+ 19
Southwest Ridge: Southern Loops
Mountain Biking Trail
Hard
14.43 mi
1,428 ft
Rock ledges, exposed cliffs, and epic views of the city!
Southwest Ridge rises directly above the southwest suburbs of the Las Vegas metro area. From the top of the ridge, you can see the entire metropolis spread out below you, and distinctly pick out specific casinos from the skyline of the Strip. But in addition to the impressive views of Las Vegas, Southwest Ridge offers some rad technical mountain biking!
Menny Thanks is the primary tech loop that anchors the southern end of this trail system. It climbs steeply to gain the ridge and then spends several miles traversing along the rim. You'll have to keep your eyes on the trail, though, because the singletrack negotiates a constant series of sharp rock ledges, both up and down, as you undulate along the bench.
(Note: it's tough to spot the turn off of the dirt road onto the Menny Thanks singletrack the first time you ride this route if you aren't riding with a local. Keep your eyes peeled, and be sure to download this route for offline navigation so you don't get lost.)
After swinging around the top of the ridge on Menny Thanks, you can tack on some delightful bonus miles on the Legalize It trail, Legalize It combines flowy turns with techy rock ledges as it traverses the opposite rim of the ridge.
If you haven't had enough, after Legalize It, you can take the Connect the Dots trail over a narrow neck of the ridge to access the greater bulk of singletrack in the northern end of this network. There, you can concoct another delightful loop on top of a northern section of the ridge (one of the many options is shown here), then return via Connect the Dots for your final descent.
The route shown here rips down Bipolar. Bipolar is a riotous descent back down the mountain via a combination of high-speed flowy singletrack, chundery rock gardens, and a series of ledge drops that offer some serious hang time! "Ledges" is the name of the game at Southwest Ridge, and you'll either get your ledge hucking game down, or crash your brains out trying!
Actually, it's probably best to *not* crash your brains out, because the singletrack here is quite exposed in places. Especially on top of the ridge, the trail tread is dramatically exposed above a series of vertical cliffs. This ride isn't for the faint of heart or short of skills. Written by Greg Heil
Southwest Ridge rises directly above the southwest suburbs of the Las Vegas metro area. From the top of the ridge, you can see the entire metropolis spread out below you, and distinctly pick out specific casinos from the skyline of the Strip. But in addition to the impressive views of Las Vegas, Southwest Ridge offers some rad technical mountain biking!
Menny Thanks is the primary tech loop that anchors the southern end of this trail system. It climbs steeply to gain the ridge and then spends several miles traversing along the rim. You'll have to keep your eyes on the trail, though, because the singletrack negotiates a constant series of sharp rock ledges, both up and down, as you undulate along the bench.
(Note: it's tough to spot the turn off of the dirt road onto the Menny Thanks singletrack the first time you ride this route if you aren't riding with a local. Keep your eyes peeled, and be sure to download this route for offline navigation so you don't get lost.)
After swinging around the top of the ridge on Menny Thanks, you can tack on some delightful bonus miles on the Legalize It trail, Legalize It combines flowy turns with techy rock ledges as it traverses the opposite rim of the ridge.
If you haven't had enough, after Legalize It, you can take the Connect the Dots trail over a narrow neck of the ridge to access the greater bulk of singletrack in the northern end of this network. There, you can concoct another delightful loop on top of a northern section of the ridge (one of the many options is shown here), then return via Connect the Dots for your final descent.
The route shown here rips down Bipolar. Bipolar is a riotous descent back down the mountain via a combination of high-speed flowy singletrack, chundery rock gardens, and a series of ledge drops that offer some serious hang time! "Ledges" is the name of the game at Southwest Ridge, and you'll either get your ledge hucking game down, or crash your brains out trying!
Actually, it's probably best to *not* crash your brains out, because the singletrack here is quite exposed in places. Especially on top of the ridge, the trail tread is dramatically exposed above a series of vertical cliffs. This ride isn't for the faint of heart or short of skills. Written by Greg Heil
Created By
Strava Routes
Route and Elevation
Segments
| Name | Distance | Elev. Diff. | Avg. Grade |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dam to M Wood | 0.55 mi | 171 ft | 5.6% |
| The Stripper Pole | 2.07 mi | 479 ft | 4.4% |
| SWR single track climb to Good Call | 1.51 mi | 315 ft | 3.9% |
| SWR single track climb to Menny Thanks | 2.19 mi | 328 ft | 2.4% |
| Grunting up Lower Ike's | 1.23 mi | 243 ft | 3.8% |
| The real Ike's Exposure | 0.77 mi | -108 ft | -1.3% |
| Ikes Stash | 2.27 mi | -141 ft | -0.0% |
| Ike's Exposure | 0.87 mi | -118 ft | -2.2% |
| Droppin' the Dots | 0.17 mi | -62 ft | -7.1% |
| Mustacio | 1.19 mi | 98 ft | 1.5% |
| Logan's Run | 1.21 mi | -121 ft | -1.6% |
| up the connector | 0.42 mi | 66 ft | 2.9% |
| un-droppin' the dots | 0.18 mi | 69 ft | 7.1% |
| Legalize It | 2.99 mi | 105 ft | 0.1% |
| Legal to Good Call | 1.62 mi | 102 ft | 0.4% |
| Legalize It (West) CCW | 1.43 mi | 72 ft | 0.2% |
| Southern Braaaap zone | 1.49 mi | 75 ft | 0.0% |
| It's legal regal | 0.92 mi | 62 ft | 0.5% |
| Pre - Bi Polar | 0.42 mi | -112 ft | -5.0% |
| Menny-Bipolar | 1.69 mi | -384 ft | -4.3% |
| Manic | 1.42 mi | -243 ft | -3.0% |
| Bipolar | 1.38 mi | -203 ft | -2.8% |
| Bipolar split to end | 1.44 mi | -285 ft | -3.7% |
| God Speed | 0.31 mi | -75 ft | -4.6% |
| Depression | 0.22 mi | -148 ft | -12.8% |
| Bi Polar Exit Strategy | 0.25 mi | -144 ft | -10.5% |