Overview

The Lone Grapevine Road is a maintained backcountry road north of Highway 160 (the road to Pahrump) that provides access to the wild backcountry of Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area at the base of the Red Rock Escarpment. Lone Grapevine Road connects Black Velvet Road with Wildhorse Road, allowing drivers to bypass the washes and 4WD sections of Wildhorse Road.

There are two forks to the start of Lone Grapevine Road. Driving north on Black Velvet Road, drivers first encounter the south fork (a triangle intersection), and then about 70 yards farther out Black Velvet Road (a T-intersection), drivers encounter the north fork. The two forks join about 0.1 miles out.

Lone Grapevine Road is 1.8 miles long and runs through the desert north of Mustang Hill. Camping is not permitted along the road. In addition to being a connector road, Lone Grapevine Road provides access to Mud Spring #2.

Link to map.

Watch Out

Other than the standard warnings about driving in the desert, ...this is a fairly easy drive. Under normal conditions, the road is suitable for any sedan, but sometimes the road is muddy, washed out, and requires a high-clearance vehicle.

While out, please respect the land and the other people out there, and try to Leave No Trace of your passage. Also, even though this road is short, be sure to bring what you need of the 10 Essentials.

Getting to the Roadhead

From town, drive out to Red Rocks. From West Charleston at the entrance to the Scenic Loop Road (Table 1, Site 0519), continue west on Charleston Blvd (Hwy 159) all the way past Blue Diamond town to Highway 160 (Site 0848). Turn right onto Highway 160, towards Pahrump, and drive west for 4.7 miles. Watch for a paved, right turn lane and the parking area off to the right; there is no sign on the highway. Turn right onto the Late Night Access Road (Site 1076) and drive towards the paved parking area. Stay to the right and continue past the parking areas and the vault toilet (Site 1072) to the far end of the paved parking area (Site 1081).

The Road

At the far east corner of the paved Late Night parking area (Site 1081), the graded dirt Black Velvet Road runs out into the desert generally heading northeast. Watch for a carsonite "designated route" sign.

Black Velvet Road runs northeast, then bends and runs northwest as it passes east of Mustang Hill. At 1.30 miles (Site 1082) and 1.34 miles out (Site 1083), the Black Velvet Road passes two side roads to the left. These two roads are the South Branch and North Branch of Lone Grapevine Road, and together they converge in 0.1 miles to become the Main Branch Lone Grapevine Road.

Turning to the left, "both" branches of Lone Grapevine Road run southwest towards the Red Rock Escarpment and converge at about 0.15 miles out. Lone Grapevine Road is maintained with few rocks or big bumps, but the exact condition depends on the time since grading and the history of rain and flooding, but it should be suitable for a carefully driven sedan.

Heading southwest, the road runs along the edge of a cliff overlooking Mud Wash. The wash bottom, with more soil moisture, support a more robust and diverse collection of plants than do the surrounding desert flats.

At about 0.4 miles out, Lone Grapevine Road passes a wide spot where a bike trail crosses the road. Trailhead parking is available on both sides of the road.

At about 0.5 miles out, Lone Grapevine Road passes a pull-out on the right overlooking the wash (Site 1084). This is trailhead parking for Mud Spring #2. A use-trail drops steeply into the wash. In the wash, the spring is a few minutes walk up the wash to the west. Near the spring, the vegetation is robust, but it seems that the spring has gone dry.

At about 1.0 miles out, Lone Grapevine Road bends hard to the left to run due south. Just before this bend, a wide spot provides trailhead parking for bike trails that cross the road in this area.

At about 1.1 miles out, the road bends to the left to run southeast. Parking here also provides access to bike trails that cross the road in this area.

At about 1.2 miles out, the road bends hard to the right to run southwest, but without much parking for bike trails that cross the road here.

From this curve, the road runs more or less straight southwest for about 0.6 miles. At about 1.8 miles out, Lone Grapevine Road intersects Wildhorse Road at a T-intersection (Site 1085). Lone Grapevine Road might appear to continue straight, but the old road scar ahead is closed to vehicles.

For Lone Grapevine Trailhead Parking (Site 1075), turn right onto Wildhorse Road to continue 0.2 miles. To the left, Wildhorse Road has a serious 4WD section.