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Birding Around Rogers Spring
Birding Around Las Vegas, Lake Mead Region
Rogers Spring
Rogers Spring
Evening bird watching at Rogers Spring (view E)

Description

Rogers Spring is a place to seek refuge from the desert heat while sitting beneath California Fan Palms or a covered picnic table, taking a dip in the warm water, having a picnic lunch, and watching a few birds and other wildlife. This isn't a birding destination; but it is one of several good places to stop and watch a few birds along the north side of Lake Mead. Most of the palms and some other trees have been cut down by the Park Service in an effort to restore the area to a more natural condition (palms are not native here), but the palms try to grow back, so vegetation conditions keep changing.

Water flows from a cave in the hillside into a 50-ft wide circular pool that is fairly shallow and mostly surrounded by Southern Cattails, Saltcedar, California Fan Palms, and shrubs. The water is held behind a low earthen dam, but it overflows the dam and runs down a shrub-lined creek and out into the desert. Green riparian vegetation, including Canyon Grape, in this sparsely vegetated section of the Mojave Desert attracts desert species year-round and migrants during spring and fall.

Rogers Spring
The spring emerges from under these rocks in the distance

Covered picnic tables and pit toilets are available, but there is no drinking water. Food, drinks, and a few other services, but not gasoline, are available at the nearby Echo Bay. Swimmers should keep their nose out of the water because a pathogenic amoeba, Naegleria fowleri, may be present (as it is in most warm waters and backyard hot tubs around the USA).

Location

Rogers Spring is located on the north side of Lake Mead near Echo Bay, about 1 hour east of Las Vegas.

From downtown, drive out Lake Mead Blvd to Lake Mead National Recreation Area. At the T-intersection with Northshore Road (Table 1, Site 653), turn left onto Northshore Road and drive east for about 45 minutes to Rogers Spring Road. Turn left onto Rogers Spring Road and drive towards the hills for the short distance to the end of the road. The parking area overlooks the picnic tables and the spring pool (Site 538).

Rogers Spring

Hours

Sunrise to sunset; this is a day-use area.

Fees

It costs $25 per vehicle to enter the Recreation Area (annual passes accepted); after that, there are no extra fees for using the spring area.

Rogers Spring
Swimmer's Warning: keep Naegleria out of your nose!

Specialties

This is a good place to check the trees and shrubs for desert residents and to look for migrants during spring and fall. Also watch for Spiny Softshell Turtles and Red-eared Slider Turtles. The softshells might be native, but the red-ears are not. This spring has also been polluted with tropical aquarium fish. Please don't put exotic species in desert spring pools, they damage the ecosystem and kill native species. During summer, Desert Bighorn Sheep come to the spring for water.

Keep an eye out for dragonflies such as Flame Skimmers and Pale-faced Clubskimmer too.

Rogers Spring
Restrooms (view SE)
Rogers Spring
Start of stairs to picnic area and spring (view W)
Rogers Spring Rogers Spring
Rogers Spring Rogers Spring
Rogers Spring
Approaching information sign and bridge over outflow stream
Rogers Spring
Sign: Desert Springs
Rogers Spring
Rogers Spring outflow
Rogers Spring
Rogers Spring outflow
Rogers Spring
Rogers Spring pool (view NE)
Rogers Spring
Quiet meditation
Rogers Spring
Rogers Spring
Rogers Spring
Spring inflow
Birding Around Rogers Spring
Spring pool is infested with tropical aquarium fish (convict cichlids)
Rogers Spring
Native Spiny Softshell Turtle
Rogers Spring
One of my favorite things: ...
Rogers Spring
... pedicure by fish!
Rogers Spring
Lots of little fish
Rogers Spring
Curious yellow fish

Table 1. GPS Coordinates for Highway Locations (NAD27; UTM Zone 11S). Download Highway GPS Waypoints (*.gpx) file.

Site # Location Latitude (°N) Longitude (°W) UTM Easting UTM Northing Elevation (feet) Verified
0538 Rogers Spring 36.3778 114.4425 729423 4028693 1,612 Yes
0653 Lake Mead Blvd at Northshore Road 36.1434 114.888 690025 4001715 1,390 Yes

Happy birding! All distances, elevations, and other facts are approximate.
copyright; Last updated 240322

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