April 2023: the road remains passable in 2WD-HC vehicles.

Overview

Mud Wash North Road is located out in Gold Butte, northeast of Las Vegas. This road runs 3 miles from Gold Butte Road southwest to Mud Wash Road, traversing spectacular gypsum country along the way. This road starts from Gold Butte Backcountry Byway and provides a shortcut to Little Finland, Red Rock Springs and Hartman Tank, the Red Bluff Spring area, and the Lime Canyon Wilderness Area.

The road is mostly gravel and normally is passable in 2WD high-clearance vehicles (assuming dry conditions), but it would be safer to have a 4WD because in a gravel wash, you just never know when a bit of deep gravel is going to suck you down. A few spots are rocky, and the wash can get quite sandy depending on recent flashflood history. For views of the road in the north-bound direction, see Mud Wash North Road - North Bound.

Link to Road Map.

Watch Out

Note (March 2022): this road was recently graded.

Other than the standard warnings about the desert, ... this is a fairly safe road, but there are tight, blind curves where drivers should assume that some ATV is about to come careening around the corner. Depending on flashflood history, the road can be quite sandy.

Mud Wash 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 main roads, but be prepared to survive alone for a day, or even two or more days if you get off the main roads.

While out, please respect the land and the other people out there, and try to Leave No Trace of your passage. Also, this is a remote area, so be sure to bring the 10 Essentials.

Getting to Mud Wash North Road

Mud Wash North Road is located out in Gold Butte National Monument, south of Mesquite, Nevada, about 2-1/4 hours northeast of Las Vegas.

From Las Vegas, drive out to Whitney Pocket at the end of the paved Gold Butte Road. Continue south on the unpaved Gold Butte Road for 3.9 miles to a signed intersection with Mud Wash North Road, on the right. A spur road to nowhere turns left at this point and heads up a sandy wash, but Mud Wash North Road turns right and runs down the North Fork of Mud Wash.

See also the Gold Butte Area overview map.

The Road

From the unpaved Gold Butte Road (Table 1, Site 1649), Mud Wash North Road runs southwest down the North Fork of Mud Wash, a well-vegetated Mojave Desert Scrub wash. There are minor side roads, but most drivers will not notice them.

The road runs down the wash, also across open flats, down narrow canyons, and around tight corners. Little of the road is straight, so even though the road surface is usually good, this road is a driving adventure with rocks and other things to keep drivers alert.

About 1.2 miles out, the road passes Devils Nostril (Site 1930), on the left. This is a small sinkhole surrounded by barbed-wire fencing. The edges of the sinkhole are not safe, so don't get too close.

At the confluence with Mud Wash (Site 1676), Mud Wash North Road ends where it intersects Mud Wash Road. Here, drivers can turn left towards Devils Throat and the unpaved Gold Butte Road, or turn right and head downstream on the Gold Butte Backcountry Byway towards Little Finland, Red Bluff Springs, and a number of other adventures.