| Name: | Blue Diamond - Cottonwood Valley | 
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| Description: | Trails to the southwest of Las Vegas, with Boulder Mountain probably the best Vegas has to offer. I finally came to check it out on a fall 04 drive to Southern California. There is quite a bit of trails to the north of Hwy 160 that circle and go around small hills in the area. To the south of the highway is just a handful of trails. Started at the Bike Outpost bike shop in Blue Diamond and went southeast, starts as doubletrack but then parallels a dirt road as a singletracks. Then took singletrack up west, near the road and then across it to the dirt road that climbs up the valley towards the Spring Mountains. Following signs onto another road and down, then right onto singletrack south to past Cottonwood Pass and down about 3 miles through singletrack between joshua trees - quite pictoresque. Then up back north to Cottonwood Pass and a good descent through Cottonwood Valley. I opted for another climb up south and down neighboring valley. Then across the road and north on a singletrack that turned a bit rough near the Spring. By then the sun was setting down so I chose to backtrack the way I came from instead of exploring the remaining trails in the area. Overall, very nice area with smooth desert trails, some scenic views and relatively good signage. | |
| URL: | TopoFusion Home Page | |
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| Total Distance: | 30.53 miles (49.12 km) |
| Total Trip Time: | 4:10:10 (3:24:24 moving time) |
| Total Climbing: | 4343 feet (1324 m) |
| Total Descending: | 4428 feet (1350 m) |
| Average Speed: | 8.96 mph (14.42 kph) |
