Off-road Trails in Southern Nevada

 

I ride electric mountain bikes and a dual sport motorcycle in southern Nevada. Luckily, over 85% of Nevada is public lands, and there is lots of off road riding available for both motorized and non-motorized machines. I wanted to create this blog post to make others aware of some great resources to find all these available trails.  While many of these resources claim to have maps for both, coverage of motorized versus non motorized varies quite a bit within each of the apps/websites. Some have free access levels and others support both subscriptions free access levels.  I will say that none of these mapping tools has complete coverage.  Most are less than half the actual trails in most areas.  

I also use an old smartphone for navigation for both mountain biking and motorcycling. It is very important to keep your eyes on the trails to avoid an accident, like this one: https://jimroal.blogspot.com/2024/02/oops.html .  Stop to view the navigation.

Apps & Websites

Trailforks - This is my go to app for Electric Mountain biking, and any mountain biking. While it also supports motorized off road trails, it is not particularly good at that. For mountain biking, it is great because crowdsourced trails are available. I have found the coverage in my area to be better than any other apps I have found for mountain biking. It supports offline maps for navigation when out of cellular range.  Part of Outside+. Here is my Trailforks profile.

GAIA - This is a pretty decent app in general for finding trails. I have used it for both motorcycling and electric mountain biking, but I tend to find other apps a bit better and so it is not my go to app.  GAIA is more of a mapping utility and navigation tool than a way to find existing trails. It supports offline maps for navigation when out of cellular range. It is one of the few that support off-road turn-by-turn navigation.  Part of Outside+. Here is my Gaia profile.

OnX - There are several variants of OnX. I use the off road version. It seems to be the best in my area for motorcycling. It is a subscription only app and website and has no access without a subscription. It supports offline maps for navigation when out of cellular range.  

AllTrails - The AllTrails app and website claim to support all kinds of off road trails and activities. It does but I have found the coverage to be not as good as trail forks for biking or for onX for motorcycling, at least in my area. It supports offline maps for navigation when out of cellular range.  

Kamoot - Supports hiking and biking.

Strava - This is more of a social networking app for bicyclers, but you can look up other people's ride segments and find some routes this way.

Garmin Explore - Garmin explore is an application used with many Garmin products. Garmin has other similar apps to Garmin Explore as well, depending on the product that you are using. It supports offline maps, navigation, and integration with several Garmin products such as InReach satellite messenger.  

Google Maps - Google Maps actually has features for navigating off-road too.  Well, somewhat anyway.  It has biking and walking modes that include trails.  While it is not a main feature it can work surprisingly well at times.  Often you will need to put it in biking or walking mode and also add some stops along the way to enforce your desired route.  Here is an example taking a Jeep trail over Wheeler Pass.

Google Earth - Google Earth has some great tools for searching the Earth for all kinds of detail. It also includes some great measurement tools that will show you the elevation profile. Another great feature is tilting the map to see a perspective from ground level or anywhere in between.  You can also import GPS data from Garmin Connect and other trip trackers. The satellite imagery is good enough to spot many trails that may not yet be mapped.  

RideWithGPS - created as a bicycle route planner it is generally a pretty good route planner.  

Local and national government sites

Each local area likely has its own resources for specific parks and places where there are trails. things like the U. S Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management cover many parks across the United States. Below are just a few that I use around Southern Nevada.

US Forest Service mapping 

Bureau of Land Management and BLM maps landing page

USGS mapping store

Off-Road Nevada

Nevada Trail Finder

Related Resources

Backcountry Discovery Routes (BDR). Back country discovery routes are specific routes that have been created by the BDR community. They connect multiple trails together to make a long route, generally through part of or an entire state.

Once you find places to ride on the map, the next thing you wonder is how challenging and fun will it be. I generally search the trail name in YouTube where many people have posted some great videos of their rides/drives so you can actually ride the trail before you get there.  I contribute many ride segments on my YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/@jimroal .

Dream Racing in a C8 Corvette

 

I went to Dream Racing at the Las Vegas Motorplex to try out the new C8 Corvette.  I have been interested in the C8 since they announced it would finally be a proper mid-engine car.  I drive a Porsche Cayman S which is also mid-engine and it is the best layout for a sports car in my opinion.  I like the looks of the C8 Corvette as well.  

The experience starts with a short video to set expectations and orient you to the track and performance driving.  That is followed by a ride around the track in an SUV. One thing unique about Dream Racing versus Exotics Racing or Speed Vegas was you don't wear helmets in the street cars.  Helmets are only required in their race cars.

Seated in the car I adjusted the seat and wheel to my liking.  I am not a big fan of the large center console but it did not bother me as much while driving either. I could get used to it. The feel behind the wheel was centered and good.  As we pulled onto the track and gave it full throttle and the traction control kicked in for a bit.  The traction control intervenes a bit more than I would like but still better than many other sports cars.  It's hard to beat Porsche traction control on the track.  I only bought 7 laps and that is not even enough to really get consistent with the line as you can see in the video, I am a bit sloppy and inconsistent.  The engine makes 200HP more than my Cayman S and that was very nice.  It also has a wide powerband but drops off earlier than what I am used to in the Cayman S.  It took a bit to learn to shift earlier.  The sound is very different than the Porsche but it is a good sound.  That comes through pretty well on the video.  The transmission was also very good.  The handling is also good and pretty neutral.  I did not understeer like the Ferrari 488 did.  

My biggest complaints with this car is the brakes.  Dream Racing even upgraded to some slotted rotors but they were a bit warped when I started, and very warped by the end of my session.  The chassis could easily handle a serious brake upgrade and if I was going to track one of these, a brake upgrade would be a must.  I suspect the Z06 will have solved this issue.  

The car is clearly heavier than my Cayman S, by about 650lbs.  You can really feel it too.  The center of gravity is also noticeably higher.  The chassis gets more upset when switching directions than the Cayman S.  The car feels like it is sitting higher, based on the handling.  I felt like I could not push it as hard in the corners.  Dream Racing uses Pirelli P Zero tires and maybe they are not as good as the Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tires I have on the Cayman S.  The feedback was good and with some more seat time on the track I could work around this.  It was certainly a fun drive.  

The C8 Corvette is a great car and Chevy has done a great thing here delivering a car like this at the price point they are asking.  Most owners will likely never track this car hard and they will be very happy with their purchase.  Those who do want to track it should consider a brake upgrade first, or consider the Z06.  If Dream Racing or Speed Vegas get a Z06 I may just have to try that.   

So far the cars I have tried at these track venues are the Ferrari 488, the Porsche GT3 RS, and this Chevy Corvette.  The GT3 RS was the best track car. The next car I want to try at the track is the Porsche GT2 RS.  

I have now driven 3 different venues as well.  Speed Vegas has been purchased by Exotics Racing so now that is at the Speed Vegas facility south of town.  I drove Exotics Racing back when it was at the west edge of the Las Vegas Motor Speedway area north of town. Dream Racing is in the center of the Las Vegas Motor Speedway oval track. 

Engine Sound and Cars for Enthusiasts

We all have different needs and opinions about many things in life.  Even among car enthusiasts we have many different things we like about them.  If you narrow down the car enthusiasts to a specific brand and type of car, you still have significant diversity in what people want from the car.  Owners of the same car model still have this diversity.  Some enjoy detailing their car and showing it.  Some like a fall drive down a twisty road.  Some like driving full out on the track.  Even within one of those more narrow groups we still have many differing opinions about priorities.

One thing that can come from the Porsche 718 Boxster/Cayman flat 4 engine experiment is Porsche found out what a priority engine characteristics are over performance.  This also happened with the PDK only GT3 years ago.  While in both cases Porsche made a car that outperformed it's predecessor, many fans were unhappy.  If you just look at the performance numbers, the cars were better so what was missing?  The term "experience" may get overused these days but that is what this comes down to.  Even for the track crowd (which I am part of) the cars soul really matters.  While lap time is the measure of driving skill there is much more you get from track time that making the quickest laps.  It is the experience from the drivers seat.  The driver and car become one.  If you have never driven full-out on a road course it is hard to understand.  When you are there though, it is the very definition of living.  Your heart rate goes to an aerobic pace.  The adrenaline kicks in.  The feel and response of all the drivers inputs to and feedback from the car are critical to this experience.  The feel of the g-force as you and the car accelerate, brake, and corner give the driver the information needed to make time critical decisions that optimize lap time.  When you get it right it is very rewarding.  You may not think the engine sound should be very important to this experience but it actually is.

Take a listen to the GT3 RS in this video (starting just after the 4 minute mark).  Also notice the comments of the driver and instructor.

Porsche now makes electric cars.  By the way, I am a fan of electric cars.  I love the direct response to throttle command.  I love the fact there is no shifting interrupting the power delivery.  It is by far the best way to make a commuter car.  I would like to have one for my daily commuting.  No more gas stations, oil changes, spark plugs, filters, belts, etc.  Far less, almost no maintenance really.  One pedal driving significantly reduces most brake wear. No cold engine operation.  It can warm up or cool off the interior while its sitting in the garage.  More luggage space.  However, when it comes to a track car I don't want all-electric.  The Porsche 718 is supposed to get an all-electric version in the future.  I may actually want one as a commuter car but it will stay home when I go to the track.  I want the flat 6 engine for that.  The electric 718 would probably put down quicker lap times, but still I want the flat 6.  It may seem odd for a logical engineer such as myself to say these things but even us logical engineers have things we are passionate about that defy pure logic.

Daniel Pink wrote a book called Drive that gives insight into human behavior.

This starts to explain some of this behavior of why we do some irrational things.  He describes three key elements of human satisfaction: purpose; autonomy; and mastery.  This passion that drives High Performance Drivers Education (HPDE or track day) participants is here in these elements.  I think the strongest correlation is with the mastery element.  Mastery is the desire to be good at something.  This is "practice makes perfect" that we have all heard.  It's our desire to achieve perfect and the thrill that comes with it.  So, what does engine sound have to do with this?  That sound, and the non-linear, high RPM power-band of a high performance naturally aspirated engine, give an extra element of feedback and challenge to achieving mastery.  Even more, the same is true for the PDK versus manual with a clutch pedal.  Mastering these extra challenges are part of achieving greater mastery.  If it was easy, the challenge would be gone and mastering it would mean nothing.  I actually like the PDK but I certainly understand those who prefer a clutch pedal.

There is something more to the sound of a great engine though.  It is certainly a much wider crowd than just track people who love the sound of a great engine.  To a real enthusiast it is better than music, or maybe a form of music.  The sound of a great engine is very hard to replicate with audio equipment since you feel it as much as you hear it.  Also, from the drivers perspective it is synchronized with acceleration which is a big part of this experience.  Even the experience between driver and passenger in the same car at the same time is quite different because of this.  I actually was not a huge fan of the sound of a Porsche flat 6 until I drove one.  From inside the car it is quite different.  Driving it is even better.  If you never had that experience, the flat 4 718 would be great.  But those of us that have experienced a Porsche flat 6 at full throttle redline know what I am taking about and that is missing in the flat 4.  I actually love the combination of induction and exhaust sound.  In fact, full throttle induction sound is even sweeter than exhaust sound in my opinion.  Put them together and it is blissful. 

Other manufacturers are understanding the importance of engine sound.  One great example is the Aston Martin Valkyrie.  Check it out on the dyno.

They could have easily turbocharged a V8 to get this performance but instead they went a much harder route of building a naturally aspirated V12 with a very high redline.  Obviously this car is not just about quick lap times but rather driver engagement.  Another is the Shelby GT350 with the Ford Voodoo engine.  The list is starting to grow.

I think the future of performance drivers cars will be more hybrids.  Porsche made the 918, Ferrari made the LaFerrari, and McLaren made the P1 years ago showcasing what street performance hybrids can do.  The Valkyrie is also hybrid, as are many other performance cars.  Now Vonnen has made a hybrid conversion for many Porsche models.  These are very different hybrids than the economy focused ones.  These use hybrid drive that is focused on performance.  The batteries are small so as not to increase the weight.  Just enough battery to add the extra power when you need it, and where you need it.  The hybrid drive augments a high-revving often naturally aspirated performance engine very nicely filling in power down low where these engines lack it.  Yet you still get all the sound and engine characteristics you like, just with more power.  Formula 1 went hybrid (KERS) back in 2009.  Most of the top Le Mans race cars have also been hybrid, such as the Porsche 919.