Description

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 trail 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.

The climb up the rim follows a narrow singletrack trail that traverses over some rocks, with loose dirt and sand in between.

Portions of this trail are a bit exposed and narrow, and the exposure increases as you climb. The views from the rim are incredible—be sure to soak them in, and even spend some time sitting and simply enjoying the view.

Note that the trail along the rim can be very exposed in places.

People who are uncomfortable with heights may not enjoy this trail, but the possibility of falling off still seems very low.

Since the wide mesa is so flat on top, only one side of the trail has any exposure at any given time. For the shortest route back down the mountain, take the Good Call trail down.

Good Call traverses the top of a ridge as it winds its way back toward the valley floor, affording views in an entirely different direction than the climb up Menny Thanks.