Sheep Mountain Wilderness is a

wilderness area Wilderness or wildlands (usually in the plural), are natural environments on Earth that have not been significantly modified by human activity or any nonurbanized land not under extensive agricultural cultivation. The term has traditionally re ...

of within the

San Gabriel Mountains National Monument The San Gabriel Mountains National Monument is a United States National Monument managed by the U.S. Forest Service, which encompasses parts of the Angeles National Forest and the San Bernardino National Forest in California. On October 10, 2014 ...

and managed by the

Angeles National Forest The Angeles National Forest (ANF) of the United States Forest Service, U.S. Forest Service is located in the San Gabriel Mountains and Sierra Pelona Mountains, primarily within Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County in southern Calif ...

. It is within

Los Angeles County Los Angeles County, officially the County of Los Angeles, and sometimes abbreviated as L.A. County, is the most populous county in the United States and in the U.S. state of California, with 9,861,224 residents estimated as of 2022. It is the ...

and

San Bernardino County San Bernardino County (), officially the County of San Bernardino, is a county located in the southern portion of the U.S. state of California, and is located within the Inland Empire area. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, the population was 2,181, ...

southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most po ...

. The

U.S. Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is Bicameralism, bicameral, composed of a lower body, the United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives, and an upper body, ...

passed the

California Wilderness Act of 1984 The California Wilderness Act of 1984 is a federal law ( Public Law 98-425), passed by the United States Congress on September 28, 1984, that authorized the addition of over within the state of California to the National Wilderness Preservatio ...

, which created this wilderness area and added it to the

National Wilderness Preservation System The National Wilderness Preservation System (NWPS) of the United States protects federally managed wilderness areas designated for preservation in their natural condition. Activity on formally designated wilderness areas is coordinated by the Na ...

. The wilderness includes Iron Mountain, an 8,007 ft (2,441 m) peak. Bridgetonowheresheepmountain

Recreation

Notable hiking in the area includes Heaton Flat along the East Fork of the San Gabriel River to

Bridge to Nowhere A bridge to nowhere is a bridge where one or both ends are broken, incomplete, or unconnected to any roads. If it is an overpass or an interchange, the term overpass to nowhere or interchange to nowhere may be used respectively. There are f ...

. Also popular for hikes is the trail to the Big Horn Mine, which was purchased from the owner in 2006 by the

Wilderness Land Trust The Wilderness Land Trust is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization based in Helena, MT, whose mission is to acquire private lands (inholdings) in current and proposed wilderness areas and transfer them to the federal government so that they will be ...

, and incorporated into the wilderness after being transferred to the

US Forest Service The United States Forest Service (USFS) is an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture that administers the nation's 154 national forests and 20 national grasslands. The Forest Service manages of land. Major divisions of the agency inc ...

.Wilderness Land Trust's page on Big Horn Mine.
Accessed Jan.8, 2009

Notes

San Gabriel Mountains Angeles National Forest San Gabriel Mountains National Monument Protected areas of Los Angeles County, California Protected areas of San Bernardino County, California Wilderness areas of California {{SanBernardinoCountyCA-geo-stub

Recreation

See also

Notes