Backpack Trail Guide

Trails / New Mexico / Gila Wilderness

West Fork Gila River to White Creek

Gila Wilderness, Gila National Forest (from Gila Cliff Dwellings)

The West Fork of the Gila River runs more than 30 miles through a winding volcanic canyon to the Gila Cliff Dwellings, where the main trail up it begins. White Creek, where an old ranger station still stands, is the usual turnaround for an out-and-back of several days.

Gila Trails Info, a trail-conditions site for the Gila, lists it as 15 miles from the Cliff Dwellings trailhead.

The hike

The trail starts at the Cliff Dwellings parking lot at the end of NM 15. The Forest Service lists the West Fork #151A Trailhead there, with limited parking, and an NPS handout says an unsigned, well-used route follows the river upstream through the monument to Trail #151. SummitPost counts 19 crossings in the first couple of miles alone and suggests sandals. It also mentions cliff dwellings in the canyon walls, including Three Mile Ruin, and grave markers, one for a man killed by a bandit in the 1880s. Disturbing any of these is illegal.

From there the trail follows the river. HikeArizona’s guide calls West Fork Trail #151 one of only two trails that cross the whole wilderness, about 33 miles from the Cliff Dwellings to Willow Creek. Gila Trails Info lists Hells Hole, a side canyon, at 12.8 miles, and White Creek Cabin at 15. It warns that clover and other plants can hide cairns and tread near the crossings.

Trip reports from 2025 give a sense of the going. A family hiking down from White Creek in October counted “dozens of water crossings” one day and 27 the next, plus beaver dams, trout, and a lot of poison ivy; they said the river section had tougher footing and spots where the trail was hard to find. A May 2025 hiker described a very dry forest, rough rocky sections, and big logs to lift a dog over, and reached White Creek on the second full day.

At White Creek, HikeArizona says the cabin at the confluence was a ranger station and fish hatchery in the early 1900s and has been restored, but isn’t open to the public. The May 2025 hiker found a cabin and corral at what he called the White Creek Administrative Area. Above it, the West Fork continues toward Turkeyfeather Pass and Willow Creek.

Backpacker suggests a long loop that comes down the West Fork from Hells Hole after crossing over from the Middle Fork; see the Gila Middle Fork–West Fork Loop. For a shorter overnight from the same trailhead area, see Jordan Hot Springs.

Tips

Camping

No backpacking permit is needed, according to NPS; organized groups need a Forest Service permit. NPS asks you to camp at least 200 feet from springs, streams, and trails, on high ground with no sign of flooding, and never on archaeological sites. Backpacking Routes says camping isn’t allowed inside the national monument, which covers the first few miles. Hang food at least 10 feet off the ground. Forest Order 03-06-00-25-002 limits stays to 14 days in 30. The forest lifted fire restrictions on July 20, 2026, and HikeArizona recommends stoves over fires along this heavily used river.

Inside Intel: Backpacker warns that campsites are “plentiful in the Middle Fork, but not in the West Fork,” and points to a good one under a rocky alcove near the Hells Hole Trail junction. At the top end, an October 2025 family camped in an open area at the White Creek site and called a spot on their way down the West Fork a “great campsite,” without saying where.

Trail facts

The Lowdown

19 crossings in the West Fork Gila's first miles:

SummitPost counts 19 West Fork crossings in the first couple of miles and suggests sandals, and Gila Trails Info advises staying out above 100 cfs. Our five tips cover water shoes, timing, and when to turn back.

See the water-crossing tips →

Where this comes from

This page draws on the sources below, along with other guides and trip reports. Links go to the original pages.

Before you go: This page is based on published trail guides, trip reports, and reviews, along with official park and agency information where we could find it. It’s meant to help backpackers discover new trails, not to replace current, official information. Conditions, closures, permits, campsites, and water sources change, and some details here may be out of date or wrong. Confirm everything with the managing agency and check current conditions before you head out, and don’t rely on this page alone for safety or navigation. Backcountry travel involves risk.