Overview

Lone Mountain is a steep, isolated, rocky butte in NW Las Vegas just inside the Interstate-215 Beltway. The summit stands some 600 feet above the surrounding homes, giving great views of the city and the surrounding mountains.

There are several routes up Lone Mountain. The North Ridge Route is longer than others with some steep, 2nd-class parts (0.43 miles plus about 0.5 miles getting to the start of the route) and takes only about 45 minutes if you stop to enjoy the scenery. The South Ridge, and East Buttress provide additional challenging routes.

Lone Mountain is good place for a quick get-away or after-work hike; and as one guy said, it beats an afternoon workout on a treadmill.

Link to route map.

Watch Out

Other than the standard warnings about hiking in the desert, ...this is a fairly safe hike, but there are places where you could stumble off the mountain and roll all the way to the bottom. The west face of the summit is nearly vertical, so don't fall off that side. There is a fair bit of loose gravel on the use-trail, and some of the bedrock is dirty and slick, although most of the footing is secure.

While hiking, please respect the land and the other people out there, and try to Leave No Trace of your passage. Although this hike is short, be sure to bring what you need of the 10 Essentials.

Getting to the Trailhead

Lone Mountain is located in the northwest part of urban Las Vegas, just inside the Western Beltway (Highway I-215) between Lone Mountain and Alexander roads. From town, drive north on Highway 95 or Highway 215 to the northwest part of town.

Continue to the Lone Mountain Discovery Park Trailhead, which is located on the east side of the mountain, or to the Vegas Vista Trail Trailhead, which is located on the west side of the mountain.

The Hike

From the toe of the North Ridge (about a 15-minute walk from either trailhead), a use-trail starts a few yards west of the north-most point of rock (Wpt. 20). The use-trail runs steeply along the west side of the ridge until the trail reaches a saddle with nice views southeast towards the Lone Mountain Park and downtown Las Vegas.

Continuing on the steep hillside, the use-trail climbs towards the ridgeline above. The use-trail becomes braided, but all routes lead onto the ridgeline (Wpt. 21). Following along the ridgetop, the use-trail winds south among boulders and crags, eventually arriving at the Cement Bench (Wpt. 07), a nice place to stop and relax.

A few steps past the Cement Bench, the North Ridge route connects with the Regular Route (Wpt. 06), which comes up from the west side of the mountain. Together, the two routes continue up the ridge to the summit (Wpt. 11). For details of this section, see the description of the Regular Route.