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Cowboy Trails
8 reviews
3.88 of 5
This is a fun, semi-technical to semi-sick, stacked loop trail system located in the Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area near Las Vegas. Take the trail immidiately to the right after entering the gate which follows a semi-sandy wash for a quarter mile or so then starts to climb. Once on the trail there are no trail markers, but it''s easy to follow the trail and a small enough area that you can''t get lost. Take left turns and you''ll have a smaller loop, right turns for longer loop with more climbing and mix some rights and some lefts for an intemediate loop(s). Several options. The surface is mostly packed dirt or decomposing rock, with frequent rocky sections and rock steps. Some switchbacks, some ledges, and some exposure. Lots of sharp rocks, cactus and sticker bushes to catch you if you fall. Keep climbing towards the radio towers and you''ll end up at an awesome overlook of the Las Vegas valley. From there descend the way you came (with alternate options at every fork)for a less technical but fun return or turn right at the antenna for a couple of more techy descent options. The highlight of which is the Bone shaker which has like 20, 2-4 foot drops linked together in a steep, fun, technical screamfest.
To get to the trailhead, just drive all the way to the end of West Charleston out of Vegas. Stop by Escape Adventures/Las Vegas Cyclery http://www.escapeadventures.com/lasvegas_bike_shop/ on your way out for maps of the trail. West Charleston becomes Hwy 159/Blue Diamond Road as you enter the Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area. About 3 miles in look for the a parking area on the left side of the road about 1 mile past the turnoff to the visitor center with a big sign announcing "Horseback Rides". Park here.
http://www.mapquest.com/maps/map.adp?country=US&addtohistory=&formtype=address&searchtype=address&cat=&address=&city=Las%20Vegas&state=NV&zipcode=&searchtab=home
Summary: Took the girlfriend again. And another first time rider.
Not the right location for the new comer though I loved it. I mostly ride out at Bootleg so Cowboy trails were mostly familiar terrain to me. The decomposing rock was something new. And there is a lot of lose cracked up rocks on the trail. The scenery, the views, are really special. The Joshua Trees and the Yucca etc.. make this much more of a true desert ride. Great for pictures etc.. I met some other riders on the trail and they recommended I take my friends down to the Blue Diamond area and do the "Late Night" trail. Great recommendation. Smooth hard single track with lots of fun ups and downs.
Cowboy trail is awesome. I loved it. If the folks you are riding with think that you suit up with armor just for the fun of it or to look cool. I recommend a different trail for them.
Recommended Route: from hendo take 215 west to windmill. exit west. drive out of town past 159 heading towards pahrump. watch for a paved lot on your right with bathrooms, trail maps and spanish trail info
Other recommended trails in the same area: late night ride. dinosaur teeth.
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Summary: semi-techical trail with climbing and great decents. let's not forget the stunning views. the rocks are sharp so watch out. i'm tubeless and i ended up with three sidewall tears.
Recommended Route: CCW. park outside the riding stables gate and the trail head is on the right after you enter the gate. stay right the rest of the way. i was from out of town and had no problems finding the route.
Other recommended trails in the same area: bootleg (the best)
cottonmill
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Summary: Amazing. Vegas recently received some rain and the trails were in perfect condition, tacky and dust free and righteously packed. The climb out of the staging area is amazing and the views (when you can afford to take your eyes off the front wheel) are spectacular. Great variety of fast sweeping hard pack with technical features, drops and plenty of cacti. Pedal grabbing, derailleur breaking, wrist spraining and endorphine feeding trail action.
Recommended Route: Up Fossil to Outer Loop to The Top. Down the ridge to first finger back to fossil.
Other recommended trails in the same area: Cottonwood and Bootleg Canyon.
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Summary: SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD! We rode this trail while on our way to Moab this year. Highly techincal and excellent views of Red Rocks made this a perfect "opener" to our week long trip. It is now on the permenant list of road trip rides.
The ride up was an excellent series of techincal step ups and up hill rock gardens.
Recommended Route: We rode a loop in a counter clock-wise direction. From the parking lot, we took off on the first trail we found on the right. From there we just stayed to the right at every intersection. After a couple of miles of right turns you will come to "Bone Shaker". Take "Bone Shaker" back down hill.
Starts out as a flowy and fast single track. Quickly gets techincal with rock drops a couple of rock gardens and ends on some steep loose and scary single track.... SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD.
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Summary: These trails are for experienced technical riders or those wanting to take on that challenge. I do not recommend this trail for beginners. A decent level of fitness as well as good bike handling skills are mandatory. The trail consists of loose gravel/sand over hardpack and many rocks/lava stone. I recommend hard tires. The area is full of cactus so bring plenty of tubes and a pump. With all of that being said, these trails are challenging and fun. Ride the sections you can, try some you think you can clean and walk the rest. Each trip will definitely increase your skills. Crashing will be painfull. I rode my Rocky Mountain Slayer with Nevegal 2.35 DTC tires and they were destroyed. Sidewalls were to thin for the lava stone. A great ride for small and intermediate drops. Do not expect a high speed course ride. The ride is more about step ups, drops and steep angles. I will ride it once in awhile for the training but for a good speed workout I will go to the Mustang and Cottonwood trails. Several people wore pads. Probably smart since I crashed three times.
Recommended Route: Go up Bunny. Hit any of the connectors. If you have a big hit bike descend on Bone Shaker 4 and 5 foot drops are common, otherwise return on Bunny. Don't be misled, Bunny is tough but it is the easier of all the trails there.
Other recommended trails in the same area: Mustang Trails - easy to beginner cross country
Cottonwood Valley - interdiate cross country
Bootleg Canyon - intermediate to advanced cross country
intermediate to expert downhill
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