Virgin Peak - Virgin Mountains, Gold Butte National Monument, Nevada
Hiking and Driving Directions
Driving Directions by way of Whitney Pocket in Gold Butte National Monument
From I-15 north of Las Vegas and just south of Mesquite, Nevada, take exit 112 in Bunkerville, onto Highway 170, traveling 3.5 miles, taking a right onto Gold Butte Backcountry Byway just after crossing Virgin River. Drive 21 miles to Whitney Pocket, which is at the end of paved road; from here it becomes a gravel road. Continue south for ~ 120 yards to Whitney Pass Road which goes to left at fork. Drive for 2.4 miles on gravel road suitable for passenger cars, then take left on Virgin Peak Road, ascending in a wide valley. A 4WD vehicle is needed from here; travel 0.8 miles to Whitney Corral, with old truck and corral fences present. A high-clearance 4WD is needed past this corral; we were able to get ~ 0.5 miles past this in our 4 WD truck, park and walk.
Hiking Directions:
Drive up Virgin Peak Road as far up canyon as you can and park. There is 3.0 miles between the old Whitney Corral and the Cowboy Campsite trailhead.
1. Walk on 4 WD road, keeping to the left at intersections until you reach Cowboy Campsite (Waypoints below). There will be an old truck, tires, water troughs.
2. At Cowboy Campsite, turn left onto a narrow spur road and face the ridge you will be climbing. Follow the road as it turns southwest for ~ .10 mile. This road descends back down, so we left it at the highest point, turning right and headed for the ridge, or "saddle".
3. Climb 500' in 0.3 miles to ridge. We ascended to the right of the large rock outcrop at top and descended on the left side of the outcrop.
4. Walk up ridge 2.3 miles to the summit, following a faint path. Stay mostly on ridge: as you get toward top, the terrain drops off more steeply to the right, so you can stay slightly down to the left of the ridge.
From I-15 north of Las Vegas and just south of Mesquite, Nevada, take exit 112 in Bunkerville, onto Highway 170, traveling 3.5 miles, taking a right onto Gold Butte Backcountry Byway just after crossing Virgin River. Drive 21 miles to Whitney Pocket, which is at the end of paved road; from here it becomes a gravel road. Continue south for ~ 120 yards to Whitney Pass Road which goes to left at fork. Drive for 2.4 miles on gravel road suitable for passenger cars, then take left on Virgin Peak Road, ascending in a wide valley. A 4WD vehicle is needed from here; travel 0.8 miles to Whitney Corral, with old truck and corral fences present. A high-clearance 4WD is needed past this corral; we were able to get ~ 0.5 miles past this in our 4 WD truck, park and walk.
Hiking Directions:
Drive up Virgin Peak Road as far up canyon as you can and park. There is 3.0 miles between the old Whitney Corral and the Cowboy Campsite trailhead.
1. Walk on 4 WD road, keeping to the left at intersections until you reach Cowboy Campsite (Waypoints below). There will be an old truck, tires, water troughs.
2. At Cowboy Campsite, turn left onto a narrow spur road and face the ridge you will be climbing. Follow the road as it turns southwest for ~ .10 mile. This road descends back down, so we left it at the highest point, turning right and headed for the ridge, or "saddle".
3. Climb 500' in 0.3 miles to ridge. We ascended to the right of the large rock outcrop at top and descended on the left side of the outcrop.
4. Walk up ridge 2.3 miles to the summit, following a faint path. Stay mostly on ridge: as you get toward top, the terrain drops off more steeply to the right, so you can stay slightly down to the left of the ridge.
Waypoint Location |
UTM Easting |
UTM Northing |
Elevation (ft) |
Our start of hike 0.5 miles past Whitney Corral |
0759338 |
4048855 |
4,357 |
Cowboy Camp |
0760009 |
4051579 |
5,400 |
Ridge Entry |
0759563 |
4051557 |
5,961 |
Virgin Peak summit |
0758300 |
4054967 |
8,071 |