GOLD BUTTE ROAD CONDITIONS
Conditions are subject to change — use your own good judgment. With the lack of rain during 2020, most roads remain about as they were in 2019, but with more washboarding.
Gold Butte Back Country Byway. The Byway is composed of several roads: Gold Butte Road (paved section and unpaved section), Red Bluff Spring Road, Mud Wash Road, and Mud Wash North Road. See below for details of each road.
Little Finland Access Roads. Driving south directly to Little Finland requires using Gold Butte Road (paved section and unpaved section), Mud Wash North Road, Mud Wash Road, and Little Finland Road. See below for details of each road.
Falling Man Road. Falling Man is about 2 miles down Black Butte Road. See below for details of each road.
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Black Butte Road
Passable in a carefully driven sedan. 2WD-HC is better. Watch for rocks in the road. Beyond Falling Man Trailhead, 4WD is recommended.
Catclaw Wash Road
Marginally 4WD due to deep sand. The steep end of the road down to the edge of Lake Mead is 4WD only.
Devils Cove Road
2WD-HC to the Lake Mead NRA Boundary. Watch for rocks in the road. Better in 4WD or AWD coming back out (northbound) because of very steep hills with loose sand and gravel. Past Lake Mead NRA Boundary, 4WD only.
Devils Throat Road
Passable in 2WD-HC. Road in rough and bumpy. Watch for rocks.
First Rock Roads
Passable in a carefully driven sedan; 2WD-HC is better. Road to the large campsite is fine.
Fisherman Cove Road
Passable in a carefully driven sedan to the intersection with Virgin River Access Road, then 4WD to the river. Avoid washouts and watch for rocks.
Gold Butte Road – Paved Section
Road is in standard condition. The fresh patch is holding up well. Watch for deep potholes.
Gold Butte Road – Unpaved Section
Road in reasonable condition to the Townsite, but some ruts are deeper than usual and parts are washboarded. Drivers in sedans need to exercise extra care. 2WD-HC is better.
Gold Butte Townsite Roads
Passable in 2WD-HC to the grave sites; 4WD farther back. In a carefully driven sedan, drivers can get to within 50 yards of the grave sites.
Lime Canyon Road
Passable in 2WD-HC; safer in 4WD.
Little Finland Road
Road passable in 2WD-HC; safer in 4WD. The high-step is easier than it was before. Lots of soft sand, but when the sand is wet, 2WD-HC vehicles can get through.
Mud Wash Road
Passable in 2WD-HC; safer in 4WD. Lots of soft sand, but when the sand is wet, 2WD-HC vehicles can get through.
Mud Wash Bypass Road
Passable in 2WD-HC vehicles. The steep hillside where the road usually washes out did so again, but I was able to squeeze my truck between the cliff and the erosion ditch.
Mud Wash North Road (North Fork of Mud Wash)
Passable in 2WD-HC; safer in 4WD. Lots of soft sand, but when the sand is wet, 2WD-HC vehicles can get through.
Red Bluff Spring Road
Parts are badly washed, but passable northbound in a 2WD-HC vehicle. Southbound is 4WD only due to seep, rocky grades.
Scanlon Road
The first mile or two past Gold Butte Townsite are suitable for a carefully driven sedan, but the road degrades farther out. Usually 2WD-HC to Catclaw Wash Road. About 6 miles out, a bad washout blocks larger vehicles, but it is passable in Jeeps and OHVs to Scanlon Dugway. Some drivers continue, others swear they will never do it again, not even with OHVs.
Virgin River Access Road
4WD to climb gravel hill past fork with Fisherman Cove Road, then 2WD to the end. Watch for soft, deep sand at the end.
Whitney Pass Road
Passable in a carefully driven sedan, 2WD-HC is better due to rocks on the road. The Aravada Ranch folks try to keep the road graded.
Notes:
- Sedan: a regular around-town car.
- 2-Wheel-Drive (2WD) high-clearance (HC): SUVs and pickup-type vehicles.
- 4-Wheel-Drive (4WD): Some all-wheel-drive (AWD), medium clearance vehicles and 4-wheel-drive, high-clearance vehicles.
- OHVs (Off-highway Vehicles): side-by-sides, quads, and similar vehicles.
