Colorado River Heritage Greenway Park and Trails

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(Fig. 01)

Description: The Colorado River Heritage Greenway Park and Trails, also known as North Reach, was dedicated on July 27, 2012. This expansion of the Laughlin Riverwalk has 9 miles of trails for bicyclists, pedestrians and equestrian riders. It starts from a large park in Laughlin that contains picnic sites with shade shelters and fully developed restrooms and a highway pedestrian bridge (Fig. 01) overpass and underpass that provides access to the Colorado River, fishing piers and several more picnic areas along a 2-mile trail to the Davis Dam. Click here to learn more about the dam ... Davis Dam. In 2013 it was awarded AGO (America’s Great Outdoors) recognition. AGO’s major objectives are to engage, educate and employ young people and to reconnect Americans with their outdoor heritage and recreation opportunities on public lands. There are currently 4 trailheads located within the park’s 1,191 acres, the Bridge Trailhead, the North Reach Trailhead, the Equestrian Trailhead, and the Pyramid Canyon Trailhead (Fig. 02).

(Fig. 02)

	Riverwalk Exploration Trail – The Bridge Trailhead starts above the parking lot at the corner of State Road 163 and Casino Drive where there is ample parking, restrooms and water available (see Fig. 02). This trailhead  is the beginning of the Riverwalk Exploration Trail, and runs through the bridge that crosses SR-163.  The trail is a relatively flat 2 mile, hard surface trail that runs from the Bridge to the Davis Dam. Passing several picnicking and shade shelters with water available, this is a pedestrian, wheelchair and bicycle trail that is great for bird watching and a leisurely hike.
	The North Reach Trailhead starts north of the Bridge Trailhead and is reachable from westbound SR163 (Casino Drive north bound then left on SR163, take the 1st right) (see Fig. 02). There is parking, restrooms and water available. This trailhead is a short distance inside the Riverwalk Exploration Trail that leads to the Davis Dam. You can actually see a portion of the dam from this starting point (Fig. 03).
	(Fig. 03)
	The Equestrian Trailhead is located on Davis Dam Road north of SR 163. There are vault toilets available, limited parking but NO WATER. There are corrals and parking for horse trailers (see Fig. 02). This is the starting point for the Horseshoe Trail, the Dam Overlook Trail, and the Desert Trail. The Trailheads start to the right of the facilities.                   Horseshoe (Loop) Trail –This is a 2.75 mile trail with native soil that provides moderate climbs. This more challenging hike, designed for horses, hikers and mountain bikes, has no available water stops.
	Dam Overlook Trail – This is a relatively short, 0.8 mile trail with native soil that offers a moderate climb to the top of a ridge overlooking Davis Dam and the Colorado River. Available for hikers and mountain bikers,there are no available water stops.
	Desert Trail – This 2.8 mile trail is on a relatively flat a packed surface. Because this trail runs through the desert, native wildlife may be encountered. Available for hikers, mountain bikers and horses, there are no water stops available.
	The Pyramid Canyon Loop Trailhead is located on Davis Dam Road across the River from Davis Dam. There is ample parking, restrooms, and water available (see Fig. 02). There are shelters with BBQ grills for picnicking. and with BBQ grills. The north trailhead to the Riverwalk Exploration Trail starts just south of the entrance to the Pyramid Canyon.
	Pyramid Canyon Loop Trail – This short half-mile trail is accessible from the picnic area located just below the Davis Dam, runs along the shoreline and provides shoreline access to three fishing piers (Fig. 04).                   (Fig. 04) 12/19/2013 Trip Notes: On today’s visit with the rock-hounds from the Henderson Senior Facility, we spent several hours hiking along the top of the dam and the Heritage Park’s trails, before ending the day with a barbecue picnic. The pictures in (Figs. 05 & 06) are of my hiking partner Mike at the top of the Dam Overlook Trail. (Figs. 07-10) give you an idea of the views available from the top of this hike. On the way down we took the Horseshoe Loop Trail which then ran up the river towards the dam. Along the way I spotted a group of Hooded Merganser ducks (Figs. 11-13) in the distance near the other side of the river. I think this is the first time I have ever seen these beautiful ducks. Click here to learn more ... Hooded Merganser (Lophodytes cucullatus).                      (Fig. 05) (Fig. 06) (Fig. 07) (Fig. 08) (Fig. 09) (Fig. 10) (Fig. 11) (Fig. 12) (Fig. 13) 10/31/2013 Trip Notes: While spending the past week in Laughlin for a little "mini vacation", I took the time to visit both ends of the Heritage Trails park system. Though I didn't do any actual hiking of the trails here, this was more of a reconnaissance mission for a planned hiking trip in December.