Overview

The Whitney Pocket is a popular undeveloped camping and picnic area way out in the desert nestled up against sculpted red-and-white sandstone crags at the foot of limestone-gray Virgin Peak. Humans have a long history here, evidenced by rock art and agave-roasting pits left by the ancients, and cement dams and other structures left by ranchers and the Civilian Conservation Crops (CCC). Modern people leave trash and a lot of toilet paper, but the BLM has plans to develop a formal campground here.

This is an interesting place to visit and commune with the history and scenery of this wild and rugged region.

Link to map.

Watch Out

Other than the standard warnings about hiking in the desert, ... this area is fairly safe, but the Gold Butte Region is a wild and remote area, and there are no services out there.

While visiting Whitney Pocket, 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.

Be sure to bring trash bags to clean up after people who care less about wild places than we do.

Trail Guide
Getting to the Trailhead

Whitney Pocket is located out in the Gold Butte Region at the northeast end of Lake Mead, about 2 hours northeast of Las Vegas in a wild, remote, and scenic area.

From Las Vegas, drive east on Interstate-15 to Highway 170 (Table 1, Site 010). Exit towards Bunkerville, cross the Virgin River, turn right onto the paved Gold Butte Road (Site 020), and follow it to Whitney Pocket (Site 060).

The Area

At the end of the pavement, the main road forks. The now unpaved Gold Butte Road continues straight towards the south, and the Arizona Road turns left and runs east into Arizona. The Arizona Road leads over the mountains into Arizona, but not before passing campsites and historic structures adjacent to the sandstone crags. At the main fork in the road, campsites also are nestled among sandstone crags west of Gold Butte Road.

There are no signs or other formal attractions; rather, this is an area to poke around and look for interesting things.