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Area Description
Link to Wilderness
Area Map
Access
The wilderness area can
be accessed from dirt roads that run along the northern and southern
borders, from a dirt road that runs up to the western border, from the
paved road near Nelson, and from the river. On the north side, the
Burro Wash Road runs along a powerline corridor, and (assuming dry
roads) driving to the crest of the mountains only requires a
high-clearance, 2-WD vehicle.
To get to Burro Wash from
Boulder City, turn south at the intersection of Highway 93 and Buchanan
Blvd. Buchanan intersects Highway 93 at the stoplight where Highway 93
jogs north in downtown Boulder City (driving east, if you turn left at
the stoplight, you will go to Hoover Dam; but if you turn right, you
will be on Buchanan).
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From Highway 93, drive south on Buchanan for 2.9
miles to a paved road (no street name) just before a large power
substation. Turn east (left) on the paved road and drive for 0.5 miles
to the north entrance gate of the power substation. At the gate,
continue east on the dirt road that runs parallel to the chain-link
fence. Beyond the substation fence, curve southeast on a wide, graded
dirt road that follows a line of high-tension powerlines running out
towards a saddle on the mountains to the southeast. The road passes
under other high-tension powerlines. Drive 1.8 miles across the flats
to the edge of the hills, which is also the edge of Lake Mead National
Recreation Area (marked with fencing and signs). Continue southeast for
another 4.3 miles on a graded, but rocky road to an overlook at the
head of Burro Wash. At this point, which is the end of the easy 2-WD
road, there is a parking area and a great view east into Arizona. At
this point, you first connect with the boundary of the wilderness area.
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From
the overlook, you can drive to the river in a 2-WD vehicle, but it
would be hard, if not impossible, to get back out; and the worst spot
is near the end of the road. From the overlook, the road runs steeply
down rocky switchbacks to the bottom of the canyon (Burro Wash). At a
fork in the bottom of the canyon, stay left and stay in the bottom of
the wash. The road continues down the wash as a fairly good gravel
road, but there are a few large rocks and some deep, loose gravel. From
the overlook, it is 4.8 miles to the end of the road in the canyon
(blocked by water-polished narrows). |

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Just before the narrows, the main
road cuts up and out of the canyon on the south side of the wash. The
road runs up to a saddle and forks. The main road stays right and runs
steeply down the other side of the saddle into a ravine. There is a
rough section down this road that requires 4-WD to get back up on the
way out. If you drive down to look at the rough spot, it will be hard
to back out if you decide not to do it. From the wash before crossing
the saddle, it is about 1.5 miles to the river, so it is about 1 mile
to the river from the saddle. The last bit of road runs down a narrow,
rocky canyon, and a spring in a side canyon puts water on a short
section of road. |
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