Cleopatra Wash Trail

Cleopatra Wash is an about 5.9-mile out-and-back from the 4WD trailhead to Lake Mead and back. Allow about three to four hours for the rocky wash, short scrambles, and the climb out to the lake. This is a remote, lightly marked route through the Black Mountains, not a maintained canyon path.

The 5.9-mile figure starts at the 4WD trailhead on Boathouse Cove Road. The 2WD trailhead is farther back; starting there adds about 0.7 mile round trip. The road beyond the 2WD start is rough; the 2024 access report says high clearance and 4WD are needed to reach the full trailhead. Road conditions can change.

The walk follows the wash past small rock ledges and pour-overs, a broad sandy stretch with a large boulder, and two shallow narrows. The footing is loose and uneven. Some drops are bypassable, but the bigger obstacles take route-finding and short scrambles.

Near the lower canyon, the hiking line leaves the wash and climbs about 75 feet to a low saddle, then follows faint tracks down the ridge to the shore. Do not continue down the terminal canyon: that line reaches high pour-overs requiring a rope and technical climbing. The ridge is the no-rope hiking bypass.

Hard volcanic dikes cut across the wash and form the small ledges. In the red narrows, look for purple and green fragments set into the volcanic rock. The route crosses the Cleopatra part of an ancient stratovolcano; faulting split the original volcano into three sections, with the Hamblin and Cleopatra sections now about 12 miles apart. Bighorn sheep sign has been noted in the narrows, though sightings are never guaranteed.

The lake first appears around a bend in the canyon, before the final climb to the saddle. From the ridge, the wash and cove open up below; the descent ends on a gravel shore. Lake level and floods move that shoreline, so treat the mapped endpoint as approximate. The colored narrows and the view back toward the lake are the strongest places to frame the canyon walls with the wash or trail in the foreground.

Lake Mead’s desert heat can become extreme in summer. Avoid this deep wash when storms threaten: flash floods can strike even when rain is falling elsewhere. There is no dependable water source on the route. Pets are allowed on park trails on a leash six feet or shorter.