Overview

Wildhorse Loop Road is an unmaintained backcountry road north of Highway 160 (the road to Pahrump) that provides 4WD access to the wild backcountry of Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area at the base of the Red Rock Escarpment. Wildhorse Loop Road makes a horseshoe-shaped loop, both ends of which require 4WD, although the east end is worse. The rest of the road is fine for high-clearance vehicles.

Wildhorse Loop Road is 2.9 miles long and loops through the desert between Mustang Hill and the Red Rock Escarpment. Camping is not permitted along the road.

Link to map.

Watch Out

Other than the standard warnings about driving in the desert, ...this is a 4WD road. Under normal conditions, the road is suitable for any 4WD, but I would stay off the road if it is muddy.

While out, please respect the land and the other people out there, and try to Leave No Trace of your passage. Also, even though this road is short, be sure to bring what you need of the 10 Essentials.

Getting to the Roadhead

From town, drive out to Red Rocks. From West Charleston at the entrance to the Scenic Loop Road (Table 1, Site 0519), continue west on Charleston Blvd (Hwy 159) all the way past Blue Diamond town to Highway 160 (Site 0848). Turn right onto Highway 160, towards Pahrump, and drive west for 5.0 miles. Watch for the paved Late Night Trailhead Parking area, which is 0.3 miles before Wildhorse Loop Road.

A paved roadway apron, a cattle guard, and a gap in the roadside fence on the right side of the highway mark the beginning of Wildhorse Loop Road (Site 1090). There is no sign.

Wildhorse Loop Road makes a "loop" of sorts. The west end of the loop (Site 1089) is another 0.7 miles up the highway to the west.

The Road

From the pavement (Site 1090), the road runs northwest angling away from the highway. Bike trails and closed roads crisscross near the highway, but the winding Wildhorse Loop Road generally is obvious as it bends to the left and then to the right.

At only 0.20 miles out, the road arrives at the edge of a steep ravine. Continuing straight would be either great fun or folly, but a bypass winds around to the left and drops into the ravine. The "bypass," such as it is however, would require 4WD to climb back out. At the bottom of the ravine, another bypass climbs out to the left.

Beyond the bottom of the ravine, the road requires only a high-clearance vehicle, although about 0.2 miles of soft gravel near the end of the road could be a problem.

At 0.35 miles out, the Wildhorse Loop Road passes a short spur road to the right. The spur road runs out only 400 feet to the northeast and ends at nothing, so the purpose of the road is unclear, as is the willingness of the BLM to leave it open.

At 0.65 miles out, the Wildhorse Loop Road dips into another ravine. The road straight out is quite steep and dug out, but an easy bypass runs around to the left.

At 0.96 miles out, the Wildhorse Loop Road passes Lone Grapevine Road on the right (Site 1085). Lone Grapevine runs northeast and connects to Black Velvet Road.

At 1.09 miles out, the road passes a parking area (Site 1086) on the left, dips steeply into another ravine, and climbs straight out the other side. Climbing back out of this ravine could be a problem in a 2WD vehicle, so some hikers park here.

At 1.19 miles out, the road arrives at Lone Grapevine Trailhead Parking (Site 1075). This parking area provides access to Lone Grapevine Spring, Wooden Fence Spring, and miles of mountain bike trails. The road condition deteriorates beyond this point.

The road bends hard to the left at the Lone Grapevine Trailhead and runs southwest to another parking area where the road again bends hard to the left and runs southeast. The road passes a third parking area (Site 1092) that provides the shortest trail access to Wooden Fence Spring.

The road generally runs south from there with a few rocky spots, but it is still a fine high-clearance road. At about 2.08 miles out, the road passes a traditional camping area off to the right, and although it obviously gets use, it is an illegal campsite.

Beyond the campsite, the road bends to the left to run southeast. At about 2.26 miles out, the road dips steeply into the last ravine, but a bypass runs around to the right.

At 2.42 miles out, the road arrives at a 4-way intersection (Site 1987). The two roads to the left are closed, but they obviously get illegal use. The main road turns to the right, is signed, and is the most heavily used road.

Continuing to the right, the road runs southwest along the edge of a bluff overlooking a broad wash, then gradually drops into the wash. The road gets rougher as it approaches the wash and deteriorates into a 2-track road.

At 2.55 miles out, the road drops into the gravel wash and turns very hard to the left to run northeast down the wash. There is no road here, just tracks in the soft gravel for about 0.2 miles. The tracks tend to the right, but the best route is not always obvious. The tracks eventually cross the wash to the right and climb onto firm ground on the other side. In a 2WD vehicle, the soft gravel in the wash would make me nervous about getting stuck. For people in 2WD vehicles driving the other direction, there is a parking area on the south side of the road just before it enter the wash.

In another 0.1 miles, for a total of 2.89 miles, Wildhorse Loop Road arrives a Highway 160 (Site 1089) where another asphalt apron, cattle guard, and gap in the roadside fence mark the end of the adventure.