The McKittrick Canyon WSA is located in southern New Mexico, approximately 40 miles southwest of Carlsbad. It is contiguous with the Guadalupe Escarpment WSA (managed by the U.S. Forest Service). McKittrick Canyon contains Chihuahuan Desert grassland and scrub, including creosote bush and mesquite, as well as piсon-juniper woodlands and deciduous riparian. This WSA consists almost entirely of steep side slopes.

From Highway 285 northwest of Carlsbad, take highway 137 to the Dog Canyon Campground in Guadalupe Mountains National Park. You will see the slopes of the McKittrick Canyon WSA to the northeast, though private land precludes public access to the WSA.