Conitour Loop Road - Arizona Petroglyph Wash

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This page last updated on 12/12/2019

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Directions: It is about 36 miles from the dam. From the Dam drive 19 miles on US-93. Turn left onto the Temple Bar Rd (Mojave Country Rd No. 143). Drive 13 miles until just before it makes a sharp right turn. At this point, leave the paved road and proceed straight ahead (north) towards the lake on Bonelli Landing Road (Road No.74). Drive down and look for AR71, the Cohenour Loop Road. Go left at the fork. Drive west on AR71 for 3 miles. Petroglyphs are on both side of the road where it passes through the rocks and cliffs.  

Description of Area: The Petroglyph wash is located on the northern edge of the Mount Wilson Wilderness area. The 23,900-acre wilderness is stretched out along Wilson Ridge, about 30 miles southeast of Las Vegas in northwestern Arizona. The high point of the property is Mount Wilson (5,445'). As you approach Mount Wilson Wilderness on US 93, you'll probably be thinking this is just a stark and barren, waterless, rocky, extremely rugged landscape. Mount Wilson Wilderness is all of that but, in spots, there are reliable year-round springs that support riparian areas and lots of wildlife, including about 100 desert bighorn sheep. Wilson Ridge rises to more than 3,000' above the surrounding desert floor, affording great views of the badlands, mesas, mountains, colored cliffs, and deserts that surround Lake Mead. To get to the Missouri Spring Access: go south of Hoover Dam about 19 miles on US 93, turn northeast onto the Temple Bar Road. About 10.8 miles in you should come to Road #130 on the Lake Mead National Recreation Area. Turn left and go about 3.1 miles to trailhead parking. You're going to want high clearance 4WD for this access. The Petroglyph wash is about another 2-3 miles on road #74. Look for AR71, the Cohenour Loop Road. Go left at the fork. Drive west on AR71 for 3 miles. Petroglyphs are on both side of the road where it passes through the rocks and cliffs.

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12/10/2019 Trip Notes: Today Bob Croke, Ron Ziance Cynthia Pace, and her friend Richard and his Hummer and I drove to Temple Bar Road. We drove about 15 miles until the road, Bonelli Landing Road, #AR74, turned to dirt road and headed north towards Bonelli. after about another 4-5 miles you come to a cross-roads of Cohenour Loop Road (#AR71) and Bonelli Bay Road. We turned left onto AR71 and headed to the Petroglyph Wash and the area of the petroglyphs. After about 3 miles, Cohenour Loop Road (#AR71) splits (Fig. 04). We went left and drove the "loop" around and ended up back at the intersection where the road split. At this point we began to notice some rocks with a dark patina containing some petroglyphs (Fig. 05). We got out and starting walking the rocks on both sides of the road (Fig. 06). Refer to (Fig. 03) The collages in (Figs. A, B and C) of just a sampling of some of the petroglyphs we observed. (Notes continued below)

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(Fig. A) These were some of the first we observed on the left side of the road

(Fig. B) These where on the right side of the Road

(Fig. C) These were a little further down the road on the left

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Trip Notes Continued: After we took the left turn at the split of AR#71 we didn't see any more rock art, though the desert landscape and surrounding mountains provided some nice scenic views (Figs. 09 & 10). At one point we even spotted a large, well fed bull (Figs. 11 and 12). After following the for several miles, we actually came upon a group of five of them, as seen in the collage (Fig. 13). As we were finishing the "loop" we took a side road, Pope Mine Road #72 (Fig. 14), that led us to a mountain top that provided some of the most outstanding views we have ever seen. You could even see Las Vegas and Mt. Charleston in the distance (Figs. 15 thru 17). The last picture (Fig. 18) is Bob hiking down from the highest peak that we reached. In summary, we enjoyed the day and were all surprised hog good the road was. We were also surprised at how many petroglyphs we observed. It was a just another great day.

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