Rainbow Gardens and Lava Butte Loop

This trails bears very little resemblance to the description given here. This was a pleasant surprise making the run in a Jeep. The only other driver we saw during the trip was in a Raptor and well suited, if a little overqualified for what the trail has actually become. It's the nature of unmaintained roads to degrade over time, which is great but this listing definitely needs updating. The south bound leg has enough erosion and wear that it's become at least a 2 or 3. There were two areas on the southbound leg that climbing the now smooth exposed stone or steep rutted road would be difficult, if not impossible with 2WD. The result too is that higher clearances are an absolute necessity. The opportunities to bottom out in what are now deeply eroded ruts are numerous. Don't hit this trail expecting a 1, it's just not anymore. That said, the drive was well worth it. The first two-thirds of the south bound leg are fun and there are some great scenic views. The very southern end of the southbound leg is improved road (already eroded and heavily rutted) with fencing to constrain driving to the road. I'd recommend taking the southbound leg and using the recently cut Hollywood Blvd at the south end to change to Kodachrome Road for the trip back north. You know, or just head back into town on Hollywood.

My wife and I had quite the adventure today. No issues, but the trail was a little more challenging than we anticipated. Looks like, perhaps, from recent rains that have eroded some sections. Telling indicator of recent rain here were several patches of GREEN grass in some of the deeper notches along the trail, and a pond of standing water on the east side I’d definitely bump this up to a 2. The first drop into the wash (following from first waypoint) was a bit harrowing as I hadn’t yet disconnected the sway bar. After disconnecting, the rest of our trail run was fun and uneventful… but there were still several areas to pay attention to. All-in-all, a great afternoon on the trail.

Ran Lava Butte. Dirt roads, super easy and mostly not very interesting. There was one section of winding trail that gets you up close to some of the rock formations. It's an alternate way back from Kodachrome though and different views.

Great views. Easy trail but enjoyed it

We ran the Lava Butte portion of this trail as a second half of our loop. We ran and mapped Kodachrome Road first then walked around the river area before taking this very easy route back to the road. Very scenic area with some interesting geology.

Here is an off-shoot trail that is relatively difficult to find but is on the map: Redstone Rd. Start of Lake Mead Blvd at the trail head for Rainbow Gardens and Kodachrome Rd, Follow Kodachrome Rd south for approximately one mile and Redstone Rd will be a spur trail to your right. It snakes it's way through a narrow canyon then to beautiful Navajo sandstone formation and then up a saddle to a former mine.

Time lapse of the actual Rainbow Gardens Rd heading south starting 1/8th of a mile south of Lake Mead Blvd and ending at the dirt portion of the Hollywood Blvd

Great set of trails, video is a timelapse of the Lava Butte trail going north from Hollywood Blvd to Lake Mead Blvd. Great beginner trails with lots of side trails and numerous obstacles to practice more advanced obstacle navigation skills.

We enjoyed the drive very much! A very easy drive. Rock formations were much prettier than in the videos/photos. We started from the south end, adjacent to the Clark County Wetlands park (Drive east on Sahara Ave, then South on Hollywood Blvd till you get to Pabco road. According to Google Maps, Hollywood Blvd changes names to Kodachrome rd before it intersects with Pabco rd.) Coming from our hotel near the center of the Strip in Las vegas, this saved several miles instead of first driving into the Lake Mead NRA. Also, no entry fees are required! We went north on Pabco rd and it becomes Rainbow Gardens rd. This road was very good when we drove it and could have been done by virtually any passenger car. We traveled the length of Rainbow Gardens rd until in curved to the east and becomes Lava Butte rd, then drove south until it ended back at Kodachrome/Hollywood blvd road. Lava butte rd is not quite as good as Rainbow Gardens rd, but probably could have been done by almost any car. Both roads have very pretty views and the buttes and rock ridgelines along Lava Butte rd are beautiful. Here is a Google Map link that shows how the roads meet at the south end: https://www.google.com/maps/@36.0992106,-114.9833526,16.12z

Fun easy trail.

It was a nice day in Las Vegas, so I decided to hit a trail after work to check on the status of the trail with the change of seasons.