An early Thursday bicycle crash on a downhill stretch of the Red Rock Scenic Loop left a man critically injured and brought a multi-agency response. The popular drive outside Las Vegas was closed as crews treated him, and Mercy Air flew him to a hospital.
Clark County Fire Department and BLM Nevada crews responded, according to a post from Clark County Nevada.
Clark County said the man lost control of his bicycle on a downhill portion of the Scenic Loop. Paramedics performed life-saving measures, and Mercy Air was called to take him to a hospital.
The Las Vegas Review-Journal reported that the Red Rock Scenic Loop was closed until further notice. The outlet later reported that Nevada Highway Patrol described the bicyclist's condition as stable. Police and the Highway Patrol investigated the crash, with the Bureau of Land Management serving as the lead agency.
Other Recent Bicycle Crashes
The Review-Journal also reported a separate, unrelated collision involving five bicycles on Nevada 159 in the Red Rock Canyon area just after 9 a.m. Wednesday. All riders were taken to University Medical Center with non-life-threatening injuries, and no vehicles were involved, the outlet said.
Cyclist safety on the scenic roadway has also drawn local concern. Riders told KTNV that worries are growing along the Red Rock Scenic Highway amid truck traffic and reckless driving on the popular route west of Las Vegas.
A Long-Planned Trail Meant to Keep Cyclists Off the Road
The nearly 19-mile Red Rock Legacy Trail is planned to connect the conservation area from the edge of Summerlin in the north to Blue Diamond Road in the south, according to KTNV. The project is intended to give cyclists and pedestrians an alternative to sharing the road with cars and trucks and is planned in five phases, with the first expected to take about a year.
KTNV reported that Heather Fisher, president of Save Red Rock, has advocated for the trail since a friend died in a cycling accident near Red Rock Loop nearly 20 years ago.
Trail Project Status
Clark County says construction on Phase 1 began July 14, 2025, and is expected to last one year. The county's project records also say Phase 2 design was 70% complete as of August 2025; that is a design milestone, not a completed trail segment, according to Clark County.
Clark County, which describes its jurisdiction as including the Las Vegas Strip, spans an area comparable in size to New Jersey and draws roughly 43 million visitors a year to a region with about 2.4 million residents. It remains unclear when the Scenic Loop will reopen to traffic.
