Bootleg Canyon


Bootleg Canyon 
by Francesca Maria

This month, is the time for outdoor adventure! For all you nature enthusiasts and athletic creatures if you have not explored Bootleg Canyon yet, then this is one place you must make time for your next outdoor excursion.  Bootleg Canyon is known for its outstanding hiking trails where you will have beautiful views of Lake Mead, and if you love to go mountain biking, then this is the place to be! You will enjoy some of the best mountain biking in the country in Bootleg Canyon. A world-famous mountain bike park, with over 36 miles of trails, the lower trails are for beginners or people who want less strenuous trails.While upper trails will challenge your biking skills. For those seeking beauty combined with adventure, hike or grab a shuttle to the top of the mountain and enjoy the views of both the Las Vegas Valley and Lake Mead as you navigate the steep maze of technical downhill trails.

Bootleg Canyon is in the River Mountain Range and includes Red Mountain and Black Mountain. Due to the volcanic rock you will see a variety of colors containing a wide assortment of geological features. Bootleg Canyon offers some spectacular rockscapes along with stunning vistas of Lake Mead, Boulder City, and Las Vegas. Although it's home to a variety of desert wildlife, the most notable inhabitant of Bootleg Canyon are the herds of Big Horn Sheep, which can be seen quite often utilizing the same trails that have made Bootleg Canyon so popular.

With trails mostly designed and built by local artist Brent Thomson in the early 1990s, Bootleg Canyon has 24 official trails and many more unofficial trails. From the easier, flatter trails like Girl Scout to more extreme trails like Ginger and Snakeback, Bootleg Canyon offers many challenges and has been named an 'Epic Ride' by the IMBA, this is considered a rare designation. 


Are you looking to get an adrenaline rush? Something to really wake you up? Then my recommendation to you is to take a fantastic 1.5 mile zipline ride! Bootleg Canyon has Flightlinez Zipline tours over the Mojave Desert. All participants will complete four different ziplines that when combined equals over 8,000 feet of zipline traveling through the air at speeds up to 60 miles per hour. Souring you down the Red Mountains in Boulder City, NV.  

There is some hiking that even beginner hikers can handle just to get to the first zipline. This amazing experience takes about 3 hours from start to finish. Wear your tennis shoes or hiking boots, no open toes shoes are allowed on this excursion. If you are visiting Las Vegas schedule a tour and they have a shuttle to pick you up at the Excaliber. Locals, just call for a reservation and book a time slot,  take the 45 minute drive over to Boulder City's Bootleg Canyon and spend the day exploring!

How to get there: Take US-95 South out of Las Vegas/Henderson and past Railroad Pass Hotel & Casino until it becomes Nevada Hwy and into Boulder City, proceeding to the first stop light at Buchanan Blvd/Great Basin Hwy. Turn left as if driving to Lake Mead, and immediately get into the left-turn lane pullout approximately 200 feet after turning onto Great Basin Hwy and turn left onto Canyon Rd. Stay on Canyon Rd for approximately one mile, through the roundabouts, until the parking area of the trailhead is visible on the right.


Location: Boulder City, NV, USA

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