Both banks of the Colorado River have a trail system called the Colorado River Heritage Greenway, and they don't run on the same hours. On the Arizona side, Bullhead City's best-known stretch, the Colorado River Nature Center, closes at sunset. On the Nevada side, Clark County's Greenway park in Laughlin stays open until 11 p.m., every day of the year. By the first week of November it gets dark early, and that gap matters more than any trail map. Plan mornings on the Arizona bank and evenings on the Nevada bank.
Same Name, Two Governments
The shared name hides two systems of very different size. Bullhead City's adopted Heritage Trail Plan covers about 30 miles, from paved multi-use paths to rougher desert routes. You can join it at Rotary Park, Veterans Memorial Park, the Colorado River Nature Center, Davis Camp and Gary Keith Civic Center Park. Many sections are paved and work well for strollers and wheels. Others have a natural surface, and benches and ramadas are spaced along the way.
The Laughlin side is smaller and more finished. Clark County calls it the North Reach, and it officially opened to visitors in 2012. It has nine miles of trails for cyclists, walkers and horseback riders. It also has full restrooms, developed trailheads, picnic sites, shade shelters, fishing piers, and a pedestrian bridge over the highway and an underpass beneath it that lead to the river. The project was named an America's Great Outdoors Initiative project and an America's Great Outdoors Rivers Initiative project. The first program picks two projects per state, and the rivers program picks 10 across the Pacific Northwest and Western states.
One side is a long, spread-out plan with access points across the city. The other is a compact park with set hours. That difference shapes how each bank works on a November day.
The Hours Decide the Bank
The two banks compare like this:
| Bullhead City, Colorado River Nature Center | Laughlin, Heritage Greenway Park and Trails | |
|---|---|---|
| Who runs it | City of Bullhead City | Clark County |
| Hours | Sunrise to sunset, daily | 6 a.m. to 11 p.m., every day of the year |
| Use | Day use only | Several entry points, easy to reach from the riverwalk resorts |
| Size | 500 acres, eight trails | About nine miles of trails |
| Parking | Two parking areas with kiosks | Free parking in several lots |
| Paved option | Educational trail around the backwater ponds | Riverfront Trail, wheelchair accessible |
Watch the clock for one more reason. Nevada falls back to standard time on November 1, and Arizona doesn't change its clocks. From then until spring, Laughlin runs an hour behind Bullhead City. The park's 11 p.m. closing is Nevada time, so it falls at midnight on a phone set to Arizona time. That gives you an extra hour of evening on the Nevada bank.
The two systems are run separately, and Visit Laughlin's own materials don't agree on the details. Its May 2025 trail guide says 9 miles of trails and calls the paved route the 1.7-mile Riverfront Trail. Its park listing describes more than ten miles of the northern riverfront turned into Heritage Trails, and the trailhead map shows a two-mile "Riverwalk Exploration Trail." For planning, think of it as about nine miles of trail with a flat paved spine.
Mornings Belong to the Nature Center
Since the Arizona side closes at sunset, it's the place for daylight, and early light suits it best. The Colorado River Nature Center is at the south end of Bullhead City. Its 500 acres hold eight trails through desert, wetlands and river habitat. The easiest is the paved educational trail around the backwater ponds, with wildlife signs, benches and a shaded ramada.
The city lists bobcats, coyotes, beavers, bald eagles and peregrine falcons among the wildlife seen there. An observation platform looks over the ponds, the river and the desert, and viewing binoculars point across the Colorado. The platform is up a flight of stairs. If someone in your group needs a step-free route, plan on the paved pond loop. Signs at the entrance and along the trails show the way, and the city asks visitors to bring water and keep dogs on a leash.
The Nature Center is day use only and opens at sunrise. A walk before work or a slow morning loop fits its hours. A stroll after dinner doesn't.
Evenings Run West, on Four Trails
The Laughlin park's 11 p.m. closing makes it the river trail for after dark. Visit Laughlin describes four trails, and they differ in surface and in whether there's water along the way:
- Riverfront Trail: 1.7 miles, mostly flat, good for walkers and cyclists, wheelchair accessible, with drinking fountains along the route. This is the evening walk.
- Horseshoe Trail: 2.7 miles of native soil, suited to horses, hikers and mountain bikes. No drinking water.
- Dam Overlook Trail: 0.8 miles, the hardest of the four, climbing a gentle incline to a scenic overlook. No horses and no drinking water.
- Desert Trail: 2.8 miles of hard-packed surface branching off the Dam Overlook Trail. Drinking fountains are available and horses are allowed. Native wildlife can show up here.
Four trailheads serve them: the Bridge, North Reach, Equestrian and Pyramid Canyon trailheads. Clark County's master plan describes the system as a link from the Laughlin Riverwalk, by way of a pedestrian overpass, north to the Davis Dam area. Anglers should look for the Pyramid Canyon fishing piers beside the Pyramid Canyon Day-Use Area on the trailhead map. If you're bringing a horse trailer, the small lot off Davis Dam Road has trailer parking and horse access.
Plan for water, too. Only the Riverfront Trail and the Desert Trail have fountains. On the Horseshoe or Dam Overlook trails, carry your own, cool season or not.
Davis Camp, the Arizona Access With a Gate Fee
Bullhead City lists Davis Camp as one of its Greenway access points. It's the one stop that fits both a walk and a day on the water. Davis Camp is run by Mohave County, not the city, and the county's park page lists day use at $12 per vehicle from sunrise to sunset. Launching a boat costs $10 per vehicle on top of a day-use or camping pass. The page isn't dated, so check the current fee with the county before you go.
So it's three operators and three sets of rules on one stretch of river: a free city nature area that closes at sunset, a county park with a gate fee that also closes at sunset, and a free county park across the river that stays open until 11 p.m. Nevada time.
Putting the Two Banks to Work This Season
With the hours sorted, matching an outing to a bank is simple:
- Sunrise birding: the Colorado River Nature Center, starting with the observation platform and its view over the backwater ponds.
- A step-free walk with a wheelchair or stroller: the paved pond loop at the Nature Center in the morning, or the Riverfront Trail in Laughlin any time until 11 p.m.
- After dinner: the Riverfront Trail, starting from one of the free lots near the riverwalk resorts.
- Fishing from shore: the Pyramid Canyon fishing piers on the Nevada side.
- A harder hike or ride: the Dam Overlook Trail climbing to the overlook, then back on the Desert Trail, where there's water.
- Trail riding with horses: the Horseshoe and Desert trails, from the Davis Dam Road lot.
- A morning walk followed by a launch: Davis Camp, with the day-use and launch fees in hand.
The Laughlin park also has its own volunteer group. In 2024 the Clark County Commission created the Colorado River Heritage Greenway Park Trail Advisory Council, a five-member body that advises the county on the roughly two miles of park land along the river in Laughlin. It helps run programs in the park, including the annual Wings and Wildlife Festival and National Public Lands Day events, along with cleanups and safety outreach. For dates on either bank this season, check the City of Bullhead City and Clark County before you plan around an event.
Living near the river means being close to whichever trail suits the time of day. If you're weighing a home within walking distance of the Riverfront Trail or a short drive from the Nature Center gate, Crystal Fletcher and the US SOUTHWEST® Luxury Collection can show you how that access affects value along the corridor. Get Your Home Valuation, and we'll put a precise number on what your stretch of the river is worth.
