In this episode of CommunityCast, Howard Fox is joined by Paul Grube, the President of the River Mountains Loop Trail Partnership. Paul shares the fascinating history of this 34-mile paved trail and how it evolved from a "trail to nowhere" into a premier outdoor destination connecting Henderson, Boulder City, and the Lake Mead National Recreation Area.

From the lighthearted "adult beverage" origins of the trail’s concept in the late 90s to the technical challenges of maintaining a multi-jurisdictional loop, Paul provides an inside look at what makes this trail a local treasure. He also discusses the incredible wildlife encounters—from bighorn sheep to desert tortoises—and how the Partnership acts as the vital link between the trail’s users and the agencies that manage the land.

DISCUSSION

1. The Happy Hour Vision: Paul recounts how a hiking group from Southwest Gas dreamed up the idea for a continuous loop around the mountains in the mid-to-late 90s while enjoying a few drinks after a hike.
   
   
2. A Decade of Construction: Learn how the trail began as a single 12-foot wide segment in 2000 and grew piece-by-piece until the full 34-mile loop was completed in 2012.
   
   
3. Diverse Trail Users: Beyond cyclists and hikers, the trail accommodates skateboarders, rollerbladers, and even equestrians in specific safe zones where visibility allows for horses.
   
   
4. Wildlife Sightings: Paul shares his experiences spotting coyotes, rabbits, and bighorn sheep, including a humorous story about mistaking a juvenile desert tortoise for a rock.
   
   
5. Managing the Loop: As President, Paul explains the Partnership’s role as the "eyes and ears" on the trail, reporting washouts or safety issues to partners like Lake Mead, Henderson, and Boulder City.
   
   
6. Year-Round Recreation: Tips for enjoying the trail 12 months a year, including riding during full moons to avoid summer heat and the importance of desert hydration.
   
   
7. Community & Connection: Paul reflects on how the trail fosters camaraderie, from organized bicycle clubs to helping strangers fix flat tires during a ride.
   
   
8. Getting Started: For those without a bike, Paul suggests visiting local shops for rentals—including e-bikes and scooters—or simply starting with a short walk from one of the many trailheads.

LEARN MORE

To view trail maps, learn about the history, or find information on trailheads, visit https://rivermountainstrail.org or follow the River Mountains Loop Trail on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/RiverMountainsLoopTrail for real-time updates on construction and events.

Get Outdoors Nevada: https://getoutdoorsnevada.org/

NEXT STEPS

Visit the Boulder City Chamber of Commerce's website at https://www.bouldercitychamber.com/

KEYWORDS

Paul Grube, River Mountains Loop Trail, Boulder City, Henderson, Lake Mead, Cycling, Hiking, Outdoor Recreation, Bighorn Sheep, The Best Dam Podcast, Boulder City Chamber

#PaulGrube #RiverMountainsLoopTrail #BoulderCity #Henderson #LakeMead #OutdoorNevada #TheBestDamPodcast #SupportLocal #CyclingLife 

Podcast Transcripts

​Howard: Hello everybody. This is Howard Fox and welcome to Community Cast, a production of the Boulder City Chamber of Commerce. In each episode, we introduce you to the businesses. Whose experiences are integral to the enjoyment of Boulder City and the surrounding Las Vegas Valley. Now I have the pleasure today of introducing you to Paul Grube.

He is the president of the River Mountains Loop Trail Partnership. Paul, it's good to have you on community Cast. Welcome.

Paul: Thank you very much for having me.

Howard: Fantastic. Now, in the spirit of full disclosure, we attempted this once before out on the trail. Now we are in the Chamber's Mobile podcast studio.

When we were out on the trail, let's just say Mother Nature won first that round, and so we decided, let's, lets. Go in where it's safe and quiet. And Paul, again, welcome back. I wish your wife, Jennifer had been able to join us again, but I get, there's business to be attended to, but really for our listeners who want to hear more about the River Mountains Loop Trail and also the partnership.

So first off, if you would share a little bit about your background and how you got into involved with the partnership?

Paul: The River Mountains Loop Trail is a 34 mile, paved trail. it goes around the River mountains, it goes through Henderson, it goes through, Boulder City and lake Mead National Park.

So those are the areas that goes. I got involved, when I lived in Henderson and noticed some construction happening, some that was near our home at the time, and I just started digging around and finding out about it. And, I became a user and then I started attending meetings and. And eventually I, got voluntold to be a voluntold.

Howard:  Voluntold I love that

Paul: Voluntold to, to be a bigger part of it, and I'm happy to do it because it's a great service for, and a great opportunity for a lot of people in the Vegas Valley area of Boulder City to get out and enjoy.

Howard: Excellent. And I have to admit, I, it's, the mountain is not lost on me when I come into Boulder City and I have seen some bikers on it, perhaps runners, dog walkers, etcetera.

I'm sure there's even some wildlife which we will chat about. But now I need to go rent a bike and go on the loop trail. So that's part of my new bucket list of things to do. When you were getting involved with the loop trail and then ultimately when you were voluntold to take part of, in the partnership, give us a little, if you would, just a little history of the construction of the trail and why.

Why it's there now and why it's so beloved in this area of Boulder City, Henderson, and really Lake Mead in this specific area.

Paul: Some of the history is that, there was a hiking group from, a lot of 'em were for, from, Southwest Gas actually. and others. and there was a hiking group and they were out doing a hike one day, between Boulder City and Lake Mead.

Recreation area and they were, they thought after the hike and having a few adult beverages, wouldn't it be nice if we could do a continuous hike all the way around the mountains? so that's where it started. And that was in the mid to late nineties. they started, talking to the different entities, like I said, Boulder City, Henderson and Lake Mead.

And they came up with a, an agreement, that they were, they would work with them and they were interested in, having this come together. This plan. so in 2000, our first segment was constructed and put down. So that looked like a, multi-use trail, like a 12 foot wide, trail that's divided into the center.

You can ride both ways. but of course, at that time it was the first segment, so you couldn't, it was a trail to nowhere. because it wasn't connected with anything. 2001, we had our next, segment going and so on and so forth. By 2012, through a lot of hard work with all of our partners, the trail was completed.

And so now, to this day, you can ride the entire 34 mile loop. It's well, signed. there are many trailheads to access it from. And it's a great resource. if you're listening to this podcast, please come out and enjoy.

Howard: Excellent. I noticed, from looking at the wonderful map and for our listeners, we're gonna provide a link to the map, in our show notes.

It's up on the, the, the partnerships website. And, but on the webpage, we also have a link to a, hopefully a JPEG of it. the fact that you can come onto this trail. At multiple points around those 34 miles. That is great. I also noticed it connects to the wetlands and there's a couple other connectors, there as well.

Would you say that the trails used again, we live in Nevada. right now the weather is perfect. come around July and August, September, things start to heat up. Would you say this is a. F 12 month a year trail.

Paul: The trail is used by people 12 months out of the year. Of course, you need to be. especially in the desert in our climate, you need to be aware to, use hydration.

Maybe you won't go as far that particular day if it's a very hot day and your fitness and stamina is not up to it also, people will, ride with lights on their bicycles or if they'll, hike during a full moon, to avoid the heat of the day. but yeah, there's people out using the trail, ev.

Each and every day, even when it's, cold, even when it's windy. I rode a short section of the trail many years ago on a horseback when there was snow, if you can believe that.

Howard: Oh my.

Paul: yeah, it's available for use, every month of the year.

Howard: Okay. Now you just mentioned the horse and that was actually gonna lead to my next question, so that's actually perfect timing here.

Besides biking and now we know horseback riding, what other activities are occurring on this loop trail?

Paul: So you can imagine, any kind of user that you would on any multi-use trail right now. I did mention a question and that's, a. Only allowed in certain sections. there are some sections that are, have some tight turns and blind ish corners.

Corners that are more difficult to see around. So those areas are not safe for equestrian. So you're gonna wanna, look at our map and look at Henderson and Boulder City and so on to determine exactly where those segments are safe for horseback riding. But, ev people use the trail for, skateboarding.

They use it for rollerblading, they use it for, Hiking or walking, running, walking, their pet. bicycling is probably the most popular

Use of the trail. but yeah, there's a wide variety of users on our trail.

Howard: Okay. Excellent. Now, in addition to, perhaps the horses in the equestrian section, folks coming out, walking their dog, hopefully.

Protecting the feet and hot pavement. I would imagine there's probably some other wildlife opportunities on out on the trail.

Paul: There really are. I've seen, coyotes frequently. things like, rabbits, tortoise, lizards frequently. I've even seen one fox and I've seen bighorn sheep, especially in the spring.

The bighorn sheep can be plentiful, actually, in the Lake Mead section.

Howard: Okay. Now in addition to the trail itself are, is there other activities going on? Can I go Hi, a hike off. The trail. Are there petroglyphs? Are there other historical facets to this trail?

Paul: The trail has a lot of different features.

Howard: If you're looking for them, it goes past two different, water treatment plants. It goes past a large solar array. like I said, there's lots of. To be seen on the trail. there it goes through three different main juris jurisdictions, including Lake Mead, Henderson and Boulder City. there are spots to get off the trail briefly to, get us a bite to eat or something to drink.

Paul: There are restrooms along the trail. It's not only just a trail, but there's a lot of opportunities to, take side trips or, be engaged in nature while you're out there.

Howard: Okay. Now you just mentioned the municipalities and also our government, the Lake Mead, it's the National park. We have Henderson, Boulder City.

What are the other, organizations that are a part of this partnership? Because you, after all, you are the river mountain. Loop Trail Partnership?

Paul: We do have some very important partners. and I would be remiss if I didn't mention, get Outdoors Nevada. they handle, some of our finances. they help us organize, and get volunteers for some of our cleanups that we do along the trail.

So they're probably one of our most important partners. in addition to that, we, we rely on a lot of, bicycling clubs in particular. So the Southern Nevada Bicycle Coalition is one of our best partners as well. we also have partners like the Green Valley Cycl. based mostly out of Henderson.

We have partners, like ado, the bicycle club, adobo Velo, as well as, Nevada Bicycle Club. So they're all, users. They're our eyes and ears on the trail. So if there is, a washout after a rain event or if there's a safety concern or anything like that, if they spot something that shouldn't be down the trail like a motor vehicle.

They are eyes and ears on the trail and we can help get that information to the appropriate people.

Howard: Okay, now this is leading into another question, about the folks that are involved with helping to maintain the trail, and I want to talk about that in a second. But what I first was curious about in terms of needing a bike that, that, 'cause right now I, when I moved to Las Vegas, I literally sold everything.

Okay. I still have a storage place, which that's a whole other issue, but I need a bike now if I'm not ready to invest in a bike. I know electronic bikes are the popular rage these days, but if I wanted to rent a bike, are there bike stores in and around the trail? You don't have to name names or if you want name names, that's fine.

But if I wanted to rent a bike and just, maybe I'm not ready for 34 miles, but I want to at least go 10 miles half, spend a couple hours out on the trail. Am I able to take advantage of that type of service?

Paul: There are several bicycle, shops that are in the Vegas Valley area that rent bikes, and those are available to you.

They rent pedal bikes, they rent e-bikes. you can even rent a scooter. That's another user option. another thing to do is just to go out, to the trail and just walk it that way you don't have to necessarily go through the trouble of an expense of renting to see if that's something that is interesting to you.

And maybe you make it a half a mile, maybe you make it a mile. And then, once you've explored a mile from the trailhead and that's your kind of, as far as you want to walk, then you can get a, see if you can expand your distance by using a rental bike or something like that. a lot of people talk to some of the clubs that I mentioned as well, because, if you're the same size as someone else.

They may be able to, let you borrow a bike or some people like me have 15 bikes and let you borrow one of their bikes. So there's lots of options. Just, keep your options open.

Howard: So you have a garage for your bike and the driveway for the truck. Okay.

Paul: I have something called a bike barn.

Howard: A bike barn. I love it. Yes, I love it. Something else you had just shared or about the clubs that are supporting the. The, the trail, the eyes and ears, what does it take to run this partnership, run the, run this organization to and who are the folks that are participating in the leadership, besides you and Jennifer?

Paul: So the partnership's job really, and what we do is we're the eyes and ears and we're also the facilitators. The real work in terms of building maintenance, signage, all of the kind of, brick and mortar type things that you see out on the trail, even the design, that's all done by the entity. So Henderson.

Now, Boulder City and also Lake Mead, they're in charge of those things. the kiosks that you see out there and so on. the bathrooms that are available, water, those are all done by them. We, our job is to provide them with information of where that next bathroom would be the most helpful.

Where, is the space on the trail? That has the longest distance between water, for example, and what, where they could target, that need. we also will tell them, hey, we had a water event like I mentioned earlier, and there's a washout, there's a safety issue. And we relay that information to them.

Then they're the ones that go out with the trucks and the work crew and so on and address those issues.

Howard: Okay. In the next couple months, the Spring Jamboree, Boulder City's annual festival that kicks off the. the summer, spring, summer season, there's booths all around and a lot of it from the civic and nonprofit, private organizations.

How do you pr besides the website, and I want to go there next. How do else do you promote, introduction to residents, visitors about not only the mountain, it's there, you can't miss it, but that there's this wonderful resource, 34 miles. How do you promote the trail itself,

Paul: That's definitely one of our missions is with the partnership. We, we have, we wanna share the trail because we love it. So we have gone to, these kind of outdoor events that are, that attract that kind of, attention. in Boulder City and in Henderson, we'll set up a booth. We'll hand out, maps, we'll talk to people about the trail, get the word out.

We also, work with, another partner I forgot to mention is, RTC, the Regional Transportation. we talked to them and they've helped us get signage, not just on the trail, but miles away from the trail to alert people that, Hey, there's a trail over here and the trail head is this way. Or what have you.

We work with, you mentioned our website. we have a website that we have a developer, work with us to get up and running and maintained. And that is with our partners, get Outdoors, Nevada, and they, have it available so that we can. You can go on online there, there's lots of like q and A type questions, what the trail's all about, where to access the trail heads and so on.

Howard: Okay. Are there events like marathons or bike races on the trail?

Paul: So there are events, races that is, that's a tricky situation because it is always open to the public.

Howard: To public. Okay.

Paul: It's a public, trail. so that kind of licensing and, requirements, there's different requirements for different entities.

Howard: Okay.

Paul: If someone is interested in more in that, they really need to talk to those entities, Henderson Boulder City and Lake Mead, but we do have events,

Howard: Okay.

Paul: of running and bicycling, on the trail. we have, there's a possibility of one coming, next January, the end of January that I'm aware of.

Next, and that would be like a long distance, like almost like an ultra marathon. They're planning to run last I heard, 32 miles on the trail.

Howard: Okay.

Paul: And of the 34, and then shuttle the last two because that fits their distance that they want to do.

Howard: Gotcha.

Paul: So yeah, there are events. but again, people need to keep in mind that it is a public jail.

It's open to the public, racing is not encouraged.

Howard: Okay.

Paul: Of course people want to go out there and challenge themselves. Sure. And so on. and that's all well and good, but within reason and within, safe boundaries.

Howard: Okay

When, you visit the website, what would, what will be the experience that the visitor will have? What if they go out to the website?

Paul: The website is designed for, especially for people that have never heard of the trail. so there's a very, rudimentary. Description. there are a lot of pictures that show what to expect once you arrive at a trailhead or are on the trail itself.

There's some tips and tricks about, hydration. There's maps, as to where to access resources along the trail. there's a little bit of history about the trail, so a lot of things that we're talking about today.

Howard: Okay, very good. Before we wind down, just to you. For our listeners benefit, but let's get, go ahead and give the URL to the website and to your other social sites.

Paul: So our website is river mountains loop trail.org and our other social site that we use the most, whether it's, a safety issue on the trail or construction. Or, if there's going to be an event or a cleanup or what have you, we broadcast that out to the public, via our Facebook, page. So you can just do a, a search on Facebook for River Mountains Loop Trail and it'll pop right up.

And like I said, that's our, that's one of our, main ways that we communicate with the public about anything that's happening on the trail.

Howard: Excellent. I have a question when you or your wife, or. Join the trails during the day, early morning, late in the afternoon, et cetera. What would be a story that you guys, oh wow, I didn't anticipate that happening, or, that was pretty cool.

Do you have some, like fun stories you've heard that you've experienced or maybe other, users of the trail have shared with you?

Paul: I am a wildlife lover, so anytime that I,I like to catch. we sometimes we have a great spring bloom. And it because the trail's at different elevations.

The flowers might not be quite blooming in one spot, but they will be down lower or vice versa. So I like to, just take in nature that way. I like spotting animals. and that, that's always, I always will stop my bike and take, try to take pictures of the big horn sheep or what have you, we see out on the trail.

I think that one of the greatest things about the trail is how it brings peak. People together. I love to be able to ride with, a group of friends or a group of people and, the, just the camaraderie that we wouldn't have done if it weren't for the trail. that's really special and important.

I've even been out on the trail and noticed a complete stranger, with a flat tire, for example, and I. I was able to let, let them borrow a tube so that they could continue on their journey. And then we strike up a conversation and, it grows into a friendship. And that never would've happened without the trail.

So really, the trail is a great resource. It's great for exercise. It's great to breathe the fresh air, but honestly, if you can get out there with a friend or. meet people and get out there with a buddy it's, it just elevates the experience that much more.

Howard: Okay. Now I know from being on trails in other cities and occasionally there's some obstacles on the trail I may not have anticipated.

Some of them are left and they're just not cleaned up. Others, those obstacles might be moving or any experiences. Forget the former about the ladder. Any other experiences like, oh, I thought that was a rock.

Paul: He's leading the witness.

Howard: I'm leading the witness.

Paul: So I do have a funny story. One time, I was riding with a group of friends like I like to do, and, it was, springtime, I want to say, maybe, late April, early May.

And we're riding along and I happened to be in the front at the time and I notice a rock on the road ahead. On the trail ahead. And, so I move over to the side and I. Waved to my buddies, behind me to move over. And I yell out to them so they're aware, rock. And, as we made our way past this rock, it moved.

And so we all slowed down and stopped our bikes and turned around and looked and it kept moving. So we rode back to it and it was a juvenile tortoise, a very small, probably no bigger than the size of a baseball. And, it was just cute. We kept our distance and I would recommend that you keep your distance from any wildlife that's out there.

We don't want to disturb them, but it was just, funny to see, what we thought was a rock at first. not be a rock at all. And so that was a great experience.

Howard: I love it. As you look back and the, you as the president wife, Jennifer as vice president, as you both look back, what's your aha moment like?

Wow, this has been a good ride. I'm sorry. I figure I didn't make that one up.

Paul: Whether it's a sunrise or a trip that I did last fall, we did a trip, we rode from Henderson down to. Boulder Beach where there's a campground area down there and we were riding and the, our ERs, our packs that we carry on our bikes are flapping in the wind.

And I knew that I had a night of, camping out down at Boulder Beach and listening to the Coyotes Howl and so on. it's just, you can use the trail in so many different ways. And, again, just getting out and breathing the fresh air. It's just an experience. If you haven't done it, you gotta try it.

Howard: Excellent. On that note, Paul, it's been a pleasure to have you, on community cast. And, I wish our initial attempt, with video and audio had worked out. It was great to have Jennifer with us, and, but life happens. Mother Nature has her way. But thank you again for, joining us on the Community Cast.

Production and really we wish you nothing but the very best. Now, before we head out, once more, the best places for our listeners to go to learn more about the River Mountains Loop Trail.

Paul: The best places are the River Mountains loop trail.org, and our Facebook page. Just search us up and you'll find us there.

Howard: Fantastic. Thank you again.

Paul: Thank you so much for having me. Appreciate it.



Howard: Alright folks, we hope you enjoyed this, wonderful episode, with Paul Grube.

He's the president of the River Mountains Loop Trail, partnership. And just when you come to Las Vegas or you're coming into. Boulder City Plan to spend some time on this wonderful asset here in the, in this area, between Henderson, Boulder City, lake Bead, national Recreation area.

This Loop trail is an absolute gem and really we encourage you to take advantage of it. We're gonna provide backlinks, to the website and to our face, and to the Facebook page. On our show notes and Paul has graciously offered to share a bunch of photos. So you'll be able to see, some nice spots along the trail, perhaps people experiencing how they're using the Loop Trail.

Until next time, this has been an episode of Community Cast, a production of the Boulder City Chamber of Commerce. You can find this episode up on our website best damn podcast.net. The episodes are also available on the Chamber's website, and we'll have all the links available to you. Until next time, this is Howard Fox, hosting, for the Boulder City Chamber of Commerce, and we look forward to sharing another episode of Community Cast with you.

Take care now.