Mt. Charleston - hiking and camping near Las Vegas Nevada


Mt. Charleston Nevada

Mt. Charleston has 316,000 acres and is part of the Spring Mountains which is part of the Humboldt Toiyabe National Forest. At 7,717 feet elevation, temperatures average 30 degrees cooler than in the Las Vegas valley. Charleston Peak is the highest point in southern Nevada at 11,918 feet making it the third highest peak in Nevada.

Joshua trees and yucca cover most of the desert at 2,080 feet. Soon, though, the flora gradually changes to cedar trees, juniper, mountain mahogany, aspen, ponderosa pine, and bristlecone pine forests, and once you have reached the mountain's uppermost region you will be surrounded by an Alpine forest. Wild burros and horses can be found throughout the region, as well as many different types of birds such as humming birds, eagles, and woodpeckers.

Mt. Charleston offers you a variety of trails and mountaineering routes to numerous peaks. There are approximately 40 miles of trails wth significant elevation changes from trailheads to ridgelines. The Las Vegas Ski and Snowboard Resort located in Lee Canyon and has a total of 13 runs. The resort is open from Thanksgiving through Easter. Mt. Charleston has seven campgrounds with more than 180 campsites, some with RV spaces, and about 160 picnic sites.

Click any picture to see a bigger version. The first eight pictures were taken while hiking the Cathedral Rock Trail. It goes to an elevatin of 8,600 and is three miles long. Cathedral Rock Trail starts in Mazie Canyon among ponderosa and white fir before entering an aspen delight.

Click to see big snow sliding mount charleston picture Click to see big mount charleston snow play picture Click to see big mount charleston snow waterfall picture

About halfway up Cathedral Trail, off the trail to the left, is a three-tierd waterfaull. These waterfalls were hiding behind a curtain of snow, a remarkable sight. It was a little tricky and slippery getting up to see it but definitely worth it. While there we decided to take a few rides down on our rears. Once you get through canyon and past the saddle you can get a view of the avalanche chute in which the obvious aspen and brush only survive the repeated snowslides.

Click to see big trail of cathedral rock picture Click to see big cathedral rock trail picture Click to see big mt charleston big tree picture
Click to see big cathedral rock trail view picture Click to see big mt charleston portrait picture Click to see big bristlecone trail picture

Bristlecone Trail is a six-mile loop. Mountain biking is allowed on this trail so keep an ear out for bikers careening down the trail. The upper trailhead is located past the ski area at the end of the Lee Canyon Road. The Upper Trail is the best part of this hike walking along a flowing spring, among fir, aspen, then bristlecone pines. The Lower Trail is an abandoned road that gets a lot of sun. Lee Canyon Ski area can be seen from this trail, as well as Mummy Mountain.
Click any picture to see a bigger version.

Click to see big mt charleston pine picture Click to see big mt charleston bristlecone trail picture Click to see big bristlecone pine picture
Click to see big bristlecone trail mt charleston picture Click to see big bristlecone trail hikers picture Click to see big mt charleston bristlecone pine picture
Click to see big picture of mount charleston ski area picture

These pictures were taken while hiking the upper portion of Bristlecone Trail.

Jason's thoughts - Great easy hiking. Easy to get to from Vegas. Fun, cool air, lots of trees, and huge panoramic views with snow to play in make this great for kids too. Longer overnight hikes are in the works for us here. If you are looking for wildlife it can be boring as there are very few animals.

Kelly's thoughts - Cathedral Rock Trail was good and rugged but there were quite of few people on the trail. The upper trail of Bristlecone was beautiful and shady, unlike the lower trail which I didn't care for. I prefer a loop rather than an out and back trail because I like to see whats next. Jason laughs at me for this. If it was up to me I would stay out all day just to see what is around the next corner. Our "longer hikes in the works" is a choice between a very large loop or an out and back through some serious wilderness. I am having trouble deciding this one.

Travel Info - There are two main routes into Mount Charleston, one for cars and one for big rigs. The park is about 35 miles northwest of Las Vegas on US 95. We do not recommend taking RVs up SR 157 due to a long trek up, limited parking, small pull offs and virtually no turn arounds. SR 156 heading into Lee Canyon is a lot easier for RVs to maneuver as there are larger size pull offs and big parking lots, and a campground that is easy to get in and out of. There are no gasoline stations or convenience stores on the mountain. The elevation change is big, but gradual and doable. Make sure you have plenty of fuel either way.
Map location of Mount Charleston.

Visit Glacier National Park for more wonderful hiking trails. Click to go back to main full-time diary list of locations.



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