Cottonwood Pass

Total Miles
11.1

Elevation

1,526.24 ft

Duration

2 Hours

Technical Rating

3

Easy

Best Time

Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter

Show in App
Cottonwood Pass 5

Trail Overview

Cottonwood Pass runs north and south through the Spring Mountain and Red Rock conservation areas just west of Las Vegas, NV. From Blue Diamond road you can take Cottonwood Pass all the way to Goodsprings, NV. Once you get down there, you may want to stop at the Pioneer Saloon for a good burger or to visit some of the old historic ghost towns. At the end of the trail, you can take a paved road back towards the town of Jean and Interstate 15 for a short 20-30 minute drive back into Las Vegas. The first four miles of Cottonwood Pass are the most difficult. If you want to test the skid plates of a stock Rubicon, take a short 1/2 mile turn onto Cottonwood Pass West road for a 6-7 difficulty hill obstacle. Once past the this point, the trail is mostly flat and runs through typical desert terrain. There is also short turn-off from the main trail with a nice view of the Las Vegas valley.

Photos of Cottonwood Pass

Cottonwood Pass
Cottonwood Pass

Difficulty

The hill obstacle can be bypassed and is completely optional.

Technical Rating

3

Status Reports

Cody Alger
Jul 04, 2024
ATV
Open
Dusty
Rough/Deteriorated
Trail is very rocky and uneven, a couple decent hills to climb and also a 2-3 foot huge dip that is extremely dangerous about halfway through on the flat. Overall an easy 6/10 difficulty on ATV. Still very fun, however, do use caution if you haven’t hit this trail before. Pioneer saloon in Goodsprings NV is a very cool place to visit. Cottonwood is rough but fun.
Cody Newman
Jun 30, 2024
4x4
Open
Normal
Rough/Deteriorated
First time doing any real off-roading other than going out to the desert for some plinking. The trail was pretty easy and not to technical, really only one steep hill with loose rocks and some pretty small ledges. The trail is fine for full size trucks and 4x4 doesn't hurt to have for the hill , otherwise I was in 2wd the rest of the time.
Margarito Cortez
Jun 01, 2024
4x4
Open
Normal
Rough/Deteriorated
Washboard
Brian Cross
Apr 21, 2024
2021 Ford Bronco
Open
Normal
Nice trip through the desert scrub with Joshua trees and yucca. Some smooth sections where you can go “Bronco Baja,”, but mostly rough road you will want to take slow. Not challenging, just rough. Ended in Goodsprings for lunch at Pioneer Saloon which was fun and very busy. It was good to have 4x4, but any high clearance vehicle should be okay.

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