Red Rocks-Nighthorse Trail (South)

Connecting Eagle Road, Wave Road, and Bobcat Road, Red Rocks-Nighthorse Trail is a scenic multi-part and multi-use trail that travels along the ridge above the Gunnison Gorge, completing the eastern section of the Wave-Eagle Loop. The Red Rocks-Nighthorse Trail is open to 4x4 vehicles only on the southern and northern ends of the trail. The middle section connecting Bobcat and Ute Road is only open to single-track vehicles. The trail is extremely scenic with several awesome viewpoints providing unobstructed views in all directions. It traverses heavily lined pinyon-juniper slopes where pinstripping is incredibly hard to avoid.

Between Eagle Road and Wave Road, Red Rocks-Nighthorse is a fairly easy but bumpy trek over chunky red sandstone slabs of less than 9 inches tall. The real challenge of the trail is between Wave Road and Bobcat Road, where the sandstone becomes the dominant terrain feature, creating many sharp steps and blind drops. One ledge in particular, less than a quarter mile from the Bobcat Trailhead, is a 2-foot ledge with a severe undercut. OHVs are small enough to squeeze between the ledge and the cliffside drop without having to negotiate it, but any other vehicle has no choice but to drop or climb the ledge using extremely careful tire placement. If planning to complete this whole trail, it is recommended to have a small lift, larger tires, and undercarriage skid plate protection.

Camping can be found at several scenic viewpoints along the trail, though sites vary in size and the rocky ground limits comfortable tent placement. Rooftop tents, cots, or other elevated sleeping setups are better suited to the terrain than traditional ground tents.