The road winds its way through the 350,000 acres of the area known as Gold Butte and is 62 miles of traveling through some of the most beautiful desert areas near Mesquite.

The area was reminiscent of early miners and settlers, three separate Native American cultures that lived here, not to mention sites like The Devil's Throat, an enormous sink hole over 100 feet deep.

Mud Rock Petroglyph is visible from the byway, displaying excellent examples of Indian rock art.

The National Scenic Byways program is part of the Department of Transportation to help recognize, preserve and enhance a distinctive collection of select American roads, their stories and treasured places throughout the U.S.

These roads are the heart and soul of America and the Gold Butte Backcountry Byway is certainly one of those.

Gold Butte is a type 2 byway consisting of both paved and unpaved roads.

A four-wheel drive or high clearance vehicle is highly recommended.

The road is paved for the first 24 miles, followed by 19 miles on a well graded gravel road to the remnants of the tent mining camp of Gold Butte.

Beyond the deserted mining town, travel by four-wheel drive is necessary.

To fully enjoy the drive it takes between three to six hours, depending on the number of stops made.

As can be expected, hardy travelers exploring this road beforehand left several geocaches hidden throughout the area.

The area is well marked by BLM road markers complete with GPS coordinates every mile or so.

Simply driving through this adventurous back road is reward enough but enjoying the wonders of outdoor Nevada so close to Mesquite is a plus.

To get to the byway, from Mesquite take Riverside road toward Bunkerville and follow Riverside to Gold Butte Road near the south end of the Riverside bridge.

This will begin the journey.

At the town of Gold Butte, a directional sign will show the way to the backcountry road.

A four-wheel drive is necessary for this part of travel.

The 62 mile byway will end up back at Gold Butte Road.

Due to the length of the byway and sites to see along the way, it is recommended that the journey be started in the morning to have enough time to enjoy the drive before nightfall.

As with any travel in the remote parts of the desert, take the usual precautions and be prepared with lots of water, full tank of gas and use common sense by taking some dry food, sun screen and a first aid kit.

Desert travel can be rewarding and exciting but let someone know where you are going and when you expect to be back.