Canyoneering Route Description
Motorcycle Canyon - 3A II (III)
Lake Mead Nat. Rec. Area, Nevada.
12-15-12, 5 people (and a Chihuahua), 1 Day (Travel time in route 6.75 hours) includes
1hr hot springs soak.
04-26-14, 8 people, 1 Day (Travel time in route 7.1 hours) includes a short
hot springs soak
Time Required - 4 to 6 hours (not including
extra time for a hot springs soak)
Distance - 6.8 miles Total, 1.9 miles Technical
(A lot of the tech section is walking)
Rappels - 4 Rappels, Longest Rappel 90 feet.
Elevation Range - 2400 - 1135 Feet
Shuttle Required - No Vehicle - Passenger
Permit Required - No
Rappelling and anchor gear, Ropes and or pull cords for rappels up
to 90 feet and 40 feet of 1 inch webbing for sling placement.
Motorcycle Canyon is side drainage to Goldstrike Canyon.
Goldstrike Canyon provides access to the Goldstrike Hot Springs and access to
the Colorado River, so it gets a fair amount of hiking traffic. Since
Motorcycle Canyon drops into Goldstrike Canyon very close to the hot springs, it
can be a nice addition to your day out canyoneering to take a short side trip to
soak in the hot springs. If you decide to take the side trip
to the hot springs plan on adding about 0.6 miles to your route and the time you
want to soak.
Portions of this route are in the Lake Mead National
Recreation Area.
The first part of the approach is walking on 2 miles of
dirt road that could be driven. Driving this portion of the road may
require high clearance depending on road conditions. If you have a low
clearance vehicle you could drive into the area from Boulder City to avoid
the 2 miles of walking. But doing the long drive around through
Boulder City and setting an exit vehicle at the trailhead adds more time and
hassle to the route.
To keep things simple this route description is done as
a loop route where you just walk the part of the road that can be driven.
If you have high clearance vehicles and wish to set a shuttle you can drive
the first 2 miles of the route described here. The route to drive in
from Boulder City is not shown here.
To get to the Trailhead
From Boulder City Nevada drive about 5 miles east along highway
93 toward Lake Mead to the exit for Hoover Dam. On the way
to the exit you will pass Lakeshore road and then the Hacienda
Casino. The exit for Hoover Dam is about 0.2 miles after
passing the Hacienda Casino.
After driving down the ramp for the exit you will come to a tee.
Turn right and drive about 300 feet to an intersection (ExtGoldstrike).
Pavement ends near this intersection. At the intersection
turn left and drive east for 0.3 miles to the end of the road
and park (tGoldSrikeTH). This is where you will start the
route for Motorcycle Canyon and is also where the route to hike
to the Goldstrike Hot Springs begins.
To leave the Exit Vehicle / Escape Pod
No exit vehicle is needed. This is done as a loop route.
GPS coordinate information listed at the bottom. For information about waypoint naming and map symbols, refer to the
Glossary page.
Click the links for maps of the route.
Map of the entire route.
The Approach:
Hikers traveling to the
Goldstrike Hot Springs
or going down to the
Colorado River via
Goldstrike Canyon will
start walking east down
canyon. For the
Motorcycle Canyon route
start you will walk west
back down the road you
just drove in on.
Note:
On the first part of
this approach you are
following dirt roads.
Some of the road
junctions on the route
are very obviously not
the road you want to
follow and most just go
over to the occasional
power line tower.
The junctions noted here
are those that are not
so obvious and make you
wonder which way to go.
Be aware that not every
junction will be listed
here.
From the parking spot (tGoldSrikeTH)
walk west along the dirt
road you just drove in
on. After walking
0.3 miles you will be
back at the intersection
(ExtGoldstrike).
Follow the dirt road
going west which is
number 75 on maps
showing this road.
About 400 feet farther
on this road is a
junction in the road
(extGS-75B-bot).
Turn left onto road 75
signed as Goldstrike Pass Road.
Note:
Continuing straight
ahead would be road 75b
signed as the Goldstrike
Parallel Road.
These two roads meet
farther on but this
description follows the
road to the left 75,
Goldstrike Pass Road.
After turning left at
the junction follow road
75 - Goldstrike Pass
Road for about 0.3 miles
to a junction in the
road (wGS-passDP-01).
Stay right and continue
southwest on the
Goldstrike Pass Road.
About 0.75 miles farther
is another junction
(wGS-passDP-02).
Stay right and travel
west to stay on the
Goldstrike Pass Road.
About 400 feet farther
is another junction
(extGS-75B-top) where a
road joins in from the
right. This is
where road 75B (Goldstrike
Parallel Road) rejoins
road 75 (Goldstrike Pass
Road). Continue
straight to continue
west on road 75 (Goldstrike
Pass Road).
About 0.65 miles farther
is another road junction
(wGS-passDP-03).
The road splitting off
to the left goes
northeast to a series of
power line towers.
Stay right and follow
the road as it turns
south.
Note:
Just after this junction
is a wash to the east.
On the other side of
that wash is another
road which you will be
on shortly. If you
wish to cut across this
wash to get over to the
road you can cut about
0.5 miles off of the
route. It is about
300 feet of travel to
leave the road you are
on and get to the other
road but may be a little
more difficult travel.
Or you can stay on the
roads as described here
and travel about 0.52
miles to the same point.
About 0.25 miles farther
is another junction in
the road (extGS-75C).
Turn left at this
junction to follow the
Black Canyon Overlook
Road signed as 75C.
Note:
If you are driving the
first part of this route
and setting up a shuttle
vehicle, this is where
to park. The road
leading south from here
will lead back toward
Boulder City.
About 0.7 farther the
Black Canyon Overlook
Road (road 75C) makes a
sharp turn to the right
and begins to head
southeast (wBCOL-DP-01).
At this corner there are
great views down over
Lake Mead and the
Hacienda Hotel.
About 0.3 miles farther
the road crosses over a
drainage where there is
a culvert installed for
water drainage under the
road (yMotrcyclTp).
The Canyoneering / Technical Section:
From where the
road crosses Motorcycle
Canyon (yMotrcyclTp)
turn left (east) and
leave the road.
About 320 feet after
leaving the road find a
way to downclimb into a
slot from the RDC
(south) side of the
canyon. The
downclimb is about 20
feet and has loose rock
so be careful. At
the bottom of the
downclimb is the top of
rap 1.
Rap 1 (dMotrcycl-R1) is
anchored RDC from two
glue in anchors about
head high and drops
about 90 feet. Be
careful of rope
placement here since
there are a lot of
places a rope can get
pinched. At the
bottom of rap 1 is the
reason this route is
called Motorcycle
Canyon.
Rap 2 (dMotrcycl-R2) is
about 100 feet down
canyon of rap 1 with a
couple easy downclimbs
between. You have
to scramble up on the
RDC side of the canyon
to get to the anchor for
rap 2 which is a very
phallic looking rock.
The actual drop of rap 2
is about 60 feet but it
is 80 feet back to the
anchor.
Just after rap 2 are a
couple easy down climbs
/ scrambles before
reaching the wash where
the route starts a long
wash walking section.
About 0.2 miles down
canyon of rap 2 is a
side canyon
(wMotrcycl-RP-1) joining
in from RDC (south).
About 0.35 miles farther
the canyon begins to
slot up again.
Shortly after the narrow
section begins is a drop
of about 12 feet
(wMotrcycl-RP-2) that is
moderately difficult to
downclimb. The
drop can be bypassed by
going up and over LDC
then down a slope.
About 500 feet down
canyon is another
downclimb of about 12
feet (wMotrcycl-RP-3)
and is an easy stem
style downclimb.
About 0.2 miles down
canyon is the start of
another narrow section
(wMotrcycl-RP-4) that
has a few easy
downclimbs / scrambles
in it.
A few more hundred feet
down canyon is a spot
where tow drainages join
in from each side
(wMotrcycl-RP-5) and
feels like a cross joint
section. Just
after this cross joint
like feature the canyon
slots up more and the
rock starts to become
much more solid.
Continuing down canyon
involves several easy
downclimbs of 4 to 10
feet each. A few
more hundred feet down
is the top of rap 3.
Rap 3 (dMotrcycl-R3) is
anchored from either a
chokestone at the top of
the drop or you can use
a retrievable anchor
from an arch about head
high on the LDC side.
Rap 3 drops about 45
feet.
Right after rap 3 is a
drop of about 35 feet
with a pool at the
bottom which may have
water. No anchor
options were explored
here. A meat
anchor was supplied for
those that wanted to rap
the drop then cross the
pool (which could be up
to waist deep if full).
The rest of us did the
bypass of this drop.
To bypass the drop right
after rap 3, walk around
on the ledge RDC about
50 feet toward the top
of a crack running back
down to the canyon
floor. Continue on
the ledge beyond the
crack and carefully
traverse around the
corner to a where you
can downclimb back to
the canyon floor.
Be careful on this
bypass route as it is
full of loose rock.
None of the moves are
difficult but there it
is exposed feeling.
About 0.2 miles down
canyon is a spot where
the canyon widens out a
little as another canyon
joins in from RDC
(wMotrcycl-RP-6) and you
can see power lines up
in that canyon. In
this area there are
multiple easy boulder
hopping scrambles.
Just before reaching rap
4 are a few easy
downclimbs of about 6 to
feet each.
Rap 4 (dMotrcycl-R4) is
in a boulder debris
section and is anchored
from one of two
chokestones overhead.
Rap 4 drops about 30
feet with a pool at the
bottom that can be
avoided.
Just after rap 4 is a
drop of about 20 feet
that is an moderately
easy downclimb and has a
pool at the bottom where
you might get your feet
wet getting across.
About 450 feet down
canyon is another
downclimb of about 15
feet over fallen
boulders(wMotrcycl-RP-7).
Next there is one more
set of boulders to
downclimb over on your
way to the confluence
with Goldstrike Canyon
about 0.2 miles away.
You will know you are at
the confluence (yMotrcyclBt)
of Motorcycle Canyon and
Glodstrike Canyon if the
canyon you get to has
old wooden power poles
in it.
The Exit:
Now that
you are at the end of
Motorcycle Canyon and
are in Goldstrike
Canyon, you have
choices. Your exit
route is to turn left
and hike up Goldstrike
Canyon to the west back
to your cars.
The Side Trips:
If you
have time and planned to
go visit the Gold Strike
Hot Springs you can take
a side trip to the right
and travel east down
Goldstrike Canyon about
0.25 miles down to the
Goldstrike Hot Springs.
There are a couple
downclimbs to navigate
on your way to the
hotsprings. In
years past when the lake
level was higher there
was a lot more flow to
these springs.
Even with low lake
levels these springs are
still worth a look and a
soak but there are only
a couple of good pools
when there is little
flow.
To get back to the the
cars at the trailhead
travel west up canyon in
Goldstrike Canyon.
About 500 feet up canyon
is a huge boulder wedged
in the canyon (wGS-Stair)
and you will need to
climb up the RDC side of
the canyon. This
is made easy by a set of
stairs cut into the rock
to assist.
About 0.3 miles farther
up canyon is a boulder
debris area (wGS-UpandOver)
making travel up canyon
difficult. When
you get here look for a
bypass trail that goes
up and over this boulder
debris section on the
LDC side (or your right
as you are hiking out).
The trail starts about
300 feet before reaching
the boulder section.
If you get to the
boulder back up a few
hundred feet and look
for the trail or just
scramble your way
around.
From here it is easy
walking all the way back
to the trailhead
(tGoldSrikeTH) a
little over a mile away.
Note:
As you get closer to the
highway you may notice
an old pickup truck high
on the wall on the right
then farther up an Audi
that has also found its
fate in the canyon also
high up on the right
side and a little
farther up you will hike
over the top of a
partially exposed
vehicle in the wash.
Downloadable GPX files
available at
BG-Gear Store
(easier than manual entry and a great way to support
Bluugnome).
Waypoint naming convention and map symbol information can be found on the Glossary page.
Elevations are approximate.
BEFORE
manually entering coordinates set your system to WGS84 datum and Lat/Lon hddd.ddddd° coordinate format.
Inconsistent datum's and coordinate formats will result in location errors.
Click to show / expand the list of waypoints below........
| Motorcycle Canyon (1) - Approach |
- tGoldSrikeTH
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 36.00992
W -114.76887
Elev: 1,600 Feet
Gold Strike hot Springs Trail head
- ExtGoldstrike
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 36.01009
W -114.77389
Elev: 1,660 Feet
An intersection shortly after leaving the highway at the Hoover Dam exit. Turn left (east) here to drive down to the Goldstrike Canyon Hot Springs trailhead. If you are walking the road to follow the route for Motorcycle Canyon follow the road (road number 75) going southwest.
- extGS-75B-bot
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 36.00911
W -114.77483
Elev: NaN Feet
Junction for raods 75 (Goldstrike Pass Road) and 75B (GoldStrike Parrallel Road). To follow the route for Motorcycle Canyon, turn left (south) and follow 75 Goldstrike Pass Road.
- wGS-passDP-01
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 36.00845
W -114.77198
Elev: NaN Feet
Junction in the Goldstrike Pass Road. The road going east is a short road to a power line structure. If following the Motorcycle Canyon route stay right to continue southwest on the road.
- wGS-passDP-02
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 36.00328
W -114.78071
Elev: NaN Feet
Junction in the Goldstrike Pass Road, road 75. If following the Motorcycle Canyon rotue, stay right to continue on Goldstrike Pass Road.
- extGS-75B-top
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 36.00322
W -114.78209
Elev: NaN Feet
This is the top end of where road 75B (GoldstrikeParallel Road) meets road 75 (Goldstrike Pass Road. To follow the route toward Motorcycle Canyon continue striaght (west) to stay on road 75.
- wGS-passDP-03
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 35.99801
W -114.78619
Elev: 2,320 Feet
Road junction. To continue on the Motorcycle Canyon route stay right and follow the road as it turns south.
- extGS-75C
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 35.99508
W -114.78774
Elev: 2,390 Feet
Road Junction. To the north is Road 75 (Goldstrike Pass Road). To the southwest are roads leading back to Boulder City. To the northeast is Road 75C (Black Canyon Overlook Road). To follow the Motorcycle Canyon route follow Road 75C (Black Canyon Overlook Road) to the northeast.
- wBCOL-DP-01
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 35.99954
W -114.77999
Elev: 2,340 Feet
Spot on the Black Canyon Overlook Road that turns a sharp corner and offers great views out toward Lake Mead and the Hacienda Casino.
- yMotrcyclTp
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 35.99573
W -114.77743
Elev: 2,380 Feet
Top of Motorcycle Canyon. This is where the road crosses a draiange and has a culvert and where you leave the road to drop down into Motorcycle Canyon.
|
| Motorcycle Canyon (2) - Canyon |
- yMotrcyclTp
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 35.99573
W -114.77743
Elev: 2,380 Feet
Top of Motorcycle Canyon. This is where the road crosses a draiange and has a culvert and where you leave the road to drop down into Motorcycle Canyon.
- dMotrcycl-R1
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 35.99580
W -114.77634
Elev: NaN Feet
Rap 1 for Motorcycle Canyon. Anchored RDC from two glue in anchors and drops about 90 feet. There are other natural anchor options here like small bushes and lots of rocks.
- dMotrcycl-R2
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 35.99591
W -114.77600
Elev: NaN Feet
Rap 2 - Motorcycle Canyon. Anchored RDC from a phallic looking rock and drops about 80 feet from the anchor to the floor. The actuall drop is about 60 feet.
- wMotrcycl-RP-1
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 35.99631
W -114.77356
Elev: 1,960 Feet
A side canyon joins into Motorcycle Canyon from RDC (south).
- wMotrcycl-RP-2
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 35.99748
W -114.76865
Elev: NaN Feet
This is shortly after the canyon starts to slot up again and there is a drop of about 12 feet and is moderately chalenging to downclimb. The drop can be bypassed by going up and over LDC then down a slope to get back to the canyon floor.
- wMotrcycl-RP-3
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 35.99867
W -114.76807
Elev: NaN Feet
Drop of about 12 feet that is an easy stem style downclimb.
- wMotrcycl-RP-4
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 35.99887
W -114.76513
Elev: NaN Feet
Start of a slotted area with a few easy scrambles / downclimbs in it.
- wMotrcycl-RP-5
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 35.99878
W -114.76304
Elev: NaN Feet
Small drainges join in from both RDC and LDC and it feels like a cross joint.
- dMotrcycl-R3
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 35.99919
W -114.76254
Elev: NaN Feet
Rap 3 - Motorcycle Canyon. Anchored from a chocke stone at the top of the drop or from a retrievable anchor on an arch on the LDC side about head high. Rap 3 drops about 45 feet.
- wMotrcycl-RP-6
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 35.99914
W -114.75857
Elev: 1,430 Feet
Canyon joins in from RDC and you can see power lines up in that canyon. There are multiple easy boulder hopping scrables through here.
- dMotrcycl-R4
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 36.00007
W -114.75764
Elev: 1,370 Feet
Rap 4 - Motorcycle Canyon. Anchored frm one of two chokestones overhead and drops about 35 feet.
- wMotrcycl-RP-7
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 35.99989
W -114.75589
Elev: NaN Feet
Downclimb of about 15 feet over some fallen boulders.
- yMotrcyclBt
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 36.00192
W -114.75358
Elev: 1,135 Feet
Bottom of Motorcycle Canyon where it meets Goldstrike Canyon. Downcanyon to the east is the Goldstrike Hot Springs and the Colorado River. Up canyon to the west is the Goldstrike Canyon Hot Springs Trailhead. Motorcycle Canyon is to the south and some old hikeing trials also travel up the draiange to the north.
|
| Motorcycle Canyon (3) - Exit (and Hotsprings point) |
- hGldStkHS
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 36.00311
W -114.74994
Elev: 1,060 Feet
Gold Strike Hot Springs
- yMotrcyclBt
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 36.00192
W -114.75358
Elev: 1,135 Feet
Bottom of Motorcycle Canyon where it meets Goldstrike Canyon. Downcanyon to the east is the Goldstrike Hot Springs and the Colorado River. Up canyon to the west is the Goldstrike Canyon Hot Springs Trailhead. Motorcycle Canyon is to the south and some old hikeing trials also travel up the draiange to the north.
- wGS-Stair
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 36.00132
W -114.75523
Elev: 1,190 Feet
Rope to climb down a rocky area. Had some steps like stairs cut into the rock.
- wGS-UpandOver
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 36.00268
W -114.75935
Elev: NaN Feet
Here you can't stay in the wash. You have to go around a bunch of boulders here.
- CarWrek2
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 36.00733
W -114.76383
Elev: NaN Feet
- CarWrek1
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 36.00860
W -114.76578
Elev: NaN Feet
- tGoldSrikeTH
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 36.00992
W -114.76887
Elev: 1,600 Feet
Gold Strike hot Springs Trail head
|