Overview

Logan Canyon Road (westbound) is a fairly well-maintained dirt road that normally is suitable for 2WD-HC vehicles. The road starts along Highway 318 in Hiko and runs northwest up the desert bajada into Logan Canyon. After passing through the Mt. Irish Archeological District and by the ghost town of Logan, the road narrows and climbs steeply into a Pinyon-Juniper Woodland and eventually climbs onto Logan Pass at the crest of the Mount Irish Range. Descending the other side steeply, the road passes Rosie's Mining Cabin (an historic log cabin) and an old mine site, then descends out of the forest to end in the desert at an intersection with Wild Horse Valley Road.

Logan Canyon Road provides sightseers spectacular scenery and access to remarkable archeological and cultural sites, but it can be rather rough climbing over the mountains.

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 maintained, there are occasional hazards such as errant boulders in the roadway. Beyond the archeological district, the road narrows and becomes much rougher.

The road crosses Silver Canyon Wash at about 7 miles out. This is a traditional washout area, and deep gravel and rocks sometimes block passage by 2WD vehicles. The county maintains the road, but this is a low priority area.

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 work along parts of this road, including atop Logan Pass.

Getting to the Road

Logan Canyon Road is located in the east-central part of Basin and Range National Monument, about 1-1/2 hours (110 miles) northeast of Las Vegas driving directly, or about 4 minutes (3.2 miles) north of the intersection of Highway 93 and Highway 318.

From Las Vegas, drive north on Interstate-15 for 21 miles to Highway 93. Turn left onto Great Basin Highway (Hwy 93) and top off the gas tank if necessary. Drive north through 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, Rachael, and Lund.

Turn left onto Highway 318 and drive west then north on Highway 318 for 3.2 miles to Logan Canyon Road on the left. The intersection is not marked, but watch for a dirt road with a wire-fence gate on the left.

The Road

From the pavement (Table 1, Site 1130), Logan Canyon Road runs northwest as it gently climbs the desert bajada towards Mt. Irish in the distance.

At about 0.9 miles out, Hiko Dump Road forks hard to the right, but the main road clearly continues straight. Hiko Dump Road leads to the Hiko Dump, an alternative way to start this road without opening and closing the highway wire-fence gate.

Along this lower part of Logan Canyon Road, the road surface usually is in good shape and drivers can keep up a good speed, but watch for errant boulders turned up by graders and potholes where boulders were dug up but the holes not filled in.

At about 5.3 miles out, the road passes a sign on the right and enters the Basin and Range National Monument. In this area, the landscape feels more like a broad canyon rather than a bajada.

At about 6.8 miles out, the road forks (Site 1131). Logan Canyon Road curves left, while Silver Canyon Road stays straight (right). Silver Canyon Road runs northwest to the original mining area that drew the first miners to this part of Nevada.

Staying on Logan Canyon Road, a few yards past the fork, the first Mt. Irish Petroglyph Site sign sits on the right side of the road. About 100 yards farther, a wide spot in the road (Site 1132) permits parking and a short trail south to Echo Rock, the first of the petroglyph sites.

Continuing, the road becomes narrower and more winding as it runs westward and then bends more to the southwest following along the base of a rock hill. Here, the road often is washed out, and one rocky step (7.1 miles out) sometimes is sufficient to require 2WD-HC vehicles.

At about 7.6 miles out, a side road (Site 1133) to the left provides cherry-stem access into the Mt. Irish Wilderness Area. Continuing straight on the main road, the road eventually bends a bit to the right to run more northwest.

At the bend, about 8.2 miles out, Logan Pass Road passes through Mt. Irish Campground (Site 1985) with a vault toilet and a couple of campsites on each side of the road.

At 8.6 miles out, the road passes a parking area (Site 1134) on the right adjacent to a rock pile, at the front of which is the second Mt. Irish Petroglyph Site sign. This is the Paiute Rock petroglyph site.

Continuing, at about 9.0 miles out, Shaman Road (Site 1135) forks left and leads to the Shaman Hill (Site 1136) and Shaman Knob (Site 1137) petroglyph sites. As with the two previous petroglyph sites, these two are remarkable, but the road dips steeply through two washes that scrape front bumpers and tailpipes, so it might be best to walk the 0.2 miles from the main road.

Beyond Shaman Road, Logan Canyon Road degrades somewhat and becomes steeper. At about 9.2 and 9.3 miles out, side roads right run north and join, but the main road continues straight.

At about 9.7 miles out, Logan Townsite Road (Site 1592) forks to the left while the main road stays right. Logan Townsite Road runs about 0.3 miles southwest to the ghost town of Logan, a mining town that was established in 1866, grew to a population of 300, and was abandoned in 1869.

Continuing, Logan Canyon Road bends northwest. At about 9.9 miles out, a side road hard to the left runs back to Logan Townsite, while the main road continues straight (bending right). This side road is not the preferred route to Logan.

At this point, the road narrows and begins to steeply climb towards Logan Pass on the skyline to the west. The road runs up the canyon bottom where there can be some washout issues, but eventually the road climbs onto side slopes and improves. In this area, the road is shaded by Utah Juniper and Singleleaf Pinyon, a forest of the Pinyon-Juniper Woodland.

At 11.6 miles out, the road arrives on Logan Pass (Site 1590). Views from the pass are grand, especially to the east where Hiko is visible in the valley bottom and a series of mountain ranges disappear into the distance. This is also the trailhead for Mt. Irish (about 1-3/4 miles north) and Peak 7564 (about 3/4 miles south), the highpoint in the Mt. Irish Wilderness Area. Views west down the canyon are relatively short, as Monte Mountain (7957 ft) in the Timpahute Range dominates the landscape. Mt Irish Trailhead Road forks hard to the right.

Running down the west side of the pass, the road remains narrow and steep, with some surprising drop-offs along the edge of the road. The road is also somewhat rocky, but it remains suitable for 2WD-HC vehicles when dry.

At 12.3 and 12.4 miles out, short side roads right make a 0.3-mile loop through the Rosario Arcurio Mine area where silver, lead, copper, and gold were mined (Nevada State Inspector of Mines, 1919).

At 12.5 miles out, the road passes the Logan Road Log Cabin (Site 1591), on the left. This remarkable log cabin was built by hand in the 1860s and visitors can see how the logs were hewn by hand.

Continuing, the road passes side roads to the left (13.4 and 13.5 miles out). Judging from aerial photos, these might have been logging roads that produced timber for the Crescent Spring Lumber Mill, near the bottom of the valley.

The road drops out of the trees and runs into desert scrub vegetation, eventually ending at a 4-way intersection (Site 1582; 15.4 miles out). Here, Wild Horse Road runs straight and right, while the road left runs up to the Crescent Spring Lumber Mill.