Overview

The Mormon Well Road is a long, rough, dirt road that runs across the Desert National Wildlife Range from Corn Creek to Highway 93. The road runs across the desert and over the mountains through some spectacular country, including towering limestone cliffs; broad, flat valleys; and narrow, winding canyons. The road runs through several desert vegetation life zones, starting in the very dry (stunted) Mojave Desert Scrub Zone and climbing to the Yellow Pine (Ponderosa Pine) Zone. The variety of life zones provides many different habitats for birds and other wildlife.

The Wildlife Refuge used to maintain their roads, but in recent years, funding for maintenance has been directed towards other things (for example, building an unnecessary and expensive new visitor center). As a result, all roads on the DNWR are deteriorating, and during the summer of 2010, the north end of the Mormon Well Road suffered flooding. From the campground north, the road is quite rough, but passable in a 4WD vehicle.

Link to map.

There are no structures or services of any kind, but the road passes near an old corral (on the National Register of Historic Places) that was built by Mormon pioneers. Please help preserve Nevada heritage by treading lightly on this delicate land.

For general information on camping, hiking, regulations, other issues, and the natural history of the Wildlife Refuge, see the Desert National Wildlife Range -- Area Overview page.

Watch Out

The Mormon Well Road is long and rough. A high-clearance vehicle is required if the road is dry, and a 4WD might be needed if the road is wet or washed out. There are no services. If you go out there, take at least 1 gallon of water per person, some food, and expect to be the only people out there. Be prepared to break down and spend a night waiting for help to find you. Your cell phone probably won't work.

The road is quite rough, but for the most part can be driven at about 15 mph. There are rocky spots and tight turns that seem to sneak up on you, even at low speeds. In particular, the road starting into Yucca Forest and near Sawmill Canyon always seem to be a bit rough. The Sawmill Canyon Road is 4WD only due to deep gravel.

Location

The Mormon Well Road is located on the Desert National Wildlife Range, starting about 30 minutes northwest of Las Vegas. To get there, drive out to the Information Kiosk (Table 1, Site 106) at Corn Creek Field Station. Sign the visitor register so the Refuge will get credit for your visit (use a false name if you don't want the government to track your movements, but visitor records will lead to more funding for things like road grading). Continue east for about 50 feet to a T-intersection with a large sign. The Mormon Well Road starts here and runs south (right), while the Alamo Road starts here and runs north (left).

Note: Construction of the new visitor center at Corn Creek has resulted in slight road changes in that area.

The Road

From the Corn Creek T-intersection (mile 0.0), the Mormon Well Road runs south (right) to curve (mile 0.3) where the road turns hard to the east (left) and starts up the bajada towards the mountains. The road quickly passes the Corn Creek Picnic Area (notice the grove of cottonwood trees to the left) and runs straight up the bajada towards Yucca Gap, the gap in the mountains between the Sheep Range (left) and Fossil Ridge (right).

Just before getting into Yucca Gap, the road passes Gass Peak Road (Wpt. 884; mile 4.35), which cuts off to the right. The Mormon Well Road continues straight through Yucca Gap and heads out into the Yucca Forest, a broad, gently sloping valley.

The road gradually bends to the north and starts running up along the southeastern edge of the Sheep Range. About 8.9 miles out, the road cuts right, crosses a large wash (mile 8.9), then cuts back left and resumes heading northward.

About 0.2 miles past the wash, the road again cuts right and heads eastward (mile 9.1). The Yucca Peak and Long Canyon hikes start at the large parking and traditional camping area on the outside of this curve (Site 883).

The Mormon Well Road passes Pine Nut Road (Site 424; 14.3 miles out) and continues into Peek-a-Boo Canyon (Site 108; 14.9 miles out), a deep, narrow limestone canyon with ledges and caves. The road runs up the wash, but it is suitable for 2WD high-clearance vehicles (depending on conditions). Peek-a-boo Canyon winds around, but the road generally trends northeast until breaking out of the top of the canyon into sagebrush flats. Sagebrush flats are uncommon this far south, but the elevation (over 6,000 feet) and environmental conditions combine to form suitable habitat for this species.

The road passes service roads to the east (closed to the public; leading to Wamp Spring) and continues north to a forested saddle (Site 648; mile 25.3) in the Yellow Pine (Ponderosa Pine) vegetation zone. This is the high point on the road (6,700 feet), and from here, the road starts down into the canyons.

From Mormon Well Spring (Site 630), the road continues north. The canyon gets narrower and the road gets a bit rough before getting to Sawmill Canyon (mile 30.9). Two roads run west to a gate in Sawmill Canyon, both of which require 4WD because of deep, loose gravel.

Where the road hits Sawmill Canyon Wash, it turns right and runs east. This part of the road is pretty good, but a bit bumpy. The road runs down through Elbow Canyon and around the Elbow Range, and eventually runs down the bajada to Highway 93 (mile 41.7), arriving at the highway where powerlines cross the road (about 2 miles south of Highway 168 (Site 649)).

There are a number of undeveloped traditional campsites along the Mormon Well Road, and there is a campground just north of Mormon Pass. Other than that, camping is unrestricted and you can camp anywhere, but be kind to the land and choose an existing campsite; don’t drive off-road to camp. There are some nice traditional campsites a few yards down the Gass Peak Road that have a view of town (nice lights at night, and there are a few nice sites in the Yucca Gap and Yucca Forest areas that are more of a wilderness experience. There is a traditional campsite at the Mormon Well parking area. In addition to these, there are many other places to just pull off the road and camp.

Sawmill Canyon Road (30.9 miles out) runs west for about 0.4 miles to a gate and the Sawmill Canyon Trailhead. This is a 4WD-only road because of deep, loose gravel at the gate. Driving along, the road is fine until it drops into the wash and you realize that you are in loose gravel. At that point, in a 2WD you have to keep going to prevent getting stuck, but then you get to the gate, and it is all over. I got stuck here, the most stuck I have ever been in Nevada, but Liz helped dig and push us out. I've been back in 4WD vehicles, and it didn't seem so bad, so maybe the conditions depend on recent rains.

The Mormon Well Road is great place to get away from it all, but remember that this is wild and remote country -- you could be the only person out there for a long time.

End of text.

Boundary sign at the north end of the Mormon Well Road (looking into the wildlife refuge; view west). This part of the road is now (summer 2010) quite rough.