Laughlin, Nevada, can serve as a great home base for off-roading. Although the road continues on over the pass into the Cerbat Mountains and on into Golden Valley, you can park beneath the ruins.

Ghost towns to explore, trails to see, gold mines to tour, and a fine steak or crab legs waiting back at headquarters. Your wife wants to spend a week by the pool, and she wants several restaurants within walking distance. Your kids want to play on their ATVs or PWCs. And you want to go four wheeling—not to mention that you want to take a dip in the clear, clean Colorado after a day on the trail. There’s only one place where your family can do it all—Laughlin, Nevada!

The only major remains are that of the Golden Gem Mill (in the foreground) and the Golden Gem’s head frame.

Laughlin is about 100 miles southeast of Las Vegas and about five miles north of the Mojave Road trailhead, just inside Nevada’s south-pointing arrowhead, and nestled beside the mighty Colorado River. With California to the south and Arizona across the river to the east, the location is known as the tri-state area. And it’s a spot that abounds with trails and historic places to visit that include several ghost town sites.

Ignoring the Colorado River flowing beneath your hotel window, let’s start with some close-in easy wheeling spots. SR 163 (one of the shortest state routes in Nevada—it connects Casino Road with US 95) heads westward, uphill to US 95. All along its south side are hills and canyons that seem to be designed just for ATV riding. There are plenty of places to unload the ATVs or to camp, and trails perfect for family four-wheeling on ATVs. Some of them might even present a challenge for your stock Jeep. With the exceptions of some dirt roads leading to coves and camping spots on the shores of Lake Mojave and the Christmas Tree Pass Road, the north side of SR 163 is off-limits to off-roading because it’s all part of the Lake Mead National Recreation Area. (Christmas Tree Pass Road is an unpaved “shortcut” between SR 163 and US 95 that winds through some very scenic rock formations and past an extensive collection of ancient American Indian petroglyphs.)

Now let’s head across the river for Cerbat, Arizona, which is less than 37 miles from downtown Laughlin. Would you believe that you can actually print out directions to Cerbat via Mapquest? For those who don’t like to ask for directions, we’ve also included GPS coordinates.

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Below the Golden Gem’s head frame (on the left) you’ll find a huge tailing pile of non-ore-bearing dirt and rocks. It was about to interfere with the mill’s operations when the mine shut down.

Nevada SR 163 ends in the middle of the bridge and Arizona SR 68 begins, and it immediately turns left at the Arizona side of the bridge. Follow SR 68 for 27 miles east through Golden Valley and toward Kingman. Hang a left on US 93 (which goes across Hoover Dam back into Nevada) for 5.7 miles. Set your odometer because your next right turn—county road 255—is very difficult to spot unless you slow down just before you get there. CR 125, a left turn, is very easy to spot. You’ll follow CR 125 for half mile and then turn right onto Cerbat Road. I’d suggest 4WD at this point because when we last visited the site the sand wash through which Cerbat Road goes is very soft. Just before the site of Cerbat, the road starts a shallow climb out of the sand wash until you’re overlooking a currently-operating mine.

You’ll find the broken ground—much of it overgrown tailings—between the parking area and the Golden Gem’s remains very steep, loose and rocky. Be careful! And a walking stick may prove its worth on this hill alone.

Named for the mountain range where it’s located, Cerbat is an Indian word meaning bighorn sheep, which are often seen in the area (you might also be lucky enough to see wild horses and wild burros in the area). Cerbat mines began opening in the 1860s when rich gold and silver veins were found, and a settlement was born in the early 1870s (it was even the Mohave County seat for a few years in the ‘70s). Cerbat never had more than a 100 residents or so in its isolated location, yet it did have a doctor and a lawyer. Three mines were developed: the Esmeralda, the Golden Gem, and the Vanderbilt. Today, the Golden Gem Mill and the mine’s head frame still stand among scattered debris, but nothing else is left of this once active township. (Please note: Leave your flashlights in your vehicle, and keep track of your kids and dogs, as there is a deep, uncovered shaft not far from the base of the mill and a few smaller shafts are scattered about.) Also, please don’t bother the folks at the working mine (if they’re bothered too much they could consider closing the road).

I would have tried driving up to the head frame, but the current owners frown on such activities.

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As you can see, a stock SUV can easily make the trip to Cerbat.

Back in Laughlin that evening, you can grab a shower and a steak before trying your chances at the slots or tables. And if you visit Laughlin in late January, you can add SCORE’s annual first off-road race of the season to the mix. Each year, the Laughlin Desert Challenge kicks off the year with two full days of racing. You can get up close and personal with the racers and the track and enjoy all the excitement of the world’s best high-speed racing.

Among the scattered debris around the Golden Gem, we found this little slice of someone’s heaven.

As I said earlier, Cerbat is just one high point in an area that shouts, “Come and see me!” During the warm months you can play in the river and lakes; during the cool months you can wheel and explore the countryside.

A pair of cerbats (desert big horns) were seen in the area. Keep your eyes peeled and your cameras ready.

Where to stay? With 10 casino hotels in town, nine of them on the western bank of the Colorado River, you’ll have no trouble finding a room, restaurant, or a game. If you tow your off-roader with an RV, Riverside Casino owns a huge campground just across Casino Drive from the hotel, or you can dry-camp in any of the casinos’ parking lots.

I’ve just given you a taste of the off-roading available in the tri-state area. There are uncountable more trails within a hundred miles of Laughlin and many more ghost towns to visit, but I haven’t the space here to list them. In addition to the Cerbat road, you’ll find many trails more difficult. For some books on the subject, see 4-wheel Drive Roads of Mohave County, 4-wheel Drive Roads of Yavapai County, Arizona Ghost Towns and Mining Camps, Backcountry Adventures Arizona, and Ghost Towns of Arizona. All these books are available at Hastings Book Store in Bullhead City, Arizona.

Just west of the Golden Gem remains, this working mine—with the owners in residence—is still busy removing gold ore from the earth.