Trail Overview

This trail begins and ends in the heart of Whitney pockets just outside of Mesquite, Nevada. It takes you through graded two-lane roads with a few washes. Before the arrival at Grand Goldmine, there is a steep incline with some intermediate rock crawling. You could spend hours exploring the area that includes bunkhouses, blacksmith shops and some very old dump trucks. The Grand Gulch staircase was originally developed for the mule train wagons to deliver copper into Saint Thomas Nevada. The drop into it has some more minor rock crawling for about one mile. Then it is a single-land that is just wide enough for a Jeep or a large SxS, but offers some of the most fantastic scenery Arizona and Nevada have to offer. The temperatures in the summer can be extreme for both individuals and vehicles, so avoid this area during the summer.

Photos of Grand Gulch Mine and Staircase

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Difficulty

Most of the lower roads could be completed in a stock suv. The exceptions are prior to the arrival at grand Goldmine is a long steep rock crawling that would require a modified vehicle or could be done in a SxS with 30" tires. Dropping into the Grand Gulch staircase is a steep descent with large rocks that need to be navigated.

Technical Rating

Chris Beer

Jun 28, 2025

Open

Went to Grand Gulch Mine as part of a beginning off-roaders class. The stretch through Grand Gulch Canyon our guide said had significantly deteriorated since he last took it a year ago. He said what used to be a 5 is now a 7. It was very difficult for us beginners. My Bronco took some damage to the lower rear shock mounts. I wouldn’t do it again without a higher lift and 37” or 40” tires, but skilled drivers can probably do it with less.

Mike Hoppe

Mar 13, 2025

Open

This ride was done with 2 RZR's and a can am commander 4 seat so definitely passable with a sxs but BE WARNED if you are afraid of heights this trail isn't for you. Going in and out of the gulch you will be doing some rock climbing. You will have to ride around a cliff wall for quite a while that is big enough for a sxs but is a few hundred feet straight down over the edge. Over all it's a great trail with beautiful scenery if you can stomach riding the narrow cliff ledge.

Justin Edelman

Oct 12, 2024

Open

Apparently a couple years ago the trail in grand gulch canyon got pretty washed out and destroyed from the rain. It hasnt been cleaned up or fixed since then. There is a lot of steps, large rocks and you would need to have a rock crawler in a lot of the areas we were riding through. This is not an easy trail by any means.