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This page last updated on 04/13/2017
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| (Fig. 01) |
Directions: To reach Lovell Canyon, from the Stratospere on Las Vegas Strip, take the I-15 to Blue Diamond Road (SR-160 aka Pahrump Highway). Head west on SR-160 for 24 miles, passing the turn to Red Rock Canyon, Cottonwood Valley, and the town of Mountain Springs. About 3 miles west of Mountain Spring 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 Torino Ranch, about 11 miles out. Take a left onto a dirt road (FS Road 536) and go about half mile to the parking area for the Lovell Canyon Traillhead and parking area (Fig. 02).
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| (Fig. 02) |
Area Description: Lovell Canyon Road and the Lovell Canyon Trailhead and Hike are located inside of the Spring Mountains National Recreation Area on the west side of the Spring Mountains. It is an 11-mile ride from highway NV-160 to the trailhead. From the highway it is a elevation gain of 1,277 feet to 5,929 feet at the Trailhead. There is roughly a 300 foot gain in elevation to the intersection and start of the trail loop. Due to this wide range in elevation, there is a wide array of "life-zones". From sagebrush and Joshua Trees on the lower elevations, Pinyon Juniper and forests of Ponderosa pine and other coniferous trees in the mid-elevations. In the upper treeline elevations you begin to see Bristlecone Pines - the world's oldest living organisms. Depending upon the season, if you are lucky, you may encounter deer, elk, wild horses, bobcats, desert bighorn sheep, and a variety of birds, chipmunks and butterflies.
09/15/2016 Trip Notes: It was a beautiful clear, sunny day in the low 80's. Today the Rockhounds from the Henderson Senion Center filled the van with quite a few people who hadn't been here before. Taking our time, we made plenty of stops along the trail (Fig. 03) to the junction of the "loop" (Fig. 02). Because this was my fourth or visit to this area, I didn't take a lot of pictures. For more pictures from previous hikes, go to ... (
Lovell Canyon Trailhead and Trail - Summary Page). However from the description above and the picture in (Fig. 01) you can see that there are some outstanding views of the west side of the Spring Mountain from this trail. If you look closely at the mountains on the left side of (Fig. 01), you will notice that all of the trees on the mountain side are dead, the result of the Carpenter Fire in 2013. Due to the elevation gains, and the fact that this was one of our first hikes of the season, many of us were "out of shape" and only hiked the 1.6 miles to the Loop Junction on (Fig. 02). The pictures in (Figs.05 thru 08) are views taken from the trail after we reached the ridge-line.
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| (Fig. 03) |
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| (Fig. 04) |
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| (Fig. 05) |
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| (Fig. 06) |
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| (Fig. 07) |
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| (Fig. 08) |
