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           Frequently Asked Questions

  1. Isn't Las Vegas surrounded by desert?
  2. What are the best seasons to hike ?
  3. What is the best source for hiking information ?
  4. Lake Mead, Red Rock, Mt. Charleston, what's the difference in each area ?
  5. What is rock scrambling?
  6. Explain the differences in Class 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 climbing.
  7. What is bouldering?
  8. What's the difference between a trail and a route? VERY IMPORTANT!
  9. How difficult are the hikes?
  10. What are the North and South Bowls of Fire?
  11. Can I buy individual hikes from this site?
  12. What is a narrows?
  13. What is a cairn?
  14. What is a closed loop trail or path?
  15. What is an open loop trail or path?
  16. What is a gully?
  17. What is a crag?
  18. What is sandstone?
  19. What is scree?
  20. What are switchbacks?
  21. What is a trailhead?
  22. What is the Scenic Loop?
  23. Where's the Rocky Gap Road?
  24. Doesn't the visitor centers have the same information that this Web site offers?
  25. Do you offer guided hikes?
  26. Who published "Hiking Las Vegas: 60 Hikes Within 60 Minutes of the Strip?"
  27. I am a tourist. What's the best way to purchase hike descriptions?
  28. Where else can I find trail guides for this area?
  29. What's the Member's Only Club?
  30. Do I need a permit to day hike?
  31. Explain the differences in level 1 through level 5 hikes.

1. No, it isn't. Mt. Charleston, located in the Spring Mountains, is less than one hour from the strip and offers alpine-like hiking. Starting at around 7,000 feet and topping out at 11,918 feet (Charleston Peak), the terrain is hardly desert. Red Rock Canyon is less than 30 minutes away and has thousands of acres of sandstone mountains jutting up from the desert floor.

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2. You can hike year-round due to the diversity of terrain and elevation. Lake Mead Area has an elevation of 2,000 feet; Mt. Charleston stands 11,918 feet. These two areas have almost a 60-degree difference in temperatures.
Summer: Mt. Charleston      Spring and Fall: Red Rock      Winter: Lake Mead
There's some overlap depending how well you tolerate heat or cold.

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3. "The Member's Only Club." It currently has 335 hikes, with color photos of key landmarks and enhanced topo maps.  Click here for more information.

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4. Red Rock Canyon offers some of the best bouldering and rock scrambling in the country. Mt. Charleston is typical of high altitude mountains. Lake Mead Area offers  desert hiking with numerous dry washes to follow. In general, Lake Mead is the easiest; hiking in Mt. Charleston, because of the altitude, is the most difficult.

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5. Rock scrambling is climbing low-angled rock (usually sandstone) without the use of ropes. Red Rock Canyon has many different rock scrambling routes.

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6. Class 1 - like walking on a sidewalk. Class 2 - hiking over rough terrain. Hands are used for balance only. Class 3 - using arms and legs to climb low-angled rock. Some exposure; most don't use ropes. Class 4 - climbing using arms and legs. Exposure is significant; most use ropes. Class 5 -  technical rock climbing. Ropes and harnesses are required. The class ratings have nothing to do with Difficulty rating (how strenuous the hike is).

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7. Bouldering is climbing over, around, and under huge boulders found in various canyons around Red Rock Canyon. Many people find this type of hiking the most enjoyable. It is also a good full body workout.

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8. A trail is well-marked and easy to follow. A route is hiked by landmarks. Routes are harder to follow, but offer much more of a wilderness experience. The Member's Only Club contains 335 hikes, many are routes. It has over 1,100 color photos showing you key landmarks along the route.  Do not expect a well-groomed trail when hiking a route.

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9. The hikes range in difficulty from very easy (1) to very difficult (5). To give you an idea of my rating system, Telescope Peak in California (a widely hiked trail) would rate a 3. Most guide books rate it as one of the most difficult hikes. A level 5 hike on this Web site is very tough, normally no trail, lots of scrambling and elevation gain. As a rough guide, a mile of rock scrambling equals two miles of trail hiking. Even the Mountaineer's Route up Mt. Whitney rates only a 5. There are hikes on this site that would be tougher if they were at the same elevation. However, there are plenty of easy hikes on this site.  The difficulty rating is different from the class rating (Class 1 through 5).

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10. The North and South Bowls of Fire resemble terrain found in Red Rock Canyon, but are located in the Lake Mead Area. The red sandstone mountains look like they are on fire during sunrise and sunset. Due to the extreme heat, do not hike around Lake Mead Area or the Bowls of Fire in the summer.  

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11. Yes.  You can  purchase variety of hikes from this Web site. The cost is $4.00 per hike. All hike descriptions contain step by step directions. Most have color photos of key landmarks and some have enhanced topo maps. Click here for more. 

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12. A narrows is a tight passage, similar to a slot canyon, that cuts through a mountain. At places it may be only three or four feet wide. Anniversary Narrows in Lake Mead is one of the best narrows in southern Nevada.

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13. A cairn is a pile of rocks used to mark a route. Routes on this Web site are marked with cairns.

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14. A closed loop trail or path makes a complete circle. At the end of the hike you're at the trailhead, which is the starting point of the hike.
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15. An open loop trail or path doesn't make a complete circle. At the end of the hike you're some distance from the trailhead. Two cars may be required; one parked at the trailhead, the other at the final destination.

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16. A gully is a broad, normally low-angled, depression that runs vertically down a mountain.

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17. A crag is a large mound of sandstone. It can range from low-angled to vertical.

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18. Sandstone is porous rock made of sand. It's predominantly found at Red Rock.

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19. Scree is small rocks typically found along slopes in Mt. Charleston.

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20. Switchbacks are zigzag sections in the trail that makes it easier to ascend a mountain.

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21. A trailhead is the starting point of a hike.

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22. The Scenic Loop is a 13-mile, one-way, paved road that travels through Red Rock Canyon. Many of the trailheads in Red Rock Canyon are accessed from the Scenic Loop. The Scenic Loop is open from 6 am to dusk every day of the year.

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23. The Rocky Gap Road is located at the end of Willow Springs Picnic Area. It is also known as: Old Potato Road, Red Rock Summit Road, and Old Pahrump Road. It was re-grated in 1998, but has recently degraded. You can drive a 4-WD vehicle about two miles up the road.
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24. The Visitors Center only has printed information about the established trails . Due to budget constraints, the trail descriptions are brief.


25. No, but see this page for information: Guides


26. Huntington Press published "Hiking Las Vegas and Hiking Southern Nevada." They are located in Las Vegas and publish about 30 books a year. Over 12,000 copies of "Hiking Las Vegas" have been sold.


27. Buying individual hikes is the most cost effective method if you are a tourist. Each hike cost only $4.00.  Click here for more.


28. There aren't any other guide books that cover the area like this site. A few books cover the basic trails, but no other source has the rock scrambling and mountaineering routes. In fact, I am the only guidebook author who lives in Las Vegas. I created many of the routes on this Web site. Over the years I have hiked the routes several times refining them when I found a better way. 


29. The Member's Only Club is the ultimate hiking reference for southern Nevada. It features 327 hike descriptions, enhanced topo maps, and a updates about the trails and routes. Click here for more.


30. No permits are needed for any day hikes in southern Nevada at this time (2-2008).  Permits are required for camping at Red Rock Canyon.
Call 702-515-5350. Self-issued permits are required for camping in Mt. Charleston.

31. Level 1 hike: Mileage less than 5; elevation gain: less than 1,000 feet. Level 2 hike: Mileage less than 7 miles; elevation gain: less than 1,500 feet. Level 3 hike: Mileage less than 10 miles; elevation gain: less than 2,500 feet. Level 4 hike: Mileage less than 14 miles; elevation gain: less than 3,500 feet. Level 5 hike: Mileage more than 14 miles; elevation gain: more than 3,500 feet. Consideration taken into account for the terrain. Example - Boulder fields in the Sierra versus trail hiking.


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