Overview

Garden Valley Southeast Road is a relatively well-maintained dirt road that normally is suitable for 2WD vehicles. The road runs across the southeast corner of Garden Valley between Garden Valley Road near Water Gap (Golden Gate Range) on the east and Mail Summit Road on the southwest. Across Mail Summit Road, the road continues towards the Worthington Range as the Garden Valley West Road.

Garden Valley Southeast Road passes cattle guards, fences, and watering troughs, but mostly it is a connector that facilitates travel from Water Gap south out the end of Garden Valley.

Link to Area Map or Road Map.

Watch Out

Other than the standard warnings about driving in the desert, ...this road is pretty safe, but be sure that your vehicle is in good working condition, carry plenty of water (radiator and drinking), and pack a lunch. Always drive carefully; even though the road is well maintained, there are occasional hazards such as errant boulders in the roadway and mud puddles after heavy rains.

Near the southwest end, the road runs across an area of fine dirt that can be churned into deep, blowing dust. When wet, this dust can create a mud trap for unprepared drivers.

While out, please respect the land and the other people out there, and try to Leave No Trace of your passage. This road goes into remote areas, so be sure to bring the 10 Essentials. Cell phones don't work.

Getting to the Road

Garden Valley Road is located in the central part of Basin and Range National Monument, about 3-1/4 hours (155 miles) northeast of Las Vegas driving directly, or about 1-3/4 hours (55 miles) north of the intersection of Highway 93 and Highway 318.

From Las Vegas, drive north on Interstate-15 21 miles to Highway 93. Turn left onto Hwy 93 and drive north past the towns of Alamo (95 miles from Las Vegas) and Ash Springs (102 miles) to the intersection of Highway 93 and Highway 318 (107 miles). Gasoline is available in Alamo, Ash Springs, Rachel, and Lund.

Turn left onto Highway 318 and drive west then north for 17.4 miles to Seaman Wash Road on the left. Turn onto Seaman Wash Road and drive northwest 26.5 miles to a fork in the road (stay "straight" at all forks and side roads to this point). At the fork, stay left onto Garden Valley Road. Passing nice views into Michael Heizer's land art sculpture City, the road forks. Stay left onto Garden Valley Southeast Road.

The Road

From the fork with Garden Valley Road (Table 1, Site 1565), Garden Valley Southeast Road stays left (straight) heading southwest towards the Worthington Range, which dominates the view along this part of the road.

The road winds a bit to pass low ridges (1.1 miles out), crosses a cattle guard (1.3 miles out), crosses a second cattle guard (4.4 miles out), and eventually reaches a T-intersection (Site 1580; 4.7 miles out).

The road right runs north to a T-intersection (Site 1579), turns left, and eventually connects to Mail Summit Road (Site 1569).

Garden Valley Southeast Road turns left to head south on what appears to be a little-used 2-track road. The road, however, remains fine. After passing over another cattle guard (5.9 miles out), the road bends hard to the right at a fork (7.3 miles out). A minor road continues straight towards a rusty watering trough in the not-to-far distance.

Bending right, Garden Valley Southeast Road runs more to the west and begins descending towards the bottom of the valley. At 7.7 miles out, a minor side road merges in from the left.

Near the bottom of the valley, the road crosses an area of fine, playa-bottom soils that can be churned into a deep, heavy dust. If the dust is deep or the ground is muddy, this area could be a problem for sedans.

Beyond the dusty area, the road runs southwest and eventually intersects Mail Summit Road (Site 0890). Garden Valley Southeast Road ends here, and drivers can turn left to continue heading south. Straight across, Garden Valley West Road continues to run south along the edge of the Worthington Range. Drivers could also turn right to head north on Mail Summit Road.