Red Mountain Lookout at Bootleg Canyon - Summary Page

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(Fig. 01)

(Fig. 02)

Directions: There are two ways to start this trail; either hiking 2-3/4 miles up the River Mountain Trail from Boulder City along US-93 or driving up the  backside of Bootleg Canyon (on the dirt Bootleg Canyon Road) to a parking area at the top and then hiking a 1/2 mile trail to the summit. To drive up, (heading into Boulder City on highway 93) turn left onto Yucca Street. From Yucca Street, turn right onto Industrial Road and then left onto Canyon Road, which leads to a parking area about .5 miles from the Red Mountain Overlook. To hike up, go to the stoplight near downtown, left turn on Highway 93 and continue eastbound on Highway 93 for 0.7 miles. Watch for a “River Mountain” trailhead sign on the left and turn left onto a short access road that leads to a parking lot.

Description of the Red Mountain Trail: From the top of the saddle at the end of the River Mountain Trail, the trail runs west and up the hillside, then switchbacks back to the south and climbs onto the north end of the drive-up to the parking area (Fig. 01) and top right of (Fig. 02). From the parking area, hike south for about 0.28 miles. The trail gains the summit ridge before leading down to the top of the zip-line, lower center of (Fig. 02). The actual summit is off to the west, but it is occupied by a communication facilities and is closed to the public (Fig. 03). Read more about this at the bottom of this page. The trail leads southeast past the top of the zip-lines (Fig. 04) to Red Mountain Overlook, which serves as the summit. This trail adds about another .5 miles from the saddle plus an additional 400 feet in elevation gain. This entire trail and the overlook provides grand views out over Boulder City and lands to the east and south across Nevada and Arizona.

(Fig. 03)

12/29/2015 Trip Notes: This was actually my third hike to the overlook. Click here for more pictures and information on this hike ... Black Mt. & Red Mt. Trails at Bootleg Canyon. 05/07/2015 Trip Notes: After reaching the parking area (Fig. 01), we decided to hike up the Red Mountain Trail. We stopped about halfway up and had lunch with a view overlooking Las Vegas (Fig. 04). When we reached the zip line (Fig. 05), I got a picture of Jim with Boulder City in the background (Fig. 06). The view in (Fig. 07) is looking northeast towards the summit of the Black Mountain Trail. The view in (Fig. 08) is looking east towards Boulder City.  It was just after taking Jim's picture that a gust of wind nearly knocked us both over, blowing off Jim's glasses that had been lodged in his shirt. Unfortunately, he didn't realize it until we were more than halfway back down the River Mountain trail. When we got back to the trailhead, we drove up the Bootleg Canyon Road to the upper parking area (Fig. 02) and re-hiked this portion of the trail again looking for his glasses. Miraculously, he found them at a spot where the wind gust had nearly blown us over when we were there the first time. When we got back to the car I realized that you could actually see the bypass bridge that lies just west of the dam. The shot in (Fig. 09) was taken with my lens zoomed all the way out. By the end of the day we had quite a workout. All total we hiked nearly 6 miles with total elevation gains of more than 1400 feet.

(Fig. 04)

(Fig. 05)

(Fig. 06)

(Fig. 07)

(Fig. 08)

(Fig. 09)

VORTAC navaid and microwave facility: This former radar site is a present-day VORTAC facility (Fig. 10) sitting where the former Boulder City (Nevada) gap-filler radar annex (SM-163A / Z-163A) once was. During the late 1950s another area of progress was the development and deployment of AN/FPS-14 and AN/FPS-18 gap-filler radars. Having a range of around sixty-five miles, these radars were placed in areas where it was thought enemy aircraft could fly low to avoid detection by the longer-range radars of the permanent and mobile radar networks. Gap-filler radar deployment peaked in December 1960 at 131 sites throughout the continental United States.                         The acronym VORTAC stands for VHF Omni-directional Range/Tactical Aircraft Control. VOR is an acronym for Very high frequency Omni Range. The TAC stands for TACAN, a military designation for it's distance information on a VOR signal. In a nutshell, VHF Omni Directional Radio Range (VOR) is a type of short-range radio navigation system for aircraft, enabling aircraft with a receiving unit to determine their position and stay on course by receiving radio signals transmitted by a network of fixed ground radio beacons. A VORTAC is a navigational aid for aircraft pilots consisting of a co-located VHF omnidirectional range (VOR) beacon and a tactical air navigation system (TACAN) beacon. Both types of beacons provide pilots azimuth information, but the VOR system is generally used by civil aircraft and the TACAN system by military aircraft. However, the TACAN distance measuring equipment is also used for civil purposes because it is built to civil specifications. Most VOR installations in the United States are VORTACs. Various types of air navigation aids are in use today, each serving a special purpose. These aids have varied owners and operators, namely: the (FAA) and military services. It is because of this facility that many locals call the mountain, "Radar Mountain."

(Fig. 10)

Note: Every attempt is made to provide accurate information, but occasionally depictions are inaccurate by error of mapping, navigation or cataloging. The information on this site is provided without any warranty, express or implied, and is for informational and historical purposes only.

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