The Eldorado Wilderness Road, West Powerline Wash Road and Sand Wash Road trails are all in the "Near Boulder" folder and really are starting to fill in the trails for the area running down to Black Canyon and the Colorado River.
The Powerline Wash Road trail is almost in the same area as these three except that its trailhead is south of the Keyhole Canyon trailhead, and closer to Searchlight than Boulder.
While the first three head toward the water, the Powerline Wash road runs through the peaks in the Knob Hill area – and surprisingly it is a good road for one so serpentiginous.
For your convenience, I've displayed the full trail descriptions below.
West Powerline Wash Road
West Powerline Wash Road (Lake Mead Route 42B)Description: Difficulty: 2/10; ATV, SUV; Scenic: 8/10; Length: 17 mi. one way; Time: 1.5 hr. one way; Open: Year-round
Location: Start: While heading south on US 95, I took a left turn under the appropriate powerlines across the median. Not sure whether that’s a legal maneuver, but mine weren’t the first tire tracks there. The roughest part of this road was crossing the cattle guard at this location. The area around the cattle guard was a bit washed out.; End: The trail ends on Aztec Wash trail in the Lake Mead National Recreation Area.
Things to see: When I first scoped out the map of this trail, I thought that it would potentially be pretty challenging. There are a lot of switchbacks, and the elevation changes are pretty extreme. Based on my experiences with other powerline roads in the area, I was geared up to face a challenging road. What I found, however, was the best maintained dirt road in the Lake Mead Rec Area, particularly in the mountainous portion of the trail. I wouldn’t take a passenger car on this road, due to the need for a decent breakover angle arising from water drainage channels. That isn’t to say that this is a boring drive. The first portion across the valley floor isn’t very exciting, but then you get to Knob Hill and the drive down on the other side involves great panoramic views and a dramatic road with steep drop offs and great views. Like I mentioned before, the trail wasn’t challenging, and I never even engaged my 4WD.
Source/Maps: ; Lake Mead NRA Hoover Dam Area Approved Backcountry Roads (Map 2).
Created by: GPS Track; Verified by: Michael Davidson (08/2010)
The woods are lovely, dark and deep. But I have promises to keep, and miles to go before I sleep.”
Powerline Wash Road
Powerline Wash Road (Lake Mead Route 42)Description: Difficulty: 2/10; ATV, SUV; Scenic: 7/10; Length: 1.3 mi. one way; Time: 5 min. one way; Open: Year-round
Location: Start: The trail starts near the end of the Aztec Wash Trail.; End: The trail ends on the shore of Lake Mohave.
Things to see: The Powerline Wash Cove is a good looking cove that has a nice sand/gravel beach with excellent swimming characteristics. It is right next to a high voltage powerlines, which is visible on google earth. These powerlines buzz, loudly. It’s a little unnerving.
Source/Maps:Submitted trail ; Lake Mead NRA Hoover Dam Area Approved Backcountry Roads (Map 2).
Created by: GPS Track; Verified by: Michael Davidson (08/2010)
Sand Wash Road
Sand Wash Road (Lake Mead Route 48)Description: Difficulty: 4/10; ATV, SUV; Scenic: 6/10; Length: 1.5 mi. one way; Time: .4 hr. one way; Open: Year-round
Location: Start: This trail branches off of the Eldorado Wilderness Road.; End: The end of this trail is marked by a short fence.
Things to see: If you like the desert, this is a good trail. The sand/gravel bed of the road is soft and deep, so you may wish to deflate your tires a bit if you don’t have good traction normally. There is a lot of yucca and other cactus life, as well as burros and other desert animals.
Source/Maps: ; Lake Mead NRA Hoover Dam Area Approved Backcountry Roads (Map 2).
Created by: GPS Track; Verified by: Michael Davidson (08/2010)
Eldorado Wilderness Road
Eldorado Wilderness Road (Lake Mead Route 49)Description: Difficulty: 4/10; ATV, SUV, 4WD; Scenic: 7/10; Length: 7.2 mi. one way; Time: 1 hr. one way; Open: Year-round
Location: Start: The trail starts east of Nelson, NV off of NV Route 165. The turnoff is directly after the visitor center for the Techatticup Mine, which is worth a visit if you have an interest in Nevada mining history.; End: The trail ends at a narrow portion of the canyon the road is following.
Things to see: I found this trail entertaining but not challenging. Deep sand, some steep grades and uneven driving surfaces give the trail an element of fun. The trail skirts the Eldorado Wildness Area, and would be a good jumping off point to explore the area in more detail.
Source/Maps: ; Lake Mead NRA Hoover Dam Area Approved Backcountry Roads (Map 2).
Created by: GPS Track; Verified by: Michael Davidson (08/2010)
1 comments:
As a bit of an update: my wife, son and I did this trail again Saturday morning. The place was crawling with desert big horn sheep ... I saw at least 20 over a couple of miles because they kept running across the road. I must have driven past plenty of them without seeing them because they failed to jump out in front of my jeep.
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