Hiking in the Las Vegas Area

Looking for things to do off the main strip in Las Vegas? Check out the southern Nevada area's many miles of hiking trails, which will take you up into the mountains and provide sweeping views of Sin City and the surrounding valley.

Red Rock Canyon

Head about 20 miles west of downtown Vegas to reach the Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area. The Red Rock Canyon Interpretive Center provides information and interactive programs, such as guided tours of the area. Or head out on your own on one of the many trails that line the canyon, which is home to an array of wildlife that includes desert tortoises, jackrabbits, gila monsters, snakes and birds. The Turtlehead Peak Trail is one of 19 hiking trails in the Red Rock area, a five-mile trek that the interpretive center rates as "strenuous" with a timeframe of about 3.5 to 4 hours. For an easier hike, try the Willow Springs Loop Trail, a 1.5-mile stretch with a rating of "easy" that takes roughly 2.5 hours. The Moenkopi Loop Trail, Oak Creek Canyon Trail and Fire Ecology Trail are each two-mile hikes with "easy" ratings.

Mount Charleston

About 30 miles northwest of the main strip in Vegas is Mount Charleston, which has more than 52 miles of hiking trails at elevations between 3,000 feet to more than 11,000 feet, making the area a great place to cool off during Vegas' hot summer months. You can get in some wildlife viewing while hiking Mount Charleston; the mountain is home to deer, desert tortoises, birds and wild burros, as well as juniper, Aspen, Ponderosa pine and mountain mahogany trees. Among the many trails on Mount Charleston is the 17-mile-roundtrip Charleston Peak South Loop Trail, a difficult hike that gains more than 4,000 feet in elevation but provides panoramic views of the valley and the nearby mountain ranges. For an easier hike, try the one-mile-roundtrip Desert Overlook Trail, which requires an ascent of just 200 feet.

La Madre Mountains

The La Madre Mountains are part of the 47,180-acre La Madre Wilderness Area, which is less than 20 miles west of Las Vegas in the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest. The mountain offers several hikes with a variety of difficulty levels at elevations ranging from 3,900 feet to more than 9,400. Among the animals you might see at the La Madre Mountains and in the surrounding wilderness area are big-horn sheep, mule deer, mountain lions, bobcats, foxes, birds, desert tortoises and snakes. One of the area's many hiking trails is the La Madre Spring Trail, which covers a four-mile roundtrip hike up a canyon along an old access road to La Madre Pond.

Desert National Wildlife Range

Desert National Wildlife Range is administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and located 23 miles north of downtown Las Vegas, where you'll find the wildlife range's Corn Creek Field Station. The area offers 17 hiking trails and covers 2,200 square miles of land, although more than half of that is utilized by the U.S. Air Force and therefore off limits to public access. The wildlife range is primarily a protective area for big-horn sheep, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service works to enhance the animals' habitat, including their water supply. You might be lucky enough to spot the animals on one of the area's hiking trails, such as the six-mile-long Gass Peak Trail, which leads to summit views of the valley and surrounding Las Vegas Mountain Range.