New Paved Trail Planned for Lake Mead, Arizona/Nevada

By Charles Pekow –
The Arizona Heritage Trail got a go-ahead. The Bureau of Reclamation plans to solicit construction bids for the 3.6-mile bike and hike trail to connect Bullhead City, AZ and Laughlin, NV with the Lake Mead National Recreation Area along the Colorado River south of Lake Mojave in northwest Arizona. The plan calls for the city of Bullhead and Mohave County to operate the trail through agreements with the bureau and National Park Service.
“We’re in the design stage. No timeframe. It’s at least a year or two out, probably,” says bureau Contract Specialist Diane Rodriguez.
Since 1999, Bullhead has been working on creating bicycle connections to the Colorado River Heritage Greenway Trail.
This upcoming hard-surface trail will run from the top of Davis Dam south to Laughlin Bridge, paralleling Arizona St. Rt. 68. The plan calls for trailheads at Davis Dam and Davis Camp. The trail will be 12 feet wide with three eight-foot wide access spurs; plus spots for fishing and launching kayaks. The trailheads will include everything from maps and interpretive panels to solar lighting, bike racks, trash cans, restrooms and doggy poop bag dispensers.
The trail will run from the dam to the Laughlin/Bullhead City Highway 163 Bridge that leads to Nevada, along an existing transmission line right-of-way. Those who want to climb a hill could use a planned spur to a scenic overlook with views of the Colorado River Valley, the dam, and Laughlin and Bullhead skylines. The proposed overlook would include a bench and shelter.
The bureau figures spending between $200,000 and $500,000 on construction.