Kofa National Wildlife Refuge, Arizona

Desert, drawn wide. Kofa National Wildlife Refuge, Arizona

Stretching across the Sonoran Desert in southwestern Arizona, Kofa National Wildlife Refuge is a land of sharp peaks, wide skies, and surprising life. The refuge was established in 1939 to protect desert bighorn sheep, whose sure-footed silhouettes still define the rugged landscape.

The name 'Kofa' comes from the historic King of Arizona gold mine, once a booming operation in the nearby mountains—its title shortened into a single, memorable word.

Today, Kofa spans 665,400 acres of open desert, where saguaros rise from rocky washes and quiet canyons shelter rare palm groves. Bighorn sheep share this vast terrain with desert tortoises, coyotes, and cactus wrens—each adapted to heat, scarcity, and space. Hiking routes and backcountry tracks reveal ancient volcanic rock, sudden blooms after rain, and seemingly endless horizons. At dusk, light softens the desert, and wildlife stirs beneath the cooling air. Remote and largely undeveloped, Kofa rewards curiosity with silence, scale, and the thrill of true desert wilderness.