Lovell Summit Road and the SMNRA

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This page last updated on 02/11/2019

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Directions: To reach Lovell Canyon Road from the Stratosphere on Las Vegas strip, take the I-15 to Blue Diamond Rd (SR-160 aka Pahrump Highway). Head west on SR-160 passing the turn to Red Rock Canyon, passing Cottonwood Valley, and passing over the pass and the town of Mountain Springs. About 3 miles west of Mountain Sprint Summit, watch for highway signs and a right turn onto Lovell Canyon Road. Lovell Canyon Road is a paved road that dead-ends at the entrance to the Torino Ranch, about 11 miles out. A left turn here is the beginning of  Lovell Summit Road.

Area Description: The area loosely referred to as Lovell Canyon lies within the Spring Mountains National Recreation Area. It is bordered by the Rainbow Mountain Wilderness Area on the east. Refer to (Fig. 02). Lovell Road and the Lovell Summit Road cut through the heart of the Lovell Canyon area. North, it is bordered by the Mount Charleston Wilderness Area. Its 57,442 acres is  spread across the entire Spring Mountains Range and includes Mount Charleston (Charleston Peak), at an elevation of 11,908 feet. Access to the canyon is the Lovell Canyon Road, an 11-mile-long paved road that parallels the Lovell Canyon Wash. The surrounding area encompasses approximately 24,997 acres. Its unique geology and microclimates support several endemic plant communities, some plants that are found nowhere else in the world. The soils of lower elevation washes of Lovell Canyon have alluvial soil deposits. Alluvial soils deposits are eroded rock debris transported from higher elevations in mountains down to the valley floor. The soils of the higher elevation rolling hills of Lovell Canyon consist of weathered sandstone rock fragments and finer particles. Traveling west at the end of the paved Lovell Canyon Road, elevation 5,958 feet, is the beginning of the 9.7 mile Lovell Summit Road that ends at Trout Canyon Road. The roads highest point is Summit Peak around 6,500 feet (Refer to Fig 02).

02/07/2019 Trip Notes: Today Jim Herring, Bob Croke and Ron Ziance decided to take a ride up Lovell Canyon Road to Lovell Summit Road to drive in the snow and get some wintry snow pictures. As you can see from the pictures, it was a beautiful sunny day without a cloud in the sky. Driving NV-160 to get there, we took this snow covered picture of Mt. Potosi (Fig. 03) along the way. As we drove up Lovell Canyon Road we captured the pictures of the snow covered Spring Mountains in the distance (Figs. 01 and 04). As we neared the end of Lovell Canyon Road, the road became completely covered in snow. After turning onto Lovell Summit Road the snow got a little deeper. As we climbed up this snaking road to Lovell summit, 6,740 feet, several of the sharp corners got a little slippery (Figs. 06 & 07). Several places provided opportunities for some nice views (Fig. 08). This picture is looking east back down onto the beginning of the road. (Notes continued below)

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Trip Notes Continued: At Lovell Summit, looking up there were pictures of the frosted and snow-covered trees at the ridge lines (Figs. 09 & 10). Looking due west from the summit you look down onto a fairly flat valley that is pocked with nearly a dozen houses (Fig. 11). From the summit the road lead down into and across the valley below (Fig. 12). The picture in (Fig. 13) shows one of the larger, more substantial houses. From here is was still several miles to the end and the intersection with Trout Canyon Road. About two miles before Trout Canyon Road I got a flat tire. Luckily the snow barely covered the dirt road and we were in a spot where changing the tire was relatively easy. We all admitted that none of could even remember when we had to ever change a flat tire, but even being a bunch of old geezers, we managed it quite well. Thanks guys, I don't know how well I would have done if I'd been alone. When we reached Trout Canyon Road we stopped and took a shot north toward the town of Trout Canyon (Fig. 14) and the snow-covered mountains behind the town before heading down the road to NV-160. For all the years I've been hiking around the Spring Mountain area, this is the first time I ever attempted to come in the winter and can say I really enjoyed it. Driving in the snow and hiking around was really an enjoyable experience. When we reached the highway we headed into Pahrump for lunch at Symphony's, the restaurant located inside The Pahrump Winery. After a nice long leisurely lunch and excellent desserts, we called it a day and headed home.

Side Note - Symphony's: Symphony's is a Zagot rated establishment is an up-scale casual restaurant that serves both lunch and dinner. Served on white linen clothed tables, in a very quiet, elegant atmosphere, the fine food is beautifully served, and is reasonably priced. Dining here is worth the trip to the winery all by itself. The addition of a closed-in outside patio with a lovely, relaxing view provided a lovely setting for any meal. Click here for some pictures ... Pahrump Valley Winery. 

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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.

Mount Potosi and the SMNRA

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This page last updated on 02/09/2019

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Directions: To reach the town of Goodsprings from Las Vegas, travel 27 miles southward on I-15 to the Jean-Goodsprings exit, then turn west on Nevada Highway 161 for seven miles. To reach the road that leads to the top of Mount Potosi, follow West Spring Street to Fayle Street and head north. Follow this for about 3/4 of a mile until it intersects with the Goodsprings Bypass. Follow the Goodsprings Bypass road northwest for about 5.5 miles until it splits (Fig. 02). Turn left onto the dirt road and begin the 5 mile trek up Mount Potosi Road.

Potosi Mountain, a.k.a. Mount Potosi is a notable peak located about 30 miles southwest of Las Vegas in the Spring Mountains, in Clark County of southern Nevada. Home to 7 full power FM broadcasting stations that transmit from the top, it is best known as the site of the TWA Flight 3 air crash that killed 22 passengers, most notably the actress Carole Lombard, on January 16, 1942. At 8,515 feet it is one of the larger peaks in the Spring Mountain Range that boarders the Las Vegas metro area on the west.              The site of the crash site is kept secret by the Forest Service, although dedicated (and sometimes lucky) searchers have been able to find the site, at which some remains of the plane can be found. At the time, most of the plane was salvaged for its metals, so no big pieces remain.             Potosi Mountain is also well-known to tower builders, who have built communications towers on the tops of the three main summits of the mountain. To that end, a road was constructed from the south to allow service vehicles to rumble into the range. The road, of course, makes an easy option for a hike to Potosi Mountain.

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08/20/2013 Trip Notes: After parking the truck and unloading the 4WD Rhino, we headed out across the foothills toward the mountain range. After only about 1.8 miles, we encountered a large steel gate (Fig. 04) with a large hardened steel lock blocking the road. Luckily, we were able to navigate around the gate to the left, albeit a little dangerous. Even though this service road is paved in places, there is a gain of over 3,000 vertical feet in slightly less than five miles to the top, making it a very strenuous workout for anyone who decides to hike it. NOTE: Be sure to check out the video at the end of the page.

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Just past the gate the road hangs a sharp left and starts up very steeply. After a short distance, quite unexpected, we encountered more pavement. This goes on for roughly a half mile, during which time the road becomes very steep, climbing nearly 500 feet (Fig. 05).

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After reaching the top of this small knob, you can see the remaining steep section of road as it climbs upward towards a saddle onto the main range crest. Over the course of this two mile stretch, the road climbs about 1,800 feet. After reaching the saddle we stopped to take some pictures. Harvey spotted two deer, one with a huge rack, take off running in a patch of trees below us on the northwest side. Unfortunately they disappeared before we were able to get a picture. Rounding the bend here and looking northward, you are presented with a grand view of the first of the main Potosi summits, South Peak (Fig. 06). Unfortunately, due to a fire in 2005 that scorched this particular section of mountain leaving nothing in its wake, no trees or grasses or anything, the hillsides are rather barren. The views looking down to the west into the Potosi Valley and the peaks and deserts toward Sandy Valley to the south (Fig. 07) and Pahrump to the north (Fig. 08) were absolutely outstanding.

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Once we rounded the peak in (Fig. 06) the road drops slightly at first then gains steeply before moderating again. A side-road zooms up to the summit from here to this first set of small towers, but we ignored it. From here the grade seemed very lenient and even level with some slight downhills. After about a mile you reach another summit where you can see the other two tower complexes and the true summit, still about a mile and a half north. Now higher in elevation, the forest is thicker here with smatterings of mainly bristlecone pine. Upon reaching the second set of towers (Fig. 09), we hiked up the hill to take some pictures. The view in (Fig. 10) is looking due north toward our goal, the last set of towers at the very top of Mount Potosi. The views to the southeast (Fig. 11) looked out over Cottonwood Valley and the portion of the mountain where Carole Lombard’s plane crashed.               Even though we knew that the site of the Lombard plane crash laid somewhere on one of these ledges near the top, we weren't sure of the exact location and didn't make any concerted attempt to located it. However, after talking with some locals at the Pioneer Saloon upon our return, we now have a better idea of where the site is located and how to reach it, and may make an attempt on a future visit to the mountain top.

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The remaining distance to the summit took about 35 minutes, including stops for pictures. All toll, I think it took us 2-1/2 hours to reach the top. Other than occasional steepness, there were no real difficulties to mention. At the top we parked, walked around the towers and buildings, and scrambled to the base of the towers on the east side. The views from this summit (Fig. 01) top, were tremendous. You can see Mount Charleston in the upper left corner of this picture and Red Rock Canyon on the right just left of the guide wires. We spent quite a bit of time roaming and exploring around the buildings and towers (Fig. 12) seeking out beautiful views in every direction. Probably the most exciting part of the day was the amazing number of seabed fossils (Fig. 13) that we found in some of the large rock faces along the east side of the road just below the summit. For more pictures and information, click this link ... Mount Potosi Fossils. After leaving the summit, we stopped along the road about half-way down and had a picnic lunch that was topped off with a couple of frozen margarita's.

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In addition to seeing two deer, several hawks, jackrabbits, and some humming birds, none of which did we get any pictures, we did capture a few pictures of some Chukar Partridges and lizards (Figs. 14 thru 17 - Click to enlarge). Go to this link for more pictures and information on the partridges ... Chukar Partridge (Alectoris graeca). The last three shots (Figs. 18-20) are just a few final pictures I took on the way down.

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Lovell Canyon and the SMNRA - Summary Page

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This page last updated on 02/09/2019

(Fig. 01)

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Area Description: The area loosely referred to as Lovell Canyon lies within the Spring Mountains National Recreation Area. It is bordered by the Rainbow Mountain Wilderness Area on the east. Refer to (Fig. 02). Lovell Road and the Lovell Summit Road cuts through the heart of the Lovell Canyon area. North, it is bordered by the Mount Charleston Wilderness Area. Its 57,442 acres is  spread across the entire Spring Mountains Range and includes Mount Charleston (Charleston Peak), at an elevation of 11,908 feet. Access to the canyon is the Lovell Canyon Road, an 11 mile-long paved road that parallels the Lovell Canyon Wash. The surrounding area encompasses approximately 24,997 acres. Its unique geology and microclimates support several endemic plant communities, some plants that are found no where else in the world. The soils of lower elevation washes of Lovell Canyon have alluvial soil deposits. Alluvial soils deposits are eroded rock debris transported from higher elevations in mountains down to the valley floor. The soils of the higher elevation rolling hills of Lovell Canyon consist of weathered sandstone rock fragments and finer particles. Traveling west at the end of the paved Lovell Canyon Road, elevation 5,958 feet, is the beginning of the 9.7 mile Lovell Summit Road that ends at Trout Canyon Road. The roads highest point is Summit Peak around 6,500 feet (Refer to Fig 02). Vegetation: This area contains hundreds of varieties of desert and mountain vegetation. At elevations between 2,000 to 4,000 feet, two species of Rabbitbrush (Chrysothamnus viscidiflorus & Chrysothamnus paniculatus) can be found along the washes and paved roadside of Lovell Canyon Road. At elevations up to 4,500 feet, Manzanita has colonized the burn areas of the 4,700 acre fire back in 2002. Seeds require fire scarification for germination. It is often found mixed in pinyon-juniper woodlands. These pinyon-juniper woodlands comprise one of Nevada's most extensive vegetation types, occupying approximately thirteen percent, of the state's total land area. This woodland habitat, generally between 5,000 and 7,000 feet, is dominated by two tree species, the singleleaf pinyon pine, (Pinus monophylla), and the Utah juniper (Juniperusosteosperma). Other vegetation that has been identified in Lovell Canyon’s woodland habitat areas include Ponderosa pine, Gambel oak (Quercus gambelii), manzanita (Arctostaphylos spp.), sagebrush (Artemesia spp.), ephedra (Ephedra spp.), buckwheat (Eriogonum spp.), silktassel (Garrya spp.), Apache plume (Fallugia paradoxa), Mexican cliffrose (Purshia mexicana), desert almond (Prunus fasciculata), skunkbush sumac (Rhus trilobata), and blackbrush (Coleogyne ramosissima).  Wildlife: In certain areas of Lovell Canyon, you may see wildlife commonly found in the Spring Mountain such as desert bighorn sheep, deer, elk, mountain lion and Palmer's Chipmunk. On numerous hikes here I have observed deer, Desert Cottontail rabbits, Black-tail Jackrabbits, Southern Desert Horned Lizards, and a Western Diamondback Rattlesnake (Crotalus atrox). In addition, I have also observed a large variety of birds including the Western Scrub Jay (Aphelocoma californica) and Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis). General Lovell Canyon Road Hiking Notes: Over the several years I have made several stops along this road and made more than a half dozen hikes in this area. Lovell Wash that parallels the road, and have had many exciting finds. There are actually several turn-offs (viewing areas) and side roads that emanate from Lovell Canyon Road. Refer to the map in (Fig. 02). The major hikes are Rainbow Springs Road, Forest Trail 917 (WP-01), Rocky Gap Road (WP-03), CC Spring Road (WP-04), and Lovell Summit Road (Forest Rd 536) . The pull-off at Forest Trail 917 (WP 01) on (Fig. 02) provides some excellent views of the entire area. In (Fig. 03 below), some of the Henderson Rockhound group can be seen looking at the view west towards the town of Pahrump. Walking out to the end of this area provided you with a view north (Fig. 01 top) that takes in all of Lovell Canyon. Looking back south (Fig. 04 below) provides you with a view of what I think is called Mule Spring Mountain.

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02/09/2019 Trip Notes: On this visit here I came with my jeep with the only intent to drive Lovell Summit Road in order to take some winter pictures of the snow. Click here for pictures and a description of this trip ... Lovell Summit Road & SMNRA. 07/18/2013 Trip Notes: Today Harvey Smith and I drove to the town of nTrout CAnyon to see if they had any damage from the Carpenter 1 fire on July 1st. After driving around the town we took Lovell Summit Road back to Lovell Canyon Road and NV-160. Click here for pictures and a description of this trip ... Trout Canyon and Lovell Summit Road. 05/23/2013 Hiking Notes: On this visit here I spotted a Southern Desert Horned Lizard (Phrynosoma platyrhinos calidiarum), (Fig. 05 below) while hiking the pull-off at Forest Trail 917 (WP 01) on (Fig. 02). Also the pictures in (Figs. 01, 03 and 04) were also taken from this area. 04/28/2011 Hiking Notes: Again, while hiking in the Lovell Wash along side Lovell Canyon Road with several hikers from the Henderson Rockhounds, I spotted a Western Diamondback Rattlesnake (Fig. 07 below), sunning himself in the middle of the wash. 09/29/2011 Hiking Notes: While hiking in the Lovell Wash along the side road (Fig. 06) I found an outstanding specimen of a fossilized sea shell (Fig. 08 below), again while hiking the wash. The flowers in (Figs. 09 thru 12) are but a few of the specimens that I observed while hiking along the wash areas surrounding the road. As you can see, stopping at any of these spots can provide unique exploration and viewing opportunities, allowing one to spend an entire day without ever going more than a few hundred yards off the Lovell Canyon Road itself. For more detailed descriptions and pictures for some of these areas, click on the links to specific locations found below.

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Rainbow Spring/Bootleg Spring Road: Though I have yet to hike to either these areas, they are known for their solitude, shade, and water. Rainbow Springs and its neighbor, Bootleg Spring, have good productivity and are running even in the hotter summer months, so water is always available. There is almost always a small pool at Rainbow Springs. From the edge of Lovell Canyon Road, it appears that this hike is only about three miles with an elevation gain of less than 700 feet. Under good road conditions, a 4WD vehicle could reduce this hike by more than 2.5 miles.

Rocky Gap Road: Another area that I have yet to hike is Rocky Gap Road. This is an extremely rugged backcountry road that runs from Willow Springs Picnic Area in Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area (BLM land) to Lovell Canyon Road in the Spring Mountains National Recreation Area (USFS land), threading between the Rainbow Mountain Wilderness Area and the La Madre Mountain Wilderness Area the entire way. From Lovell Canyon Road on the western side of the mountains, the road is pretty well washed out making in passable only in extreme 4WD vehicles. Though there is roughly a 2,000 foot elevation gain, hiking this road to the summit of Rocky Peak is only about 2.5 miles. The picture is from its eastern entrance located in Red Rock Canyon.

CC Spring Road: About 9.5 miles from SR-160, this fairly well traveled dirt road that leads west from Lovell Canyon Road, and runs a little over a mile towards CC Spring. Beginning about .5 miles out there are some rough campsite areas with fire rings. The countryside and view through this mountainous area is quite beautiful. Click the title link for more info and pictures.

Lovell Canyon Trail in Lovell Canyon: Having opened in 2008, the Lovell Canyon Trail is a 6 mile moderate hiking and equestrian trail with an elevation gain/loss of +/- 800 feet over rolling terrain on a well maintained trail. Although this hike ends at the peak and overlook into First Creek at Red Rock Canyon, you begin and end the hike at the Lovell Canyon Trailhead in Lovell Canyon. The trailhead is located about a third of a mile past the Torino Ranch entrance, headed west on Lovell Summit Road.

Lovell Summit Road Lovell Summit Road branches off the end of Lovell Canyon Road and leads through the mountains all the way back out to SR-160, just short of the town of Pahrump.  To drive this road, it is advised that you have a 4-wheel drive truck or an SUV of some kind. Along the way you will see the damage which was done by several forest fires. Hiking this road to the top brings you just below the peak of Lovell Summit. A small stream follows the road down to the parking area for the Lovell Canyon Trail.