Expansive desert wilderness featuring red sandstone formations, ancient petroglyphs, and rugged backcountry trails ideal for off-road exploration and solitude.

How to Get There

From Las Vegas (90 mi): Take I-15 N to Exit 112 toward Riverside/Bunkerville, cross the Virgin River bridge, then turn right onto Gold Butte Road and follow it south into the monument.

Overview

Gold Butte National Monument is a national monument located in Clark County, Nevada, northeast of Las Vegas and south of Mesquite and Bunkerville. The monument protects nearly 300,000 acres of desert landscapes featuring a wide array of natural and cultural resources, including rock art, sandstone towers, and important wildlife habitat for species including the Mojave Desert tortoise (a threatened species), bighorn sheep, and mountain lion. The area also protects historic ranching and mining sites such as the ghost town of Gold Butte, although little but mine openings, cement foundations, and a few pieces of rusting equipment remains. The monument is managed by the Bureau of Land Management.

The monument consists of 296,937 acres (120,166 ha). The Gold Butte National Monument fills a gap between Lake Mead National Recreation Area and Grand Canyon-Parashant National Monument, creating a continuous swath of conserved land and establishing a wildlife corridor. Significant wildlife within the borders of the park include Mojave Desert tortoise (a threatened species), bighorn sheep, and mountain lion, as well as Gambel's quail and chukar partridge. Important cultural and natural resources within the monument include rock art and sandstone formations. Within the park, "weather-chiseled red sandstone is incised with ancient rock art, and the remains of rock shelters and hearths, agave roasting pits and projectile points" may be found.

This article uses material from the Wikipedia article "Gold Butte National Monument", which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0