October 17, 2022
GOLD BUTTE ROAD CONDITIONS
Conditions are subject to change — use your own good judgment. With the monsoon rains of 2022, most roads were partially damaged. Be careful out there and don’t push beyond your capability or those of your vehicle. It is always safer to travel with at least one other vehicle. FOGB will update this report as we receive new information.
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.
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 Roads. Driving south directly to Falling Man requires using Gold Butte Road (paved section) and Black Butte Road. See below for details of each road.
CURRENT CONDITIONS
BLACK BUTTE ROAD
Water flowed across and along much of Black Butte Road. The washout at Whitney Wash has been repaired. The road is passible in 2WD-HC vehicles. Watch for washouts on the edge of the road.
CATCLAW WASH ROAD
Catclaw Wash Road runs down Catclaw Wash, and the entire wash flooded. The road requires 4WD-HC vehicles due to deep sand and a few other issues. The road is overgrown by Catclaw Acacia trees, and vehicles will receive a heavy dose of desert pin-striping. The end of the road down to the Lake Mead shoreline is steep and requires 4WD only because it is hard to climb back up the deep, loose gravel.
DEVILS COVE ROAD
Much of the road washed (water running on or across), but it generally is in good condition. Watch for lots of little gullies and rills, and there are a couple of bad washouts on the edge of the road. I did not drive beyond the Gold Butte boundary. The Gold Butte section is passible in a 2WD-HC vehicle, but the Lake Mead section likely is badly washed out. I had cell service atop the second high point where drivers can look south into Arizona.
DEVILS THROAT ROADS
Passable in 2WD-HC. Road is rough and bumpy. Watch for rocks.
FIRST ROCK CAMPSITES ROAD
All campsites are accessible in 2WD vehicles. However, the back of the loop is washed out. High clearance 2WD only (almost 4WD) needed in that area.
FISHERMAN COVE ROAD
Much of the road washed, but it remains passable in 2WD-HC vehicles to the intersection with Virgin River Access Road, then 4WD to the Virgin River. Avoid washouts on the edge of the road and watch for large rocks in the road.
GOLD BUTTE ROAD (PAVED SECTION)
Highway 170 to First Asphalt Washout
The first few miles of Gold Butte Road saw extensive flash flooding. The first spot where asphalt was washed away years ago has deep soft sand. Small, 2WD vehicles are getting stuck here. One other area with deep sand might also be a problem for small 2WD vehicles. The shoulder is washed out in several places. The asphalt patching job that we did last year remains intact.
The second area where the asphalt was washed away years ago remains in traditional condition. The wash appears not to have flooded at that spot.
Second Asphalt Washout to Gold Butte Boundary
The road is in standard condition. There are a few more potholes, but nothing unexpected. The tortoise sign just below Juanita Spring was stolen. Even so, watch for desert tortoises on the roadway.
Gold Butte Boundary to Whitney Pocket
There are many new potholes at Little Virgin Peak Pass, but nothing unusual. The road across Fisherman Flats remains in standard condition. The area where we never filled the potholes is worse than ever. Otherwise, this section is in standard condition.
GOLD BUTTE ROAD (UNPAVED)
From Whitney Pocket to Mud Wash North Road (turnoff to Little Finland), there are a few gullies and rills across the road. There are piles of gravel on the road where washes entered the road. The deep wash halfway out flash flooded again. Descending steeply into the wash is okay southbound, but it is a little more difficult returning northbound. Drivers with 2WD vehicles should stop and look at the washout before driving down into it.
From Mud Wash North Road (turnoff to Little Finland) to Mud Wash Road (turnoff to Devils Throat), there are several rills across the road, some fairly deep. Several washes cross the road, and floodwaters deposited considerable soft sand on the road in these areas.
Just beyond Mud Wash Road at a big wash, floodwaters deposited considerable soft sand on the road. Much of the rest of the road to Gold Butte Townsite is in reasonably good condition and can be driven comfortably at 20 mph, but there are enough rills and washed sections to keep one’s attention.
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
Little Finland Road was entirely washed out. Drivers should follow tracks in the deep, soft sand as they trace the best route through. The road is very sandy. In my full-size truck, I drove all of it (including the steep step) in 2WD, but I would have been panicked much of the way had I not had the option of locking in my hubs for 4WD.
MUD WASH ROAD
From Red Bluff Spring Road to Little Finland Road, Mud Wash Road is entirely washed out, but passable in 2WD-HC vehicles. Drivers should follow existing tracks in the mud and gravel as they mark the best route through.
From Little Finland Road to Mud Wash North Road, Mud Wash Road is entirely washed out, but passable in 2WD-HC vehicles. Drivers should follow existing tracks in the mud and gravel as they mark the best route through.
From Mud Wash North Road to Gold Butte Road, Mud Wash Road remains intact, but flood waters ran along and across much of the road. Some wash crossings are more interesting than they used to be, but it remains passable in 2WD-HC vehicles. Watch for washouts on the edge of the road.
Westbound from Gold Butte Road, the first wash crossing (100 yards out) is steep on the far side. This makes it somewhat difficult to climb out because the wash bank is high and one’s rear tires are still in the loose gravel of the wash.
MUD WASH CUTOFF ROAD
From Mud Wash Road to Red Bluff Spring Road, the road is washed and rocky at the east end. Gullies make the traditional washouts more interesting, but the worst have been repaired. Passable in 2WD-HC.
MUD WASH NORTH ROAD (North Fork of Mud Wash)
The North Fork of Mud Wash flash flooded and erased most evidence of the existing road. Even so, this road is entirely passible in 2WD-HC vehicles. The road splits when passing Devils Nostril; the west fork is more difficult but still passible in 2WD-HC vehicles.
RED BLUFF SPRING ROAD
Much of this road is washed and barely passable in 2WD-HC vehicles heading northbound. Southbound, this road requires 4WD-HC.
From Gold Butte Road to Lime Canyon Road, flood waters ran on much of the road. The cattle guard is washed out; use the bypass to the right in the wash (until the most recent grading, this was the standard route). Beyond the cattle guard, the road is washed, but in more-or-less standard condition.
Past Lime Canyon Road, there are many erosion ditches and rills, but more-or-less standard conditions. The steep descent through the mud hills has erosion ditches and rills, but it remains in more-or-less standard condition. The longest, steepest hill is washed out (not badly), but it remains passible downhill in 2WD-HC vehicles. Much of the middle-north section of the road runs in washes that flooded but are passible. The north end of the road crosses several deep washes. Each of these washes flash flooded, and each crossing is interesting but passable in 2WD-HC vehicles. The steep descent into Mud Wash is in reasonably good condition.
SCANLON ROAD
After being closed to larger vehicles for several years, the road is now open as far south as the top of Scanlon Dugway. Although open, the road is challenging, and vehicles will get a heavy dose of desert pin-striping. Much of the road can be driven in 2WD, but the exceptions require 4WD-HC vehicles.
ST THOMAS GAP ROAD
Most of St Thomas Gap Road is in fine condition. However, considerable amounts of water washed across the road. Drivers should expect that every dip has a rill at the bottom. Some are deeper than others. Watch for deeper washouts on the downstream side of the road. Except for the big wash 2/3rds of the way out, this road would be passable in a carefully driven sedan. As it is, however, the road requires a 2WD-HC vehicle.
VIRGIN RIVER ACCESS ROAD
Past the fork with Fisherman Cove Road, a steep gravel hill requires 4WD, then the road is 2WD to the end. Watch for soft, deep sand at the very end.
WHITNEY PASS ROAD
Whitney Pass Road recently was graded and is suitable for carefully driven sedans. Drivers should watch for rocks big enough to rip open an oil pan.
