures are mild to moderate. It recommends bringing plenty of drinking water, snacks, insect repellent and sunscreen on any visit.

For wildlife, it says dawn and dusk are the best times, and that in warmer seasons few animals move on hot summer afternoons or on windy days. Sitting quietly in one good location works better than walking about, and it suggests binoculars or a spotting scope.

Storms are the seasonal hazard. The refuge leaflet warns that occasional storms will cause flash flooding in low-lying areas and washes, and asks for caution in them. Since the roads here run along and across washes, that is worth planning around rather than reacting to.

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The roads, and the rules that govern them

FWS describes the network in a paragraph every visitor should read: most refuge roads are not maintained, many are passable only by four-wheel drive vehicles, and some roads may be passable by two-wheel drive, high clearance vehicles. It adds that vehicles may be damaged by brush or rocks, or may become stuck in sandy areas, and that private inholdings occur within the refuge.

Navigation is by numbers. Vehicular traffic is limited to designated roads, which FWS says can be identified by numbered markers at junctions, and off-road vehicle travel is strictly prohibited. Vehicles may pull off and park only up to 100 feet from a designated road. That rule covers every motorised or wheeled vehicle, naming ATVs, UTVs, quadratracs, motorcycles and bicycles. The speed limit is 25 mph, or less as posted, and no vegetation or other refuge feature may be damaged.

Before travelling on the refuge, FWS asks visitors to contact refuge staff to learn about current road conditions. It repeats that request on its visit page. There is no substitute, because the agency publishes no road report.

Two more prohibitions catch people out. FWS allows no launching, landing or operating of any unmanned aircraft from refuge land, citing 50 CFR 27.34, and prohibits trail cameras and geocaching anywhere on the refuge.

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Palm Canyon, the one road FWS describes in full

The refuge publishes a leaflet for Palm Canyon, and it is the only approach it gives turn by turn. Take Highway 95 between Yuma and Quartzsite to milepost 85, roughly 63 miles north of Yuma or 18 miles south of Quartzsite, and watch for the brown Palm Canyon sign at the junction with a dirt road. Follow that road east for seven miles toward the large block mountain, to a parking area. FWS says the road is passable in a passenger car, but the ride may be rough.

From the top of the parking area a half-mile foot trail leads into the canyon. FWS calls it easy to follow but rough most of the way, and says to allow an hour for the round trip. The palms come into view from a sign partway along, in a narrow side canyon to the north. In 2001 forty-one trees were counted in the main grove.

Three practical notes come with it. There is no drinking water and there are no sanitary facilities anywhere on the refuge, so bring water. Rattlesnakes have been seen in the canyon, and FWS asks visitors to be alert, especially if they climb toward the palms. Camping is permitted on the refuge, and overnight parking is permissible in the Palm Canyon parking area.

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What your vehicle needs, and what it must carry

FWS sets no clearance figure and no tire specification for Kofa. What it does set is a legal standard. All vehicles must be registered, insured and street legal, and all drivers must hold a state-issued licence in good standing. That applies to all-terrain cycles, dirt bikes, motorcycles, sand rails and golf carts as much as to a truck, and the vehicle must carry all the safety equipment Arizona requires. FWS notes that a plate beginning with MC is registered, while an RV plate is title only and may not be operated on a national wildlife refuge.

The rest follows from what the refuge lacks. FWS says there are no facilities for towing, gasoline, sanitation or drinking water, and that cellular coverage is absent over most of the refuge. It advises visitors to let someone know where they are going and when they plan to return. A vehicle that cannot get itself out of sand is relying on a stranger happening along.

Do not skipFWS: Kofa was used for desert military training in the Second World War, and unexploded ordnance may be encountered. Do not pick up anything that appears to be military hardware. Note its location and report it to refuge headquarters or to the Phoenix Interagency Law Enforcement Dispatch on 1-800-637-9152.

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Camping: choose your own site, inside three rules

Kofa is one of the few national wildlife refuges where you can camp where you like, and FWS states the freedom and its limits in four sentences. Campers may select their own campsites. Camping within a quarter mile of water is prohibited by state law. Vehicles must remain within 100 feet of designated roads. Camping is limited to 14 days in any 12-month period.

Read that stay limit twice, because it is stricter than the 14 days in 28 that is common on public land: here it is 14 days in a year. The quarter-mile rule exists because the refuge’s water is managed for wildlife, and a camp beside it can keep animals away from the only drink for miles.

Campfires are permitted, but only dead, down and detached wood may be used, and collecting wood from wilderness land is prohibited. Uprooting dead stumps, trees and bushes is prohibited, and no wood may be taken off the refuge. FWS says wood is very scarce and asks visitors to bring their own.

On waste it is equally direct. Littering and the dumping of sewage or liquid waste are prohibited. Do not bury trash, because wildlife will dig it up, and do not burn cans or plastic: pack them out. Bury all human waste, and burn the toilet paper or pack it out.

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Where the wheels stop: the Kofa Wilderness

Congress designated the Kofa Wilderness on November 28, 1990 through the Arizona Desert Wilderness Act. The refuge leaflet gives the area as 547,700 acres and the refuge website as 547,719, over 80 percent of Kofa either way. Most of the ground you can see from the road is wilderness.

The rule inside it is absolute: no vehicular travel, including bicycles, is permitted in wilderness areas, and only foot or horseback travel is allowed. There is no exception for a short cut, a recovery or a game cart, which FWS permits only in the non-wilderness parts of the refuge.

Collecting is limited in the same spirit. Recreational rock and mineral collecting is confined to the 1.5 square mile Crystal Hill Area in the northwest corner, where possession is capped at 10 specimens or 10 pounds, whichever comes first, in any 12-month period, and where digging and metal detectors are prohibited. Collecting rocks or minerals anywhere else on the refuge is prohibited, as is searching for or removing objects of antiquity or artefacts anywhere at all. Entering any mine is prohibited, for your safety and for the bats.

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Fuel, water, services and who to call

There is nothing on the refuge. FWS says plainly that there are no facilities for towing, gasoline, sanitation or drinking water, and that restrooms are available only at the refuge headquarters and visitor center in Yuma, Monday to Friday during business hours. Everything you will drink and burn goes in with you, and everything else comes out.

The refuge sits 40 miles north of Yuma on the east side of State Highway 95, and FWS gives the King Valley entrance as 33.24977, -114.21724. It names Crystal Hill, Palm Canyon, King Valley and Castle Dome as the major entrances from that highway. Yuma and Quartzsite are the practical places to fuel and resupply, and hours are the operators’ business, so confirm before you count on them.

As of September 2026 the refuge page says there is no charge to visit, and that the lands, roads and trails are open daily, year-round. One caveat travels with that: FWS notes that on rare occasions southern portions of the refuge may be temporarily closed for public safety due to military testing, which is another reason to ring first.

The visitor center and headquarters at 9300 East 28th Street in Yuma is where to start, and its staff are who FWS means when it says to ask about road conditions. The refuge publishes 928-928-6873 as its number on both its website and its January 2025 leaflet. Organised groups, and FWS names jeep clubs and UTV clubs, are asked to contact staff before scheduling an activity.

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Questions people ask