Overview

Wildhorse Road (sometimes referred to as Wildhorse Loop Road) is a partially maintained backcountry road north of Highway 160 (the road to Pahrump) that provides access to the wild backcountry of Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area and the base of the Red Rock Escarpment. Wildhorse Road makes a horseshoe-shaped loop, but one section at the bottom of the horseshoe absolutely requires 4WD. The east and south sides of the horseshoe are occasionally maintained and suitable for 2WD-HC vehicles. The west side is not maintained, but it usually is suitable for 2WD-HC vehicles.

Wildhorse Road is 2.9-mile loop that runs through the desert between Mustang Hill and the Red Rock Escarpment. Camping is not permitted along the road.

The road is described here in the counter-clockwise direction. If driving in the other direction, see Wildhorse Road-clockwise.

Link to map.

Watch Out

Other than the standard warnings about driving in the desert, ...this is a 4WD road. Under normal conditions, the road is suitable for any 4WD, but I would stay off the road if it is muddy.

A ravine about 0.2 miles out has been graded to make it easier than before, but I spun the jeep tires climbing out the other side in 2WD.

Another ravine about 1.1 miles out, and a 0.2-mile-long section of soft gravel near the end of the road normally require 4WD vehicles, but otherwise a 2WD-HC vehicle is fine. The ravines are somewhat easier to cross while driving outbound than when coming back (if not completing the loop).

While out, please respect the land and the other people out there, and try to Leave No Trace of your passage. Also, even though this road is short, be sure to bring what you need of the 10 Essentials.

Getting to the Roadhead

From town, drive out to Red Rocks. From West Charleston at the entrance to the Scenic Loop Road (Table 1, Site 0519), continue west on Charleston Blvd (Hwy 159) all the way past Blue Diamond town to Highway 160 (Site 0848). Turn right onto Highway 160, towards Pahrump, and drive west for 5.0 miles. Watch for the paved Late Night Trailhead Parking area, which is 0.3 miles before Wildhorse Road. There is no road sign, but watch for a green "Passing Lane 1 Mile" sign and Mile Post 16 on the right just before the turnoff.

A paved roadway apron, a cattle guard, and a gap in the roadside fence on the right side of the highway mark the beginning of Wildhorse Road (Site 1090). There is no exit lane.

Wildhorse Road makes a "loop" of sorts. The west end of the loop (Site 1089) returns to Highway 160 about 0.7 miles farther up the highway.

The Road

From the pavement (Site 1090), Wildhorse Road crosses a cattle guard and runs northwest angling away from the highway. Bike trails and closed roads crisscross near the highway, but the winding Wildhorse Road generally is obvious as it bends to the left and then to the right. There is some parking in this area.

At only 0.20 miles out, the road arrives at the edge of a deep ravine. Road conditions here change, and sometimes continuing straight is great fun or folly, but a bypass winds around to the left. The "bypass," such as it is, would require 4WD to climb back out. At the bottom of the ravine, another bypass climbs out to the left. Other times, continuing straight is the easy route and both bypasses are washed out. Stop at the edge, survey the options, and use your good judgment.

At 0.35 miles out, Wildhorse Road passes a short spur road to the right. The spur road runs out only 400 feet to the northeast and ends at nothing, so the purpose of the road is unclear, as is the willingness of the BLM to leave it open.

At 0.65 miles out, the Wildhorse Road dips into another ravine. As with the first ravine, the road straight is either fine or quite steep and dug out, but a bypass runs around to the left. Again, check the options before committing.

At 0.96 miles out, the Wildhorse Road passes Lone Grapevine Road on the right (Site 1085). Lone Grapevine Road runs northeast and connects to Black Velvet Road and normally is 2WD-HC road.

At 1.09 miles out, the road passes a small parking area (Site 1086) on the left, dips very steeply into another ravine, and climbs straight out the other side. Trying to come back this way, climbing out of this ravine would be a problem in a 2WD-HC vehicle, so some hikers heading towards Lone Grapevine Spring or Wooden Fence Spring park here and walk the remaining 0.1 miles to the Lone Grapevine Trailhead and 0.3 miles from Wooden Fence Spring Trailhead.

At 1.19 miles out, the road arrives at Lone Grapevine Trailhead Parking (Site 1075). This parking area provides access to Lone Grapevine Spring, Wooden Fence Spring, and miles of mountain bike trails. The road condition becomes more rocky beyond this point.

The road bends hard to the left at Lone Grapevine Trailhead and runs southwest to another parking area where the road again bends hard to the left and runs southeast. The road passes a third parking area (Site 1092) that provides the shortest trail access to Wooden Fence Spring.

The road generally runs south from there with a few rocky spots, but it is still a fine 2WD-HC road. At about 2.08 miles out, the road passes a traditional camping area off to the right, and although it obviously gets use, camping is illegal in this area.

Beyond the old campsite, the road bends to the left to run southeast. At about 2.26 miles out, the road used to dip steeply into another ravine, but the bypass now serves as the main road.

At 2.42 miles out, the road arrives at a somewhat confusing 5-way intersection (Site 1987). The two roads to the left and one right are closed, but the roads left obviously get illegal use. Wildhorse Road continues ahead to the right; sometimes it is signed, but it is the most heavily used road.

Continuing ahead to the right, the road runs southwest along the edge of a bluff overlooking a broad gravel wash (Cottonwood Valley Wash), then gradually angles down into the wash. The road gets rougher approaching the bottom of wash, and depending on the recent flooding history, can deteriorate into a 2-track road.

At 2.55 miles out, the road drops into the gravel wash and turns very hard left to run northeast down the wash. There is no road here, just tracks in the gravel for about 0.2 miles. The tracks tend to the right, but the best route is not always obvious. The tracks eventually cross the wash to the right and climb onto firm ground. In 2WD vehicles, the soft gravel in the wash would make me nervous about getting stuck. For people in 2WDs driving the other direction, there is a parking area on the south side of the road just before it enters the wash.

In another 0.1 miles, for a total of 2.89 miles, Wildhorse Road returns to Highway 160 (Site 1089) where another asphalt apron, cattle guard, and gap in the roadside fence mark the end of the adventure.

Turn right onto Highway 160 and drive west 250 yards to a break in the center divider at Cottonwood Valley Road before returning to Las Vegas.