Overview

Black Butte Dam was built decades ago by ranchers to hold rainwater that was then piped to watering troughs for use by cattle. Back in the old days when it rained regularly, the system probably worked well, but with the land drying out in the modern age, the dam holds back sand and the occasional pond after a summer thunderstorm. When the pond is full, be sure to look for fairy shrimp and other tiny creatures in the water.

Link to hiking map.

Watch Out

Other than the standard warnings about hiking in the desert, ... this route is short, easy, and about as safe as they get, but do be careful on the rocks around the dam.

Twenty-one Goats Road may require a 4WD vehicle, but usually 2WD-HC is sufficient. Use your own good judgment as road conditions change.

This is a wild and remote area without services of any kind (no restrooms, no water, no gas, no food). Bring what you need to survive. Be prepared and be self-reliant. Someone will find you eventually if you stay on a main road, but be prepared to survive alone for a day or two. Cell phones only work along parts of the paved road.

While hiking, please respect the land and the other people out there, and try to Leave No Trace of your passage. Also, even though this hike is short, the area is remote, so be sure to bring what you need of the 10 Essentials. Cell phones don't work in this area.

Getting to the Trailhead

Black Butte Dam is located out in Gold Butte National Monument at the northeast end of Lake Mead, about 2.5 hours northeast of Las Vegas in a wild, remote, and scenic area.

From town, drive out to Gold Butte National Monument. From Whitney Pocket, turn around and drive back north for 1.4 miles to Black Butte Road, an unmarked dirt road to the west. Black Butte Road runs southwest, passing Falling Man Trailhead (1.9 miles from the pavement) and continuing southwest. At 3.2 miles out, the road crosses a sandy wash and starts up and over a ridge.

Here, Twenty-one Goats Road turns left and runs up the wash. If the gravel looks too treacherous, park here. Otherwise, turn left and drive 0.35 miles up the wash (east) to the parking corral at the end of the road. Park here; this is the trailhead.

The Hike

From the trailhead (Table 1, Waypoint 01), the route runs up the wash for about 80 yards to an old road that crosses the wash (Wpt. 02). Here, the route turns right onto an old road and runs southeast towards the dam. Note that the wash continues straight (east) to the Twenty-one Goats petroglyph site.

Turning right onto the old road, the route runs southeast between low hills on the right and sandstone cliffs on the left. Just before reaching the first sandstone cliffs on the right, a spur trail (Wpt. 03) forks left and runs to the bottom of the dam (Wpt. 04) on the downstream side.

After returning to the old road (Wpt. 03), the route continues south between sandstone crags. Shortly, the old road ends at a turn-around loop the base of low sandstone crags (Wpt. 05).

The reservoir (or sand flats) lies just over the crags, but before getting there, notice the rock shelter. It was used by prehistoric people, but modern people have used it too and erased most evidence of earlier use. Be sure to look for the bighorn petroglyph.

In addition to the rock shelter, there is an interesting tunnel through a sandstone crag. Hikers can crawl through the tunnel and climb (brief 3rd-class scramble) to the top of the dam (Wpt. 06). Other routes are available but they not as much fun.

The route naturally leads onto the top of a sandstone crag, and from there hikers get a nice view of the reservoir, if wet, and the surrounding area.

From the top of the turn-around loop, hikers can exit right between sandstone crags and then bend left to arrive on the muddy shore of the reservoir (or dry sand, depending on conditions).

When ready to depart, follow your footprints in the sand back to the trailhead, or consider hiking up the wash to the Twenty-one Goats petroglyph site, which is only 0.25 miles up the wash. See photos of the return.