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Mountains and Ranges seen from Las Vegas.

Best Day Hikes Around Las Vegas

Hiking Around Las Vegas - A hiking guide written by Jim Boone
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Mountains, valleys, washes, forests, cliffs, wildlife, canyons, rivers, historic places, lakes, petroglyphs, solitude, wildflowers, adventure, ...there really are a few good places to go Hiking Around Las Vegas!

Hiking in the desert carries special risks. Always carry water, take the 10 Essentials, choose routes of the appropriate difficulty, tell someone where you are going, tread lightly on this fragile land, and please respect the wilderness and the other people out there.

Choose hiking areas from a map or from the following list.
 
Wilderness Areas Around Las Vegas

Wilderness Areas Around Las Vegas

The Clark County Conservation of Public Land and Natural Resources Act of 2002 (Public Law 107-282) established 17 new wilderness areas and expanded 1 existing wilderness area. These lands offer solitude, grand vistas, and remarkable hiking experiences; plus they protect the land, plants, and animals from the encroachment of civilization.

Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area

Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area

Hike up, over, around, and among towering red and white sandstone cliffs. Taller mountains, limestone with fossils, and an amazing geologic story add interest to hiking in this popular area.

Lake Mead National Recreation Area

Lake Mead National Recreation Area

Hike high in the mountains, down narrow canyons, along a creek with flowing water, down to the lake, through old railroad tunnels, or soak in the hot springs. This is wild desert that has it all.

Desert National Wildlife Range

Desert National Wildlife Range

Hike desert flats, deep canyons, barren rocky peaks, and hidden Ponderosa pine forests. This is big wild country with more solitude than you can shake a stick at. Nice fossils and car camping too.

Mt. Charleston Area

Mt. Charleston Area

When the desert gets too hot, head for the cool of the mountains and the mixed pine-fir forests. Hike to waterfalls, 12,000-foot peaks, and ancient Bristlecone forests.

Gold Butte Region

Gold Butte Region

The Gold Butte Region is wild and remote country with high peaks, low valleys, and grand views. Don't go here unless you are prepared to survive on your own.

Zion National Park

Zion National Park

Red and white sandstone cliffs tower above the Virgin River. Stroll along the river, hike the narrows, or climb the mountains.

Mojave National Preserve

Mojave National Preserve

The high Mojave Desert is a great place to hike in the spring and fall. Hike all day, hike for a few minutes, or even hike underground.

Arrow Canyon Range

Arrow Canyon Range

Hike among barren peaks and deep narrow canyons in the Wilderness Area northeast of Las Vegas.

Death Valley National Park

Death Valley National Park

A winter hiking paradise, Death Valley offers deep canyons, high peaks, stark desert terrain, and the lowest point in the Western Hemisphere. From 282 feet below sea level, you can hike across the valley and hike straight up to 11,049 feet (or at least stand at Badwater and look up at Telescope Peak).

Grand Canyon National Park

Grand Canyon National Park

The Grand Canyon... the name says it all. Few places are as spectacular as the Grand Canyon. Stroll along the paved Rim Trail, backpack along the river, or do something in between, but hike the canyon. Be sure to watch for California Condors behind the Bright Angel Lodge.

Other Hiking Places

Other Hikes

 

A Note about GPS Coordinates

I provide longitude, latitude, and UTM coordinates to assist people who use global positioning system (GPS) units. I provide longitude and latitude coordinates for roads and trailhead locations because these coordinates are more familiar and are the default system in vehicles. For trails, I provide UTM coordinates because this system is based on a rectangular grid that is more useful for plotting points on maps and calculating distances.

I hike with a GPS unit and record my movements. I then use the GPS data to estimate trail distances, plot points and routes on maps, and determine elevation profiles. My methods are simple and straightforward, but using GPS data, my distances often differ from official maps and other publications. In part, the differences are due to vagaries in the GPS system such as position errors (horizontal and vertical) due to poor satellite constellations, reflections, and obscured views of the sky (e.g., trees and narrow canyons). These errors should produce small differences between my data and published sources, and to some extent I can correct for these problems. In other cases, the differences are due to the rerouting of trails over the years that are not yet reflected on the maps. In these cases, my data can be quite different from published sources.

The default map datum used on GPS units sold in the U.S. is WGS84 because it is modern and more accurate than older datums. However, the local USGS topo maps are based on the older NAD27 datum. Therefore, all of my route descriptions use NAD27 to match the maps. Given the precision necessary to find trailheads, the map datum used for finding roads and trailheads doesn't matter too much. When hiking, however, the two datums differ by about 200 yards around Las Vegas, so you will get close, but not exactly there using WGS84. If you want to match the USGS topo maps and match my coordinates, set your GPS unit to use the "NAD27" or "NAD27 CONUS" map datum. See The Problem of Map Datums and USGS Topo Maps for details and an example.

All coordinates and distances presented here are approximate. Although I take care to prevent mistakes, if something seems wrong, assume that I made a mistake and use your own good judgment. Unless otherwise stated, distances "from Las Vegas" are measured from the Spaghetti Bowl (the intersection of Interstate-15 and Highway 95).


 
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© Jim Boone; Last updated 080706

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