North Peak Trail

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Common Questions

Distance:: 4.16 miles
Class:: Class 2
Dogs:: Ok
Route Style:: out & back
Trail Condition:: Maintained
Tags:: challenging, remote feeling, seasonal snow, summit, vast views
Difficulty:: Moderate
Parking:: If you have an off road enabled vehicle equipped to handle extremely rough terrain, you could drive it all the way up to the trailhead and park. Otherwise, it's most common to drive to Lovell Canyon and park at the base of Rocky Gap Road. Vehicles with decent clearance, mid size and full size trucks without 4x4 can make it partially up Rocky Gap Road. There's several turnouts along the way. There's one particularly large turnout right before the 'rock garden'. Do not attempt these extreme obstacles unless you're 100% confident your vehicle can overcome it. Third party recovery can be very expensive and comes with unknown outcomes. It's a roughly 45 minute hike to the trailhead from the largest turnout before the rock garden. Furthermore, parking is available in Willow Springs/ Lost Creek. The hike to the trailhead is longer from this point and Rocky Gap Road is equally nasty.
Restrooms:: No
Reception:: No
Access:: Via Rocky Gap Road
Good to Know:: Drivers of stock trucks with lifts and larger tires have been surprised at Rocky Gap Road challenges. Think long and hard before attempting this trek by vehicle. Despite this trail being far above and beyond traditional Red Rock Canyon trails, there are still trail markers making it easy to reach the destination.
Why:: The views are magnificent. It's an extraordinary peak.
Wildlife Probability:: Potentially. Be on the look out.
Trailhead coordinates:: 36.11760, -115.57200 — Map

North Peak is a remarkable destination in Red Rock Canyon Las Vegas with an elevation of just over 7,000 feet. There are two entirely different ways to access this location. Each of which vary tremendously in both effort and alotted time. Regardless of which route you take, you'll be rewarded with wildly diverse, spacious, and distant views of The Strip and the Las Vegas Valley. The views from the North Peak Trail are expansive and unique—comparable in scale to Turtlehead Peak, yet offering a completely different vantage point.

The North Peak Trail is known as one of Red Rock Canyon’s tallest and most demanding hikes. There are two primary approaches to the North Peak Trail:

One option is via Lovell Canyon, which is where the trail marker is on the map, above. This option is located roughly 45 minutes from the Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area Visitor Center. It is inaccessible via the Scenic Loop. This isolated canyon entrance resides off of SR-160. From here, either park at the trailhead and hike; or drive partially up Rocky Gap Rd.

Rocky Gap Road—The Ultimate 4x4 Trail

Rocky Gap Road is extremely treacherous, filled with mini boulders, large gaps, and serious off-road obstacles. There's even a section called the rock garden. This road cuts straight through the mountains and leads to the Lost Creek/ Willow Springs area. It’s suitable only for highly capable trucks, quads, or bikes operated by those familiar with advanced, rugged terrain. Do not underestimate challenges of this road—rocky sections can cause seriously expensive damage to vehicles.

From Lovell Canyon Rd.

Approaching the North Peak Trail from Lovell Canyon is more straightforward, with numerous turnouts for parking and even camping. Overnight camping is permitted along Rocky Gap Road via the designated turnouts. Camping is not allowed from the scenic loop side. If you decide to camp in this region in an effort to perhaps reach North Peak by sunrise, you'll be presented with two additional potential hindrances.

It's roughly a 45 minute hike from the best camp site just to the actual North Peak trail head at the crest of the mountain. In turn, you'll be hiking in pure darkness for 45 minutes through the Rainbow Wilderness. To reach the peak by sunrise, you're looking at a 2-3 hour hike meaning leaving the aforementioned camp site between 2-3 a.m. would be required.
Additionally, mountain lions are said to roam these mountains, and this is a prime area due to its rurality.

The best option is reaching the peak anywhere between 7am - 4pm year round. This slot requires potentially hiking during dawn and dusk in the worst case scenario. Do bring a head lamp.

North Peak and Bridge Mountain from the Scenic Loop

This is the other option—which is inaccurate as it takes much longer than an hour to reach the trailhead from the Scenic Loop.

The North Peak Trail is often paired with Bridge Mountain, though the two hikes are vastly different in difficulty and navigation. North Peak can be somewhat easier to access thanks to established routes like the North Peak–Bridge Mountain Trail and visible trail markers higher up. Bridge Mountain, however, is notoriously difficult to reach; many hikers attempting to combine the two turn back due to navigational challenges, changing weather, or loss of daylight.

What you can do however, beyond North Peak, is hike partially to Bridge Mountain. There's extraordinary cliffs, and wildly amazing views of the Las Vegas valley. Roughly 45 minutes to an hour beyond North Peak is sufficient. This will give you ample time during daylight to comfortably explore multiple destinations.

The trail intelligence on this page reports the Lovell Canyon route. Hikers can drive to Lovell Canyon Rd, go quite deep in to the canyon itself, then turn on to Rocky Gap Road (trailhead map marker). This rough road gets progressively more difficult so depending on your vehicle, utilize the turnouts. Park, and hike the rest of the way up. With or without adding Bridge Mountain to the mix, you'll embark on one of the most notable hiking trails in Las Vegas.

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