Review Date
March 21, 2011

Overall Rating
 4 of 5

Aerobic Difficulty
 4 of 5

Technical Difficulty
 4 of 5

Ridden Trail:
Once a month

Reviewed by: Eric ,  Weekend Warrior

Summary:
A fun trail if you are looking for a good workout with a rewarding finish. The Good: Nice singletrack trails that fork in many directions offering a lot of different rides. Great views of the red rock canyon and ultimately the Las Vegas Valley if you make it to the lookout. The Bad: A lot of climbing (for you DH'ers and Free Riders) some very sandy and rough trails beaten up by the horses.

Recommended Route:
Take Bunny trail (first trail on right as you pass through gate). Follow up to the fork, take left fork (Fossil Canyon). Once at the top you can cut back to the left and take the "First Finger" a fun ride but adds unnecessary distance on if you are wanting to save some energy for the down. You can skip it by going a few yard further and taking an old service road up a quarter mile or so. It will pretty much end and take a left. You will see a fork, take it right to go into SARS. Follow this trail all the way around to the Radio Tower and ultimately the Lookout. Take the trail at the top heading right (Ridge Line). This is a fun, short, technical ride with some decent 3-4 foot drops. Take a left and your on (Tre Amigos). You will go down one canyon and up another and down again. There is a fork to the right (Bob Gnarly) DO NOT TAKE!! This trail is Bad!! No Flow and very rocky. It is a waste of a climb. Best is to hike bike up out of canyon again and you will meet up at the head of Bone Shaker. Take this. You can head back up the trail and go back through, First Finger, and Fossil canyon, but this is too much climbing for me.

Other recommended trails in the same area:
Bootleg

Review Date
August 26, 2010

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Aerobic Difficulty
 3 of 5

Technical Difficulty
 4 of 5

Ridden Trail:
Once a week

Reviewed by: DrHog ,  Cross Country Rider

Summary:
This is a great area that doesn't get a ton of attention from local riders. I think part of this is that there really isn't an easy trail in the whole system, so you need to get comfortable on the MTB somewhere else first, and then hone your skills here. Also, there are some great FR/DH trails, but no shuttle option, so I think some of those riders ride elsewhere. These trails are best done with a long travel XC or all mountain rig with substantial rubber (2.2" or more). If you don't mind pedaling your FR/DH bike up to the top of Boneshaker, by all means bring it--you can't have too much travel here. It's best to bring a buddy on these trails; epic crashes are possible and cell service is for the most part non-existent. Views here are awe-inspiring; the red rock cliffs are just to the west, and the views across Vegas are great if you make it to the top of the ridge.

This network is now viewable from your iPhone if you have the Motion-X GPS app. Just download the O-Terrain maps for the immediate area before you ride, and you should be able to orient yourself to all of the named trails as you ride. Also search the picture link near the first posting for a trail network map.

Recommended Route:
The Basic Climb: Go up Bunny and shift over to Fossil Canyon at the first junction. Steady intermediate climbing over some rocky obstacles, most of which are doable with practice. Trail tops out on the dirt road.

Intermediate Options: First and Second Finger trails, Outer Loop.

To the Top: If you'd like to see the great view of Vegas from the ridge, or want access to the gnarlier trails, take SARS (aka Anti-SARS) past the radio tower to the top of the ridge.

Easiest Way Down: Retrace back through SARS to Fossil Canyon or Cat N the Hat, then down Bunny. Rock Garden is a punishing trail with lots of sharp volcanic rock, but not a lot of dropoffs.

Extreme Downhills: There are 3 difficult routes down the ridges on the east side. Ridge and Bomb Voyage flirt with exposure, but are the easier paths. Bob Gnarly is in the creekbed and not very flowy. Boneshaker combines some nice upper flow with big drops and tight switchbacks to finish.

Other recommended trails in the same area:
Blue Diamond/Cottonwood network (easier overall)

Review Date
November 18, 2009

Overall Rating
 3 of 5

Aerobic Difficulty
 4 of 5

Technical Difficulty
 4 of 5

Ridden Trail:
Ridden Once

Visitors rate this review
5.00 of 5, 1.00 votes

Reviewed by: poppawheeley ,  Weekend Warrior

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.

Review Date
October 3, 2009

Overall Rating
 4 of 5

Aerobic Difficulty
 4 of 5

Technical Difficulty
 4 of 5

Ridden Trail:
Ridden Once

Reviewed by: pangster ,  Cross Country Rider

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

Review Date
January 24, 2009

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Aerobic Difficulty
 4 of 5

Technical Difficulty
 4 of 5

Ridden Trail:
Once a week

Reviewed by: bikemikemc ,  Weekend Warrior

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.