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, stop at the Pioneer Saloon for a good burger or visit some old historic ghost towns. At the trail's end, you can take a paved road towards the town of Jean and Interstate 15 for a 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 this point, the trail is mostly flat and runs through typical desert terrain. There is also a short turn-off from the main trail with a nice view of the Las Vegas Valley.

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Difficulty

The hill obstacle can be bypassed and is completely optional.

Technical Rating

dakota hetrick

Dec 29, 2025

2014 Kawasaki KLX250S

Open

Pretty rocky in some areas, minimal wash out

Nick Coyne

Dec 21, 2025

Open

NormalRough/Deteriorated

Fun trail. Unfortunately I got a late jump so I didn’t get to see the whole trail, but caught the sunset from the vantage point where you can see the strip. I did this in my new stock ‘26 Chevy WT 2WD w/ no problems at all. There were a few waves of roughness but nothing too treacherous. Slightly scraped my skid plate a few times, just lost some paint. There were a few UTVs I passed. Overall, pretty fun. Took me 2 hrs w a few stops here and there, including air-down and inflation time.

Edward Pilewski

Dec 14, 2025

2020 Jeep Wrangler

Open

NormalDusty

Road this trail from the south end of Wilson Tank Trail south into Goodsprings. Basically a rough dirt road.

Justin L

Nov 30, 2025

2023 Toyota 4Runner

Open

NormalMuddy/WetRough/Deteriorated

Saw ATVs, SXSs and mountain bikers. Mud puddle at the north end and south end. West Road 45800A is rocky as ever.

Dominic Russell

Nov 26, 2025

2017 Chevrolet Silverado

Open

Normal

Trail was very fun went after it rained and had alot of ruts but nothing to bad, done in 2wd. 4wd not needed

Nate R

Nov 17, 2025

Open

Normal

The trail is a beautiful and easily trail. There are some spots that are quite bumpy and the whoops rock you back and forth. This trail is a good one to take your time and take in the scenery.

Jody Thomas

Nov 02, 2025

2025 Subaru Crosstrek

Open

Normal

I rarely to never see anybody on here with a Subaru Wilderness so here goes. I feel I put my tires to a real test today. More rocks than I thought and some were about as much as this Subie can handle, but we did it! Everybody on the trail had a jeep or ATV. Some part I’ll rate a 3 not a 2. It was a little sketchy in some spots but doable. Where’s all the Subie off roaders?

Aaron McCook

Sep 27, 2025

Open

Jim Roal

Sep 07, 2025

2023 Husqvarna 701 Enduro

Open

NormalDusty

The hill climb on the North side of the pass used to be rutted with a groove and 4" loose rock at the bottom. Now it has been graded smooth. This was the hardest part of this trail but now it is just a gravel road. The rest of the trail is in typical condition. This is an easy trail.

Ghost RS

Jul 05, 2025

2022 Toyota Tacoma

Open

Dusty

Easy trail, you can drive all the way through and end up at Goodsprings and then back up on I15.

Pen Dayha

Jul 03, 2025

2021 Jeep Wrangler

Open

Normal

Super easy trail. First time taking the wrangler out on the trail and it was a walk in the park for this vehicle.

Alejandro Baron

May 11, 2025

Open

Dusty

Michael Cullen

Apr 18, 2025

Open

DustyWashboard

First time off-roading. Felt like a good beginner trail — just challenging enough

Kevin H

Dec 11, 2024

2024 GMC Hummer

Open

DustyRough/Deteriorated

Very rocky. nothing that can't be tackled by an SUV with decent clearance. I put the Hummer in off-road mode and left it in "D". As mentioned by others, the northern third of the road is a little more difficult, not nothing too tricky. In the southern half I was able to get up to a little over 20mph in some places.

J K

Nov 20, 2024

1993 Jeep Wrangler

Open