Captain George Wheeler, who surveyed much of the American Southwest in the 1870s, wrote that the view from Mount Baldy was "the most magnificent and effective of any among the large number that have come under my observation."

An extinct volcano rising to 11,403 feet, Mount Baldy stands within the White Mountain Apache Reservation; the Wilderness occupies its eastern slope. Most of the forest covering the mountain is mixed conifers with ponderosa pine in the lower elevations and fir and spruce higher up. Large meadows break open the forest, carpeted in summer with wildflowers such as Indian paintbrush, columbine, penstemon, iris, and lupine. Until winter cloaks the area in snow, elk and deer are commonly seen. Beavers, mountain lions, coyotes, bobcats, and black bears live here with a variety of smaller mammals. Bald eagles, falcons, and hawks circle beneath the sun. Summer thunderstorms are frequent, as are lightning strikes on the mountain.