Ride 20 · Blue Diamond / Cottonwood Valley · advanced · all rides

The Works

One big lap of the whole valley: Bonnie & Clyde in the far south, 3 Mile Smile down the middle, Latenight under the highway and out to Landmine.

⚠︎

Not yet rider-checked. This line was routed from OpenStreetMap trail data and hasn't been ridden end to end yet. Cross-check turns against the trail signs or Trailforks.

29.1miles

3,179ft climb

5,003ft high point

4:25est. moving

Highchunk (18%)

singletrack 80% dirt road 19% pavement 0%

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Ride mode times every run on its own: the clock starts when you roll out of the start and stops at the finish, with splits at each marked spot. Leave Ride mode on between laps and it re-arms when you're back at the start. Times stay on this phone.

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Get the GPS file

Scan with a friend's phone, or tap below. Then open it in your ride app.

↓ Download GPX ↓ One-sheet PDF

iPhone: tap Download, open it from the Downloads bar, then Share → Trailforks, Strava or Garmin.
Android: tap Download, then open the file and pick your app.
Garmin: or drag it into Garmin Connect → Courses → Import on a computer.

https://bsqrd-designs.com/dirt/the-works/

Getting there

Park at Late Night Trailhead

North side of NV-160 (Pahrump Valley Hwy), about 4.7 mi west of the NV-159 junction at Blue Diamond.

Apple Maps Google Maps Plan a group ride

Paved BLM lot with vault toilets. No fee; it sits outside the Scenic Loop fee area.
Start and finish are the same spot. Follow the cue sheet and the arrows on the map.

Cue sheet

0.0	Badger Pass Trailsingletrack	1.6 mi
1.6	White Rhino (Latenight Connector)singletrack	0.6 mi
2.2	Dirt roaddirt road	0.8 mi
3.0	Singletrack connectorsingletrack	2.0 mi
5.0	Dirt roaddirt road	0.6 mi
5.6	Cottonwood Pass Roaddirt road	1.3 mi
6.9	Cottonwood Pass West Roaddirt road	0.3 mi
7.2	Dead Horse Loop Southwestsingletrack	1.1 mi
8.4	Singletrack connectorsingletrack	0.3 mi
8.6	Dead Horse Loop Southwestsingletrack	0.6 mi
9.2	Cottonwood Pass Roaddirt road	0.1 mi
9.3	Dirt roaddirt road	0.6 mi
9.9	Bonnie & Clydesingletrack	2.7 mi
12.7	Cottonwood Pass Roaddirt road	0.3 mi
12.9	Bonnie & Clydesingletrack	0.7 mi
13.7	Dirt roaddirt road	0.3 mi
13.9	Cottonwood Pass Roaddirt road	0.3 mi
14.2	Overlooksingletrack	0.1 mi
14.4	Dead Horse Loopsingletrack via Onto 3 Mile Smile	1.7 mi
16.1	3 Mile Smilesingletrack	3.0 mi
19.2	White Rhino Connectorsingletrack	0.1 mi
19.3	White Rhino (Latenight Connector)singletrack via Tunnel under NV-160 (Latenight Trail north)	0.8 mi
20.1	Singletrack connectorsingletrack	3.5 mi
23.6	Dirt roaddirt road	0.8 mi
24.4	Black Velvet Access Roaddirt road	0.3 mi
24.6	Singletrack connectorsingletrack	0.7 mi
25.3	Landmine Loopsingletrack	1.6 mi
26.8	Switchy Hillsingletrack via Switchy Hill turn	0.4 mi
27.3	Cactus Slalomsingletrack	0.7 mi
28.0	Singletrack connectorsingletrack	1.1 mi
29.1	Back at Late Night Trailhead

Know before you go

About 29 miles and 3,200 ft of climbing with no water on course. Carry at least 3 liters, start at first light, and skip it from May to September.
Ride it in this direction. The long dirt-road climb comes first, 3 Mile Smile is the payoff at mile 16, and Latenight Trail drops about 500 ft north of the NV-160 tunnel.
Latenight Trail and the short Dead Horse links carry rock gardens and ledges. Rated advanced for the length plus those sections; the rest is intermediate singletrack and dirt road.
Bail-out: at mile 19 you are back at the tunnel, about 1.5 mi from the Late Night lot. Legal basis: all of it is the BLM-designated Cottonwood Valley system, outside the Scenic Loop fee area and outside wilderness.

Ride smart

Water: plan on about 3.5 L for this ride. There's none on the trail.
Signal is spotty. Tell someone your route and your time back.
Emergency: call 911 and say "The Works ride, parked at Late Night Trailhead, Blue Diamond / Cottonwood Valley", plus the coordinates from Locate me.
Wildlife: give horses, burros and anything with horns room, and never feed them.
Stay on trail. Desert crust and mountain soil take decades to heal.

Report a problem or share a photo

Washout, closure, new fence or a missing sign? Got a great shot of a junction? Send it. It goes straight to Ryan; photos he approves show up on this page with your credit.

Trail photos

**Near Late Night Trailhead** Photo: BLM Nevada, Public domain · about 54 m away

**Cottonwood Valley Trail System in Nevada** Photo: mypubliclands, CC BY

**Cottonwood Trails in Nevada** Photo: mypubliclands, CC BY