Cowboy Trails – Mountain Bike Trail

What is a mountain bike ride without some real challenge along the way? Incomplete adventure! The Cowboy Trails bring exciting challenges to your mountain biking experience when riding uphill and down.

While taking up the challenge of riding on Cowboy Trails, expect highly technical routes that are not very well marked. The reward for these challenging climbs is the breathtaking scenery you enjoy throughout your ride.

Before you go:

Drinking water

Restrooms

Fee required

Lift service

Fat bike grooming

Family Friendly

Night riding

E-bikes allowed

Dogs Allowed

Obstacles

Shuttles

Detailed Trail Description

Cowboy trails boast several trails, including Bunny, Bomb Voyage, Bone Shaker, Bob Gnarly, Hill Billy, SARS, Goat Roper, Flow Job, Fossil Canyon, Kibbles-n-Bits, EBB’nFlow, Ridge, and Radio Tower. The 9.9-mile Cowboy Loop with Bone Voyage is the favorite of our team of bike enthusiasts. So, that’s the route we will focus on in the guide.

Begin the Cowboy Loop at the bottom of the Bunny Trail along Red Rock Canyon Road. Bunny is a horse trail with loose dirt and rock. From this trail, continue straight towards Cat in the Hat, where you will find a similar terrain but a slightly steeper trail with more significant obstacles. Continue riding along Cat in the Hat until you reach the junction with First Finger, connecting to SARS.

Continue riding on SARS, climbing, and finding your way around the rocky terrain. SARS terminates on a short downhill, intersecting Radio Tower and Bob Gnarly. Keep riding right as you travel along a small canyon ledge to the overlook—a great place to rest and enjoy the view of the Las Vegas Strip. 

Done taking a break? Ride through the Bomb Voyage trail—a long descent from the summit of the Cowboy Trail System. You must do some technical riding here as you encounter steel sections and loose rocks. In fact, the trail is utterly rowdy from peak to bottom.

As you ride downhill, prepare for fast transitions as the trail surface changes between marble-sized scree and medium-sized loose rocks. The trail turns west (left) near a large rock formation at the far end of the shoulder.

Bomb Voyage continues a quick descent through more technical terrain before getting to the end through a small drainage. From the drainage, take the singletrack back to Bunny along Red Rock Canyon Road.

Sight of Interest

You will find the famous Joshua trees along your way. They are present around Red Rock Canyon because they are endemic species to the Mojave Desert.

Recommendations and Precautions

The Cowboy Trails are multi-use and usually busy with equestrians and hikers. So, ride safely to avoid other trail users. We also recommend riding at Cowboy Trails with a dropper seatpost as well as knee and elbow pads to protect yourself.