Overview

The Gold Butte Backcountry Byway is a 62-mile scenic drive that starts near the town of Mesquite, Nevada, and heads south into the wild and rugged Gold Butte Region. At first, the road is paved (a bit rough), then it becomes graded dirt, and finally, it is just a narrow dirt track across the desert and up a sandy wash.

The backroad section of the Gold Butte Backcountry Byway is a scenic dirt road out in the wilds where the scenery is grand, the expanse vast, and the wilderness almost pristine. Driving the entire backroad section probably requires a 4WD, if only for insurance in the sandy Mud Wash. Except for Mud Wash, the road can be driven in a 2WD high-clearance vehicle, and the Gold Butte Road can be driven in a sedan as far as Gold Butte Townsite (weather permitting).

Link to 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 a big place out there. Someone will find you eventually if you stay on a main road, but be prepared to survive alone for a day or two.

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 Backroad Section of the Gold Butte Backcountry Byway

The Gold Butte Backcountry Byway is located out in the Gold Butte Region northeast of Lake Mead, about 2 hours northeast of Las Vegas in a wild, remote, and scenic area.

The official Gold Butte Backcountry Byway begins as you pull off Interstate 15 at Exit 112, about five miles south of Mesquite. Exiting the Interstate onto Highway 170 (towards Bunkerville) (Table 1, Site 010) starts the journey into wildlands as the highway winds down desert hillsides towards the Virgin River. Just across the river, the Byway turns west onto Gold Butte Road (Site 020; watch for signs to Meadowland Farm) and follows down along the south side of the verdant Virgin River.

Gold Butte Road abruptly turns south and away from the Virgin River as it climbs towards the western flanks of Virgin Peak. The rough, but paved road runs south along the west side of the Virgin Peak to the end of the pavement at Whitney Pocket (Site 060), a scenic area with upturned and sculpted red-and-white sandstone crags. This is a popular camping area, and it make a good place to stop and enjoy the solitude and scenery for those who don't want to stray far from the paved road.

For the more adventuresome, continue south on the mostly well-graded dirt road. The road can suddenly get rough, so drive carefully and try not to drive too fast.

From Whitney Pocket (Site 060), drive south on Gold Butte Road for 7.25 miles to a signed turnoff to Devils Throat and Red Bluff Spring (Site 070). As I describe it, this is the end of the backroad section of the Gold Butte Backcountry Byway loop.

Either now or when you get back, take a few minutes to see Devil's Throat, which is about 0.4 miles from the main road. From the main road, you can look down the side road and out into the desert to see the chain-link fence that surrounds the sink hole.

Continue south on Gold Butte Road. There are some side roads, but Gold Butte Road is the main road, and it trends generally south and slightly west staying to the right along the base of Tramp Ridge. When the Gold Butte Road swings around the south end of Tramp Ridge and runs west, keep an eye out for the Gold Butte Townsite on the south side of the road. There are some corrals, and shortly after that is the townsite (Site 100).

Gold Butte Townsite is the site of the historic mining town of Gold Butte, which was established in 1908. For the day, it was a full-service town with a post office and everything. The miners extracted copper, gold, lead, and zinc from Gold Butte (the mountain) for several years. The area is littered with evidence of mining, including a deep near-vertical shaft, old equipment, the remains of old mills, and cement foundations, but all of the buildings are gone. The graves of Arthur Coleman and William Garrett give silent testament to two men who lived and worked together at Gold Butte from the 19-teens until they died in 1958 and 1961, respectively. They lived together in a cabin that sat near the grave site.

If you go more than a few feet too far down the main road, you will see the signed turnoff to Red Bluff Spring. This is where the backroad section of the Gold Butte Backcountry Byway starts.

The Backroad

From Gold Butte Townsite (Site 100), the backroad portion of the backcountry byway heads north across the desert running up between Tramp Ridge to the east and Lime Ridge to the west. Lime Ridge is a designated wilderness area, and a side road marked by a large wilderness area sign (Site 720) leads down to the mouth of Lime Canyon, a great hike into a narrow canyon.

In Mud Wash, it is a short distance downstream to Red Bluff Spring (Site 390), although there is some confusion about which routes are legally open to vehicles.

After visiting Red Bluff Spring, turn around and head upstream in Mud Wash. The road stays in the wash, passes old corrals (Site 360), and eventually climbs into the desert on the south side of the wash (Site 340), passes Devil's Throat (Site 310), and returns to Gold Butte Road (Site 070).

Watch for petroglyphs in along the wash (Site 350). For details of the road in Mud Wash, see the Mud Wash Road webpage.

At Gold Butte Road, turn left and drive north heading for home. You will have had a grand adventure.