A big part of our time on the road is spent exploring areas. Our ride the other day is a perfect example! We rode some gravel roads just outside Lake Mead National Recreation Area. We rode up and down through the canyons by Lava Butte for a total of 23 miles with 1706′ of climbing.
From the parking lot we started by riding up Kodachrome Road which is a rocky gravel road. Thankfully we were on mountain bikes because it would be pretty rough on an actual gravel bike with skinnier tires. It’s a pretty gentle climb to the highpoint before descending on a twisty road over to the Vegas side. Disappointingly, there was a lot of trash and illegal dumping down towards the bottom. At the bottom we turned and headed up Lava Butte gravel road.
Lava Butte is fairly prominent with dark iron oxide covered lava rocks littering the sides. On the climb up we passed lots of colorful rock formations and the views got better. Again, the climb is pretty gentle and there is a lot to see back in the canyon. Power lines mar the view, but I bet if you hiked up to the top of Lava Butte you could get a sweet picture that looks down on the twisty road. This is a popular off road vehicle area so if you are here on a weekend you should expect company.
We spent the warm evening sitting outside watching the colors change over Lake Mead. Not too shabby.
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