Whitney Pocket Guide – Hidden Arches Near Las Vegas

Located just under two hours from Las Vegas, you’ll find the perfect secret getaway. Gold Butte National Monument is a large region Northeast of Vegas, and within lies stunning rainbow rock formations and arches that few venture out to - Whitney Pocket.

I stumbled upon this thanks to a TikTok post, and knew I had to get out there. I think this is a great day trip or 2 days if you enjoy camping. While the road is unpaved, the journey to Whitney Pocket itself is perfectly manageable with most vehicles. However, you can explore beyond that region deeper into Gold Butte - finding the road to get increasingly difficult and a 4WD vehicle more suitable.

But Whitney Pocket is worth the journey alone. My top three reasons why:

1. Very few people - I don’t think in my two days there that I ever ran into someone else on my hikes)

2. Stunning Arches - there are at least 6 arches that are easy to access, including one known as Neapolitan Ach due to its variety of colors; I’ll go into detail on finding each one

3. The Cistern - Built in a narrow slot, there is an old dam with a staircase to the top where there used to be water for travelling horses

4. Sunset of Mountains - From Whitney Pocket looking West, you can see 4 to 6 layers of hills into sunset and it is absolutely magical.

5. Drone Friendly - Yes, this stunning region has no restrictions for commercial drone pilots, so you KNOW I had a good time

6. Lodging at Arvada Springs Campground - Despite being pretty much in the middle of nowhere, there IS a nice place to stay! Just 20 minutes east of Whitney Pocket, perfect for being right here with easy sunrise/sunset access.

This isolated region has nearly NOTHING marked on the map for the arches. So I’ll help you out. 

Whitney Pocket Arches

From the main Whitney Pocket parking lot at this link, you can walk Southwest a short distance and into this region of red/white/purple rocks. This is the main area of magic for arches.

This patch is known as Pocket Arches and has around 3 arches.

Neapolitan Arch

Just a few formations west (less than a five minute hike) is the ‘famous’ Neapolitan Arch - where the purple hues become very distinct.

Doodlebug Arch

Now, you can also go explore a much larger arch that was very hard for me to find / verify due to lack of information - Doodlebug Arch. This one will take a short 1-2 mile hike (whereas those first two above are less than a quarter mile). I actually recommend driving your vehicle to a different spot, around here if your car can handle it, to shorten the walk.

Arch within an Arch

Last, the creme-de-la-creme that I was excited to find - An Arch within an Arch, yes! This one was really easy to find - in hindsight. However, I converted the coordinates wrong and went on a two hour, 3 mile, exploratory excursion trying to find it. I later realized my error and found it to be EXTREMELY close to a parking lot. So, you can benefit from my mistakes. This arch was reported by Thomas McGuire and I only find it referenced on this blog post as well as his personal blog. It is not marked on any map otherwise. However, it is pretty neat! It is located around the northside of the rock formation that houses The Cistern. So you can park on the east side here and take a very short walk around the back to this unique double arch. 

More Photos :)

Now you are equipped to explore these stunning arches. I’ll leave you with my favorite photos from this two day adventure.

The Journey to Whitney Pocket

Your drive to Whitney Pocket will run along a beautiful mountain range, with stunning cactus in a few spots making a great photo.

The Cistern

It is easy to go up the stairs and walk (carefully) across the rim.

Aerial over The Cistern

A wider view to get an idea of what The Cistern looks like.

Cross on a Mountain

This is on the very top of the formation that houses The Cisern and Arch-Within-An-Arch.

Whitney Pocket Aerial View

This image, believe it or not, shows the location of The Cistern and ALL the arches (except Doodlebug). The teal speck in the back left is the parking area of Whitney Pocket. Behind that is the rock formation that houses The Cistern, behind which is Arch-Within-An-Arch. The strong red/white rock formations in the very center of this image are where the Pocket Arches are. Last, in the bottom center you can see strong white/purple rock formations, the bottom of which is Neapolitan Arch.

Whitney Pocket Sunset Hills

Those stunning sunsets I spoke of.

Whitney Pocket Sunset with Joshua Tree

Path To Pocket Arches

Behind the main Pocket Arch, you climb up these formations and can see several other pocket arches.

Behind A Pocket Arch

As you walk up to this main arch.

Sunburst inside Pocket Arch

Inside Pocket Arches

I couldn't help but take way too many photos like this inside the Pocket Arches.

Sunset at Pocket Arch

Panorama inside Pocket Arch

Aerial Sunset of Pocket Arch

Whitney Pocket Formations

Back between Pocket Arches and Neapolitan Arch.

Whitney Pocket Nook

This is across from The Cistern, another parking area.

Aerial Road

Whitney Pocket Carvings

This is at the parking spot I suggested for Doodlebug Arch.

Formations Deeper In

Somewhere between Pocket Arch and Doodlebug Arch

Cactus and Mountain Views

This overlook is on your path to Doodlebug Arch.

Gold Butte Devils Nostril

This is more ambitious, driving DEEPER into Gold Butte. There are a couple of deep (and dangerous) giant holes. This one is fenced in and known as Devil's Nostril. My AWD high-clearance vehicle had little issue, but 'officially' a 4WD is advised in this region. I didn't make it to Devil's Throat but that one is even larger! Be smart, these are dangerous to walk towards as the ground is not stable and these holes are very deep.

Gold Butte Fencing

Also deeper into Gold Butte towards Little Finland, as I attempted to make it out to Seven Keyholes Slot (road was too rough about a mile out for my vehicle).