Wilderness Area Government information and links are at the bottom of this page. Part of the greater Laramide orogeny that began uplifting these mountains some 65 million years ago, the granite crystalline core of Greenhorn Mountain and the Wet Mountain Range of which it is a part, warped upward through surrounding sedimentary rock.
Greenhorn Mountain offers some of the most remote and lightly used wilderness in the state.
It lacks jagged alpine peaks and contains nary a single lake, both of which typically draw visitors. The area is small, steep and relatively dry, which means that opportunities for overnight and extended loop trips are few. Of course, you will have to bushwhack through dense woodlands and unforgiving topography. Enough water does collect on the Wet Mountains, however, to supply several small streams in the area's northern half. In fact, the threatened greenback cutthroat trout thrives in South Apache Creek, and other creeks, such as North Apache, have similarly suitable habitat.