Overview

The Park Peak Trail provides a fairly strenuous, 5.4-mile loop in the Sloan Canyon National Conservation Area that climbs to the summit of Park Peak and provides grand views over the Las Vegas Valley. Paved access to the trailhead makes this an easy getaway from town into the volcanic mountains that rim the south edge of Las Vegas.

This loop makes use of four trails: Anthem East, Black Mountain (BLM 404), Connector (BLM 402), and Park Peak Loop (BLM 403).

This hike makes a loop to the summit of Park Peak, but there is another trail, the official Park Peak Loop Trail (BLM 403), that also makes a loop to the summit. The major difference between these hikes is that this hike has a long loop (81% loop) with a short in-and-out, while the official trail has a long in-and-out with a short loop (37% loop). Both climb to the summit of Park Peak.

Link to map.

Watch Out

Other than the standard warnings about hiking in the desert, ...this hike is fairly safe with no unusual hazards. Be careful walking around on the boulder pile that is the summit.

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

Getting to the Trailhead

This hike is located in Sloan Canyon NCA, but it is accessed from urban neighborhoods in the Anthem area of Henderson, as described for the Shadow Canyon Trailhead.

The Hike

From the Shadow Canyon Trailhead, (Table 1, Waypoint 01), this loop starts by running southeast on the paved Anthem East Trail in a well landscaped gully bordered by houses. After about 0.28 miles, a paved trail crosses the Anthem East Trail (Wpt. 02), and by this time, hikers can look out in the distance and see a small cinder-block building on a hill. The hill will turn out to be a retention dam that catches floodwaters before they affect town.

The paved trail bends a bit left and then splits (Wpt. 03). Here, hikers can go either way, but it is probably easier to turn right on the Anthem East Trail and follow the pavement to the cinder-block building atop the dam (Wpt. 04).

From the cinder-block building (Wpt. 04), trails diverge. The Anthem East Trail turn east to cross the dam, the Black Mountain Trail (BLM 404) continues straight (northeast), and the official Park Peak Loop Trail (BLM 403) turns right (southwest).

Continuing on the Black Mountain Trail, the hike leaves the pavement following a dirt foot path that contours southeast around to the back of the retention basin (Wpt. 05). Continuing across the cement-covered slope above the retention basin, at about the middle of the concrete (Wpt. 06), the Black Mountain Trail (marked by a wooden sign) turns to the right, enters the National Conservation Area, and heads up into the wildlands.

The Black Mountain Trail climbs onto a low ridge and follows the ridgeline up to the southeast. This ridge is the West Ridge of Black Mountain. The trail starts up the toe of the ridge, but as the slope steepens, the trail begins to switchback up as it winds among rocky outcrops.

Eventually the grade eases and the trail drops gradually into a broad saddle and a trail junction (Wpt. 07). Here, the BLM 404 Trail (Black Mountain Trail) continues east while the Connector Trail (BLM 402) turns southwest.

Following the Connector Trail, the trail descends off the side of the ridge, then turns and drops across the slope into the wash below. The well-defined trail winds among boulders, washes, and joshua trees as it runs south to a trail junction (Wpt. 08). Here, the Connector Trail ends at the Park Peak Loop Trail (BLM 403), which comes in from the right and continues straight ahead.

Continuing south, the Park Peak Loop Trail crosses a wash and begins to climb the hillside ahead on the left. As the grade steepens, the trail makes seven long switchbacks, runs out to the southwest, makes two more switchbacks, and climbs towards a saddle on the ridgeline (Wpt. 09).

From the saddle, which functionally is the toe of Fracture Ridge, the Park Peak Loop Trail climbs west following the East Ridge of Park Peak. Running up the ridge, the well-built trail suddenly ends (Wpt. 10) at the base of a rock pile. Using the plethora of cairns as a guide, hikers can pick their way up through the rocks (barely more than 2nd Class) for the last 25-or-so vertical feet to the summit (Wpt. 11).

Views from the summit are pretty good for such a low summit. To the west are Mt. Potosi and the Red Rock Canyon cliffs. To the north lie Mt. Charleston, the Sheep Range, the Las Vegas Range, and Frenchman Mountain. Views to the east are short, but give a good vantage of Black Mountain and Fracture Ridge. To the south is a deep canyon and high ridges block much of the long-range view, but the higher peaks in the North McCullough Wilderness are visible to the southwest.

Departing the summit, the route continues west across the top of the summit boulder pile, and before long, the well-built trail on the West Ridge comes into view. Climbing down off the boulders (Wpt. 12), the trail starts again and switchbacks down the West Ridge.

After several long switchbacks, the Park Peak Loop Trail reaches a trail junction (Wpt. 13) at the turn of the last switchback. Here, the obvious Park Peak Loop Trail (BLM 403) switchbacks right to run northeast, while the faint Petroglyph Canyon Connector Trail (BLM 101) continues off the point of the switchback to run southwest.

Now running northeast, the Park Peak Loop Trail contours down and across the flanks of Park Peak until dropping into the wash below, turning north, and running out to a T-intersection (Wpt. 14).

This point is a bit confusing because the intersection is with the Park Peak Loop Trail; yes, the Park Peak Loop Trail intersects the Park Peak Loop Trail at a T-intersection: this is where the official BLM 403 Trail closes the loop.

To return to the trailhead from the way they came, hikers can turn right to the next trail junction (Wpt. 08), then turn left and retrace their route back to the trailhead. However, to make more of a loop, hikers can turn left and hike northwest.

Hiking northwest, the trail leads onto a low ridge that eventually bends more to the north. At a fork in the trail (Wpt. 15), the Park Peak Loop Trail stays right and shortly merges with a powerline road (Wpt. 16). Staying right, the trail shortly turns left and drops off the roadway to the cinder-block building below (Wpt. 04), closing the loop larger loop. From here, the hike follows the paved Anthem East Trail back to the trailhead.