Nevada · Hiking

Cowboy Trail

Cowboy TrailPhoto: Ken Lund, CC BY-SA 2.0 (via Flickr)
1.3 mi
round trip
325 ft
climb
3,349 ft
high point
Out and back
route
Oct–Apr
best months

Cowboy Trail is a short, easy hike in the North McCullough Wilderness, on land managed by the Bureau of Land Management's Red Rock/Sloan Field Office in Nevada. The trail is about 1.3 miles long, with a one-way elevation gain of 325 feet, and it makes an out-and-back route from a low point of about 3,026 feet to a high of about 3,349 feet. Spring and fall are the most comfortable times to go. Typical averages from a nearby weather station in Las Vegas show April highs around 80°F and October highs around 82°F, while July averages about 106°F. That station sits roughly 1,000 feet lower than the trail, so temperatures on the trail run cooler. The trail is on natural surface, and the Bureau of Land Management reports that neither bikes nor horses are allowed here. Several other trails lie close by, including Petroglyph Trail about a mile away and Sloan 101 Trail at about 1.1 miles. Nevada Power Trail and Hidden Valley Trail are each within about 2.5 miles.

  • Best time to go · Oct–Apr

    Best time to visit Cowboy Trail

    Best months: October–April. Best months have typical highs of 55–85 °F, lows of 30 °F or warmer (32 °F where the station doesn't record snow), at most one snowy day and no more than 12 wet days.

    1. Jan

      59° / 37°

      3 wet

    2. Feb

      63° / 41°

      4 wet

    3. Mar

      72° / 48°

      3 wet

    4. Apr

      80° / 54°

      2 wet

    5. May

      90° / 63°

      1 wet

    6. Jun

      101° / 73°

      1 wet

    7. Jul

      106° / 80°

      3 wet

    8. Aug

      104° / 78°

      3 wet

    9. Sep

      96° / 69°

      2 wet

    10. Oct

      82° / 57°

      2 wet

    11. Nov

      67° / 44°

      2 wet

    12. Dec

      57° / 37°

      3 wet

    Typical high / low (°F) and days with rain or snow, 1991–2020. Measured at Las Vegas Wfo, NV, 10.6 mi away at 2,275 ft. The station sits about 1,100 ft lower than this place, so expect it a little cooler here. Source: NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020.