Trail Overview

This short trail runs from Lovell Canyon Road to Highway 160. You can go in either direction, though I went from Highway 160 to Lovell Canyon. You turn off the highway right onto this trail, and there are no gates or barriers to entry at the time of this writing. If you are headed towards Vegas from Pahrump, you will pass the trail, turn around when safe, and backtrack for a mile. This traipses by and through what I call Pahrump's Grand Canyon. You start on the mesa, and after a few miles, you drop into the canyon. The view from the mesa is incredible, so be sure you stop and take a few photos. The trail is mostly dirt and washes, with a few rock gardens and a hill at the end. The hill at the trail's end is a steep-ish climb that any 4WD vehicle can pass easily. As you near the end of the trail, be sure you are on the right trail to go up the hill to Lovell, if you happen to go left the trail at the fork, the trail gets very tight and was not passable in a larger SUV due to recent floods. Trees and bushes on the route may leave some desert striping.

Photos of Lovell Wash Road

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Difficulty

This trail is easy with very few obstacles to cross or avoid. There is one hill climb at the end (if heading up the mountain from Pahrump) that seems daunting though it is easily passable.

Technical Rating

Brian Cross

Nov 20, 2025

Open

Drive up Lovell Wash Road from NV 160 was enjoyable for most of the way including after dropping down into the wash, but the further I went the more washed-out and non-existent the trail became, eventually leaving me with a choice of which narrow ditch to squeeze down. Over the last mile before the point where you drive out of the wash and up the steep red rock hill, the trail is completely gone. After much reconnoitering and backtracking, I did manage to blaze my own trail to get through, past the toppled sign warning people coming from the other direction that the trail is washed out.

peter evans

Apr 24, 2025

Open