Overview

The Gold Butte Road, which starts near the town of Mesquite, Nevada, is the gateway to the wild and rugged Gold Butte Region. The first 21 miles to Whitney Pocket are paved. Beyond Whitney Pocket, the road becomes graded dirt and the real wildness starts. The relatively well maintained road runs through spectacular country and leads to places such as Gold Butte Townsite, Devil's Throat, the Gold Butte Backcountry Byway, Scanlon Dugway, and a whole lot of grand scenery.

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 if you get off the main road).

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.

Road Guide

Gold Butte Road is located out in the Gold Butte Region northeast of Lake Mead, about 2 hours northeast of Las Vegas.

From Las Vegas, drive out Interstate 15 to about 8 miles before Mesquite (Exit 112), then head south to Whitney Pocket. For details of this section of the road, see the description of the Gold Butte Road (paved section).

The pavement ends 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 makes 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 don't drive too fast even if you can. Birders might want to take the Arizona Road up into the Virgin Mountains to look for birds of the desert mountains.

From Whitney Pocket, Gold Butte Road passes Arizona Road (Site 060), which runs east and up over the mountains into Arizona. Gold Butte Road heads south as it runs broad and smooth out into the wildness and grandeur of the Gold Butte Region. The road generally runs downhill for the first 7 miles or so. Towards the far side of a broad basin, Gold Butte Road passes Mud Wash Road (Site 070), which turns off to the west. This road runs 0.4 miles out to Devil's Throat and then on down Mud Wash to Red Bluff Spring. This is also one end of the Gold Butte Backcountry Byway.

Beyond Mud Wash Road, Gold Butte Road continues south and begins to climb towards the northeast edge of Tramp Ridge. After only 1.8 miles, Gold Butte Road passes St. Thomas Gap Road (Site 080), which turns off to the east and heads for Arizona.

About 4 miles farther along, the road bends hard to the left and cuts up and across a steep hillside. At the top of the hill, the road cuts hard to the right and continues off to the south. Remember this spot on the way back, as it is easy to drive too fast and not see the cliff and sharp turn coming up.

Gold Butte Road continues south along the edge of Tramp Ridge. After another 7.5 miles, Devil's Cove Road forks off to the left (Site 090) and heads through some rough country and down to Lake Mead.

Gold Butte Road continues south and begins to swing around the south end of Tramp Ridge. After another 3.6 miles, the road arrives at the Gold Butte Townsite (to the south) and the south end of the Gold Butte Backcountry Byway (to the north). This is the end of Gold Butte Road (Site 100).

In total, including the 3.5 miles on the Bunkerville Road (Hwy 170) and the 21.2 miles of pavement to Whitney Pocket, it is 44.9 miles from Interstate-15 to Gold Butte Townsite.

Explore the townsite, then return to the pavement by retracing your path to the townsite, or in a 4WD vehicle, return via the Backcountry Byway.