Apex OHV Recreation Area ~ North Las Vegas

Apex is conveniently located in the northeast end of the Las Vegas Valley next to Nellis Air Force Base, which makes this destination is easy to access from the big city. Better still, there are several off highway vehicle (OHV) rental businesses that can be found locally and some actually set up shop on site at Apex, so anybody visiting Las Vegas can join in on the fun. Of course privateers are welcome too and there is plenty of room for trailers in the staging area. This OHV park covers over 900 acres of challenging terrain that appeals to all skill levels, so boredom is a word that will never be heard!  

Spending the day in a dune buggy blasting around in the desert dirt sure does beat watching the money vanish in a casino and this is what is most appealing about Apex. Apex is also referred to as Nellis Dunes, which actually is the name of the entire recreation area that extends all the way toi the mountains beside Nellis AFB. The word dunes actually is misleading, because most of this terrain is composed of hardened composite mud from ancient oceans and dry wash floods that have eroded over eons of time. Basically the Apex landscape is a heavily eroded wasteland with steep slopes, ravines and silt pits. This area actually also used to be part of a military training base complex, which adds some mystique. 

Personally, I rarely mention off highway vehicles in articles because of the damage done on public lands by irresponsible drivers. Good examples of destructive OHV driver behavior can be found in Gold Butte National Monument and the Lake Mead Recreation Area. It can take several hundred years for the desert terrain scars to heal, so restricting OHV recreation to specified areas is necessary. Pointing out places that are officially sanctioned for OHV recreation does help the conservation cause and this is why the Apex OHV Recreation Area definitely is the best place for a trail rider to go when touring southern Nevada!
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