California Wilderness High Points

Showing Bryan Maes's first ascent dates for climbed peaks

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List Description

California has more wilderness areas than any other state--148--and they include areas in every major mountain range between Mexico and Oregon. Many famous peaks are on this list, but it also includes many "liners" near summits, where the summit area has a road or radio tower, forcing the wilderness boundary and high point to a random slope point.

Also, note that there are two wilderness areas in California that are closed to public entry. The first is the Fallaron Islands, and the second is the Rocks and Islands wilderness off the northern coast. This latter area is largely marine and I could not find any discernable high point on its tiny offshore rocks, so it is not listed here, making the list total 147.

There are also two wilderness areas (Havasu and Imperial Refuge) located parly in California and party in Arizona, and their high points are in Arizona. They are not on this list either--see the Arizona Wilderness High Point List on this site for these peaks.

Acknowledgments

A big thank you to Daryn Dodge, who researched many of these points and supplied a detailed Excel file that allowed me to easily update the preliminary list of 75 peaks that was here. Appreciate it, Daryn!