Overview

Black Butte Road is one of the side roads off Gold Butte Road that provides 2WD, high-clearance vehicle access to the wild and rugged Gold Butte Region west of Whitney Pocket. From the pavement, Black Butte Road runs southwest to the Falling Man Petroglyph Site. After the trailhead, the road gets rougher and is better suited for 4WD vehicles. The road runs down into a big wash and forks. From the fork, one branch runs up onto the flanks of Bitter Ridge and just ends, but it provides a trailhead for Bitter Ridge and grand views out over the area. The other fork runs to the west across open desert and connects with the Gentry Ranch Road (Lake Mead Road 113) near the Virgin River.

Link to area road map or regional road map.

Watch Out

Other than the standard warnings about hiking in the desert, ... this is a wild and remote area without services of any kind (no restrooms, no water, no gas, no food). Bring what you need to survive. Be prepared and be self-reliant. A BLM Ranger patrols the area, but it is big country out there. Someone will find you eventually if you stay on a main road, but be prepared to survive alone for a day or more on side roads.

While out, please respect the land and the other people out there, and try to Leave No Trace of your passage. Also, this is a remote area, so be sure to bring the 10 Essentials.

Getting to the Roadhead

Black Butte Road is located out in the Gold Butte Region northeast of Lake Mead, about 1.75 hours northeast of Las Vegas.

From Las Vegas, drive out to Gold Butte. From Whitney Pocket (Table 1, Site 060), turn around and drive back 1.5 miles on Gold Butte Road to just past the last big red sandstone crag on the left side of the road (Site 050). An unmarked dirt road leaves the pavement to the west: this is Black Butte Road.

Alternatively, from Gentry Ranch Road (Site 040), drive southeast for 5.4 miles on Gold Butte Road to Black Butte Road (Site 050).

The Road

From the pavement (Site 050), Black Butte Road angles away from the pavement and passes along the north side of a large sandstone crag with a number of informal campsites around the base. Spur roads lead to the campsites, but the main road continues to the southwest.

Farther along, more side roads branch off from Black Butte Road to the south, but they are obviously not the main road. These roads lead back to Gold Butte Road, but they are not better than Black Butte Road and are not a shortcut to Whitney Pocket.

At 1.2 miles from the pavement (Site 210), the road forks equally. The two forks rejoin about 1 mile ahead, but the left (south) fork leads to the Falling Man petroglyph site.

Staying to the left for another 0.7 miles, the road leads to pole fencing that delineates trailhead parking area for the Falling Man Petroglyph Site (Site 220). The walk is short and the area is interesting, so be sure to stop and take the walk.

The road continues to the southwest through the trailhead parking area, rejoins the other fork in the road, and continues towards Black Butte.

The road runs up over a low ridge on the northwest flank of Black Butte, then drops into a large wash on the west edge of Black Butte. The road forks again here. The left fork runs steeply at times up onto the flanks of Bitter Ridge and ends for no apparent reason. The spot does, however, provide grand views all around and trailhead access to Bitter Ridge.

The right fork continues down the big wash through the mountains and out onto the flats beyond. This fork eventually connects with the Gentry Ranch Road (Lake Mead Road 112).