Silver Peak Wilderness, Wilderness area in Monterey County, California, US

Silver Peak Wilderness is a 31,555-acre protected area in the Santa Lucia Mountains of Los Padres National Forest, rising from near the Pacific Ocean to Silver Peak at 3,590 feet. It lies in two units divided by the Willow Creek drainage and the fire roads to Alder Creek. Forests hold California sycamore, big leaf maple and red alder, while open slopes carry ceanothus, manzanita, coastal live oak and gray pine.

Congress created the Silver Peak Wilderness in 1992 through the Los Padres Condor Range and River Protection Act (Public Law 102-301), which set aside about 14,500 acres and also established the Chumash, Garcia, Machesna Mountain, Matilija and Sespe wilderness areas. On 19 December 2002 the Big Sur Wilderness and Conservation Act added 17,055 acres. The Willow Creek drainage and the fire roads to Alder Creek divide it into two units.

The area draws visitors who want to see rare plant species like Sargent cypress and Santa Lucia fir in their natural setting. People use the trails to explore these special trees and experience the plant diversity found in the mountains.

To visit the area, you need a permit for overnight camping, and motorized vehicles plus mountain bikes are not allowed. Visitors should plan for day hikes or multi-day backpacking trips and prepare routes in advance.

The wilderness holds an isolated stand of coastal redwoods, the southernmost such stand in the world. The same area also contains a rare grove of Sargent cypress, gray pines and Santa Lucia fir, trees a visitor can look for on the slopes above the coast.