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This Ironwood Forest National Monument (map: https://www.blm.gov/sites/blm.gov/files/docs/2020-12/AZ_IronwoodForestNM-508.pdf) is made up of 129,000 acres and contains a significant system of cultural and historical sites covering a 5,000-year period. Possessing one of the richest stands of ironwood in the Sonoran Desert, the monument also encompasses several desert mountain ranges including the Silver Bell, Waterman, and Sawtooth, with desert valleys in between.
Elevation ranges from 1,800 to 4,261 feet. Three areas within the monument, the Los Robles Archeological District, the Mission of Santa Ana del Chiquiburitac and the Cocoraque Butte Archeological District are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The monument is a travel corridor for illegal immigrants traveling from Mexico. All suspected illegal activities should be reported to BLM or local law enforcement authorities. Stay safe by avoiding contact with persons exhibiting suspicious behavior or engaged in dangerous activities. Drive with caution and look for fast-moving vehicles and pedestrians on back roads. Some roads are rugged: high clearance or four-wheel-drive vehicles are recommended in those areas.
Beautiful area, but you have to be willing to hear guns @ 0730 on Sunday morning. I boondock and have run into tweakers out here - with guns.
Very quiet, however no ironwoods in this area, but it is close to the Saguaro Nat Park West and functions as a free basecamp area to explore Saguaro NP and Tucson Mt Park. Cell service is 4bars lte for Verizon, att, tmobile. The popular area for boondockers seems to be at a different location toward the north end by the small drone/glider airport by pump well road.
February 2022- we followed the Google Maps directions to this location, Ironwood National Monument (access point),which worked perfectly. It brought us to a gate adjacent to a BLM sign. Unsnap the gate and close it as you go through. Once through the gate, go straight for maybe a quarter mile and then the road splits and there will now be two ways you can go:
-Go straight ahead (or was it slightly left?) for BLM land.
- Or, bear right at the first fork and you’ll be headed for AZ State land-travel down that road between 2 barbed wire fences and you will soon see a kiosk sign that says you’re on Arizona State land, where they want you to pay about $20 for a permit. Not far past this information kiosk the road got rough and was muddy in spots so we turned back and went to the aforementioned BLM area.
Now back on the BLM road and my friend had a low clearance tiny van (Dodge Ram City pro master?) and we had no problem on the BLM road. The road is a bit sandy as you come through the gate, but not very deep sand. The reason I took off one star is there are not a lot of spots early on to camp; there may be more as you drive deeper into the land. It’s bad form to camp on land that has not already been disturbed by generations of campers, so you may need to keep looking for a spot.
As off road enthusiasts, Ironwood National Monument is an awesome place to explore. I've probably been out there 15 times, sometimes for the day, others for three days. So much to see. You just have to get outdoors and explore. Thousands of Saguaros, including a crested one. Peaceful. Quiet. Petroglyphs. On our recent trip, we didn't see anyone else for over 24 hours. Most of the trails are just dirt roads. There are a few legitimate obstacles. Part of it was recently graded. More migrant activity than 2020. Never felt unsafe or saw anyone. Just the telltale black water bottles.
