Dead Mountains, Nature reserve in San Bernardino County, United States.

The Dead Mountains are a rust-colored range in the southeastern Mojave Desert, 12 miles northwest of Needles, California. Mount Manchester is the highest point at 3,598 feet. The range borders the Colorado River on the east and Piute Wash on the west, and its 46,758 acres were designated the Dead Mountains Wilderness in 1994.

The Dead Mountains were designated a wilderness area in 1994 by the United States Congress under the California Desert Protection Act. The Bureau of Land Management oversees the 46,758-acre area. The protection came after decades in which the region had been used for mining and mineral exploration in the late 1800s and early 1900s.

The Fort Mojave Indian Reservation borders the range's foothills on the east and northeast, across the Nevada, Arizona and California line. The mountains lie within the traditional Mojave desert homeland, and the reservation's presence today frames how the land is used and crossed.

Access is limited to rough roads and hiking trails, with autumn and spring offering the most comfortable conditions. Visitors should bring ample water and supplies as the reserve has no developed facilities or services.

Smoke trees grow in the California Desert Conservation Area within the wilderness, where the vegetation is mostly creosote bush and desert wash scrub. Part of the wilderness is also critical habitat for the endangered desert tortoise.