Sierra Ladrones Wilderness Study Area

Sierra Ladrones Wilderness Study Area is a Bureau of Land Management-managed Wilderness Study Area in Socorro County, New Mexico, located in west-central New Mexico near the Rio Grande Valley. The area features Ladron Peak (9,186 ft), an igneous intrusion rising nearly 4,500 feet above the surrounding Rio Grande Valley, with diverse terrain including high mountain peaks, isolated canyons, grasslands, and piñon-juniper woodland. Named "Sierra Ladrones" (thieves' mountains) for its historical use by Navajo and Apache raiding parties and later Hispanic rustlers, the area offers primitive cross-country exploration and panoramic summit views. Managed by the Socorro Field Office (575-835-0412), the wilderness study area supports ecological significance as a "sky island" with distinct vegetation and wildlife zones.