My wife and I went to a conference in vegas. and one day rented bikes from:
J T's Bicycle, 76 W Horizon Ridge Pkwy # 130Henderson, NV 89012-5333
(702) 564-5345
jtsbicycle.com (GREAT PEOPLE!!) tell them folks from gainesville florida recommended)
The RMT had just been completed. It was awesome. beautiful scenary. medium challanging.

10/2/11

We stopped by the RMLT to see how things were coming. With temps in the 90s and humidity like the midwest, any thoughts of riding went away, but we did a van survey. Pix are up.

I couldn't find anything official on the website, but The River Mountains Loop Trail now appears to be a loop trail. (RE: Website - the official map is dated 2008. That's current.)

There is a new section of trail along Lake Mead Blvd from Golda towards the lake. One underpass takes you to the north side of the road at Lakers and another brings you back within sight of the trail head by the NRA entrance station. The old trail across the hills awaits you there. No construction signs seen and there were riders. There is new Google Earth coverage from June 2011 and you can see the underpasses sitting there, waiting to go in.

Take a look: Take a look. Enter this in Google Earth: 36.098078° -114.903704°

GE also shows the new section across Boulder City. From the trailhead at Veterans it climbs to the new Bootleg Canyon park (lots of trees have been planted), goes past the circle, under the gravel pit, across the road to the MTB park, then descends the bajada in a series of curves.

Take a look. Enter this in Google Earth: 35.981701° -114.854181°

Ride on!

TrailBear
Waiting for fall to arrive. About two weeks late.

5.23.2011

Check out this...



(Quite interesting - 40 photos of construction at the Missing Link.)


The Missing Link segment is well underway. This from the Friends of the River Mountains Loop Trail:

"Trail Construction On Segment 14 Proceeding Quickly

As noted in the April RMLT email, construction has begun on the final piece of the trail to complete the 34.5 mile loop. This 2.4 mile piece of the trail runs along Lake Mead Parkway near Lake Las Vegas. If you visit the area you will be detoured to a temporary road along Lake Mead Parkway. When this piece, "segment 14" finishes, we will have completed the "loop."

The picture below is one of several pictures taken by John Holman on River Mountains Loop Trail Facebook Wall. (Click on the name to go to the Facebook page.) The picture below shows the construction of the tunnel that will run under Lake Mead Parkway.

The tunnel walls are being prefabed on top of the road before being dropped into its new home under the roadway. The tunnels will be tall enough so that a rider on their horse can remain on their horse as they travel underneath the road. Construction for the two tunnels and 2.4 of paving is expected to be completed by August 26, 2011.

To see a map of the work area go to http://rivermountainstrail.org/. The first item is a map of the work area.

· River Mountains Loop Trail in Henderson Will Be Closed Starting Today (May 23, 2011)


A very popular piece of the RML trail between Equestrian Park and the "Silverman connector" will be rerouted for thirty days as the City of Henderson reinforces the flood control berm the trail rests on. We are sorry for any inconvenience that this may cause you. The work will take 30 days to complete. FEMA was out late last year in the Las Vegas valley checking flood control structures, berms, etc. The flood control berm was deemed to need additional work. Hopefully the work will be finished quickly and we can get back to enjoying this part of the trail."

This information is from Bill Laub of the River Mountains Loop Trail organization...

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Friday, March 18, 2011

Friends of the River Mountains Loop Trail:

Work Will Start March 28, 2011 of the Final Piece of the "Loop"

You have heard this before, and for years, but work will begin on the final piece of the loop at the end of this month. The construction contract for our last trail segment (segment 14) near the entrance to Lake Las Vegas has been awarded. The contract includes two tunnels under Lake Mead Parkway and 2.6 miles of paving (see link to PDF for location). The contract is for a 120 day build-out. The contractor expects that "substantial completion" will be completed by July 26, 2011 with a final completion date of August 26, 2011. Click on the picture below for a larger picture of the work area.

Click here for a 3 megabyte PDF of the picture shown above and the work area.

From Pacifica Way Trail Head to Equestrian Dr. TH, Surface in excellent Condition. At two miles North of Railroad Pass the trail appears to be on the old RR Bed to Equestrian Dr TH. The last three miles of the Loop are expected to be completed in December 2010.
Noel J. Keller 21 May 2010

This trail provides me with a fair amount of distance, but it's not a full loop yet. The last time I was on it was early November, 2009. I picked up the trail from a entry point at East Paradise Hills Dr. You can go either North or South from that point. I traveled South, which took me around Railroad Pass Casino and continued all the way into Boulder City. Along the way I passed Bootleg Canyon. I finally got off the trail, when I hit construction of the trail. I had to find surface streets to get me over to the paved wash that they call a trail that heads down into Lake Mead and the Alan Bible visitor's center.

From the Visitor's center you can travel North along the lake on a paved trail that eventually turns up towards Lake Las Vegas where it abruptly ends. If you didn't know that you'd have to travel on the road for a few miles to reach the paved trail again, you might think that you had to come all the way back.

The trail is not very populated. I saw a few cyclists and a couple of pedestrians and no horses. I'm now looking for paths that will take me from my house to the trail.

RIVER MOUNTAIN LOOP TRAIL – EQUESTRIAN TRAILHEAD TO BOOTLEG CANYON PARK

10.7.2009

TRAIL RATINGS… * to *****

Trailbed = 5* - Nice, smooth blacktop. Nice new bridges, signs, benches. Nice new everything.
Facilities= 4* to 5*. Equestrian TH has a water fountain and restrooms (Water on the trail gets you a 5*). The next official on-trail water is just north at the SNWA rest stop or way around south to the Sen. Alan Bible Visitor Center in the Lake Mead NRA.

Unofficial water, restrooms and such – try the Railroad Pass Casino TH at MP 0.0. They have been serving the needs of the community since 1931. The next on-trail water and restroom is at the Bootleg Canyon Mountain Bike Park above Boulder City. Check it out…



It’s quite a park and an amazing restroom - four showers! His and hers indoor and outdoor showers. We hope this is a trend. In our eight state tour, the next best was the Hyak TH, Iron Horse Trail, WA. The two handicap RRs had showers.

Once you leave the casino, Bootleg Canyon Mountain Bike Park is the next trail pit stop – and the trail does not quite get there yet (10/09). It’s under construction with a November completion date. You can work cross-lots or let Boulder City accommodate your various needs.

A TALE OF TWO MAPS…

You need trail maps. As of 10/09, you could find a two-sided black and white map of the RMLT on offer at the NRA Visitor Center, the Nevada Welcome Center, on the website and other locations. It showed the trail and facilities but did not show the surrounding highway net, so finding the trailheads was an adventure in navigation.

The visitor centers had large satellite photo maps with all that information – which make finding trailheads much easier. They declined to give me their copies, but I was welcome to transcribe information. Suddenly I started hitting the trailheads right on.

Then my life changed. I stopped into the All Mountain Bike Shop in Boulder City to see what they had in maps and info. They had a new map – a smaller four color version of that nice photomap at the visitor centers. I got some. Of course, this happened after two days of research and riding, but so it goes. This is a more expensive map, so don’t expect to see them everywhere.

Check out All Mountain. They have many luscious toys on offer. If you are in town to ride in the Bootleg Canyon Mountain Bike Park, check them out for sure. That is their back yard. You can also rent the correct bike from them.

< http://www.allmountaincyclery.com/>

EQUESTRIAN TO BOOTLEG AND BACK AGAIN…

I did this ride in two sections over two days while finding my way around the trail, but will describe it as one Out N Back ride. On a new trail of this length, I first do a quick all-around survey by van, stopping at all the trailheads with GPS in hand to locate the facilities. Then I decide what segments to ride first. I circled the River Mountains twice, by van. Rails to Trails wants the GPS coordinates to the water, the restrooms, the trail end, the center of the parking lots, ends of tunnels and bridges, etc., for their maps at .

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This is a pleasant 13.4 mile Out N Back ride from the Equestrian Park Trailhead in Henderson, over RR Pass and around to the Bootleg Canyon Park (under construction) in Boulder City. You can easily extend it over to the mountain bike park or the Pacifica TH. Beyond there you descend the bajada and its decision time. Loose a lot of altitude or what? Pictures of the route are posted on traillink.
Start by finding the Equestrian Park Trailhead in Henderson. Tell your car GPS: Intersection of E. Equestrian Dr. and Foothills Dr. You can see it and the trail on Google Earth. Enter: 36.013055° -114.923275°

To the north is Equestrian Park and one of Southern Nevada Water Authority’s water treatment plants. Another is across the mountains by Lake Mead. To the south is Rail Road Pass. Saddle up and head that way. Soon you are on top of one of the flood control levees built to control the runoff from storms in the mountains. From the top of the pass down to the RR Pass Casino at Milepost 0.0, there are three interpretive trail-side signs commenting on area history (the casino, squatter camp, alumite). Nice feature. Hope to see more along the way.

At MP 0.0 you hit the RR Pass Casino trailhead. It’s in a corner of the upper (RV and Bobtail) parking lot. Current GE coverage shows the blacktop ending here and the rough grading going onward. Not current enough. The blacktop goes thru and there is a new overpass bridge by way of US 95. Ride on – or pause at the trailside benches with views.

From the overpass, its 1.2 miles to the corner and trailhead west of the state veteran’s home. This trailhead belongs to the Bootleg Canyon Mountain Bike Park, but the RMLT makes a corner here, so it’s a handy access spot. Other than parking, an info kiosk and an attractive rock grouping, no facilities. The RMLT has two benches at the corner.

Coming by road? Down on US 93, look for signs directing you to the state veteran’s home in Boulder City. The road is Veterans Memorial Drive. Turn uphill to the veteran’s home, then left onto Veterans Dr. Admire the seriously good desert landscaping at the home. Head west 0.4 to the trailhead parking. You’re there. You can ride the trail or go off mountain biking.

From this corner trailhead, the RMLT heads uphill to the “under construction” Bootleg Canyon Park – not to be confused with the Bootleg Canyon Mountain Bike Park, about 0.4 air miles further on, higher up and open for business (It is a very nice bike park.) . Enter 35.984262° -114.861524° as a Google Earth search for that four shower complex at BCMBP. Right next to the jump track.

Once at Bootleg Canyon Park it may be confusion time. Where to from here? No signage or obvious trail. When they finish this segment the problem will go away. You can turn around here and retrace your steps or go on to the bike park, the other trail heads down in Boulder City or down to the lake.

Time for me to head back to Henderson and the In N Out Burger shop. There was an obvious blacktop road heading downhill, so I took down to Industrial Way and back past the Veteran’s Home to rejoin the trail at the corner down there. Head back to the casino, go chuffing over RR Pass, then glide down atop the levee to Equestrian TH. Fun ride.

If you are riding either direction, want to go further and the segment is under construction, you can save a lot of up and down by using quiet Industrial Way. Part of it has bike lanes. Follow the RML trail past the Veteran’s Home.

Here the trail is a few yards off Veterans Memorial Dr / Industrial Rd. Move over and ride east on Industrial down to US 93. Look left and there is the RMLT blacktop again. Next stop is the River Mountain (hiking) Trail TH at 35.984375° -114.842893°. From here you take the concrete drainage channel/ street luge section down to the Pacifica TH at 35.998567° x -114.823297°.

Do make that sharp left turn where the gate closes off the channel below. It dumps into a retention pond and then into the wash for a trip to Lake Mead. You take the trail instead. It looks like a glorious downhill glide to the Railroad Tunnel Trail TH below the NRA Visitor Center. Google Earth doesn’t yet show it, but it is all blacktop down to the bottom and up the lake and beyond.

There is a lot of good riding on the RMLT. Pick what works. Feeling frisky? Try the notorious Three Sisters around MP 7.5 – said to be a “nice” triple hill climb with just a bit of a grade. Just start at Equestrian and head north toward the Golda Way corner.

Ride on!
ToolBear

RIVER MOUNTAINS LOOP TRAIL – ALONG LAKE MEAD FOR A BIT

10/7/2009

TRAIL RATINGS… * to *****

Trailbed = 5* - Nice, fresh blacktop for a smooth ride.

Facilities = 4* - Water can be an issue along the Lake Mead section of the trail. You can find water at the visitor center and Boulder Beach campground. The next water on the trail, as shown on the RMLT map, is over in Henderson at Southern Nevada Water Authority Rest Area and the Equestrian Park Trailhead. If I had to water up in Boulder City, and didn’t want a beer, I’d hit the Nevada Welcome Center on US 93 – about a mile SW of Pacifica Trailhead.

Scenery = 3+* - 4* - If you are used to trees and little lakes and greenery, this is a different world of stark and sere beauty. Sere is the word. You’re not in Kansas anymore. You’re in the Mojave Desert. There probably are some trees in the River Mountains, but they would be tucked up in the canyons, trying to make it. Creosote bushes, zillions of them, are everywhere, doing fine.

OVERVIEW…

I fell over this trail while researching the Railroad Tunnel Trail and suggested they get listed on Trail Link. Consider it a Destination Trail. Poor Nevada – only had one trail on Trail Link. Now there are two and this is fine one.

It gives you a number of options on your bike. You can camp down at the lake and ride the loop or parts of it. You can ride the rail trail to the dam. You can go to Bootleg Canyon Mountain Bike Park in Boulder City to try their trails. You can mix and match and have a lot of fun here.

We found the October weather pleasant vs. the Three Months of Brain Fry in the summer (Averages: June - 100; July – 106, August – 103). Still, getting on the trail early is a smart move.

CAMPING ON THE TRAIL… Boulder Beach CG

The best trailhead on the whole route is not really an official trailhead. It’s the Boulder Beach Campground. With the Golden Geezer pass, we paid $5/night for a nice site with a bit of a lake view. For the full lake view you need to be down one level in Winnebago Row, along the former waterfront. However, these sites stayed full of big Winnebagos.

Pedal up the campground road and catch the trail next to Lakeshore Drive. You can go north into the hills or south to the Railroad Tunnel Trail or up the bajada to Boulder City and beyond. Up is the word. You will gain 690’ from the campground to the Pacifica Way Trailhead in Boulder City.

HEAD NORTH FOR ONE WATER BOTTLE…

Having done the Railroad Tunnel Trail, I headed north for a little ride after breakfast to see the sights. The trail rises and falls and twists and turns along the slope of the bajada, following the Lakeshore Rd. to a point south of the Alfred Merritt Smith Water Treatment Facility. There it makes a large loop lakeward behind the plant.

http://www.snwa.com/html/wq_treatment_facilities.html

Lot of new construction going on back there. What are they building?

From behind the plant, the trail curves and climbs steadily up the slope to the dual use culverts on Lakeshore Rd. near the fish hatchery. If it’s not already flooded or stormy, pedal on under the highway and switchback up the slope. If flooded, etc., do not enter – says the sign. Oh. I wondered.

Somewhere on those curves, headed back, I hit 30.8 mph. Don’t know just where, as I was picking my line and watching for gravel on the turns instead of watching the GPS, but there is a bit of a grade in that section.

Through the culverts, you switchback up another slope, then down to where the trail runs alongside Lakeshore Drive. All too soon the trail leaves the road and starts climbing. It is built on the remains of an old two lane road. Google Earth claims this is Rt. 166. It climbs into the hills for a bit of up and down. Just a bit.

Google Earth shows there about 18 ridges to cross from the MP 18 at the fish hatchery to the north end corner of the trail at MP 14.5. Seems like a lot of work. Good work for a young roadie.

Water bottle empty? Check! Load the spare. Early lunch at Boulder Beach looking attractive? Check! The Gutterbunny is kicked about and we are off downhill for a change. Somewhere ahead is a 30 knot bit before lunch and a drive up to Boulder City to explore how the trail crosses town.

RIDE STATS AND IMPRESSIONS…

Going north: 5.93 miles up, 25.8 top speed, 7.4 moving average, 41 minutes moving time, total ascent 422’, total descent 296’.
Going back south: 6.20 miles, 30.8 max speed, 9.9 moving average, 37 minutes moving time, total ascent 337, descent 604’

This worked out to a pleasant 12 mile Out N Back N Up N Down. It would be about a 16 mile round trip from the Railroad Tunnel Trail trailhead – a nice morning desert ride. The northern section of the trail, from the hatchery around to Golda Way, is something I would save until I had done the other bits.

Ride on!

ToolBear

This is an up and coming trail system that will be a must do for Las Vegas visitors who enjoy the outdoors.
be it street cycling, mountain bikes or running this 34+ mile trail has something for everyone. 12-ft wide paved trail around the rugged River Mountains provides plenty of space for long distance cycling with either your street bike or mountain bike. Shorter rides can be planned from various trail heads out and back to meet your individual needs. The River Mountains Loop Trail provides grand views of Las Vegas Valley from the Railroad Pass summit; to breath taking views of Lake Mead and the surrounding volcanic mountain ranges. Wild life can be seen early mornings and evenings along the trail include the majestic Desert Big Horn Sheep. Coyotes, rabbits, snakes and the Desert Tortoise are also seen along the trail.
I highly recommend putting this trail on your next Las Vegas outdoor adventure.
Happy trails to all.....john