Cold Creek - 05/01/2020 Visit

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This page last updated on 05/06/2020

(Fig. 01)

Directions: From the Stratosphere Casino head northeast on Las Vegas Blvd about 3 miles and turn left onto US-93-95, keeping on the left for US-95 North towards Reno. Following US-95 North towards the Mt. Charleston area, drive 36 miles, past SR-156, the turn to Mt. Charleston (Kyle Canyon Rd.) and past SR-156 (Lee Canyon), and head as if driving to Indian Springs. Look for a small green sign on the freeway for Cold Creek (approx. 5 miles past Lee Canyon Ski Area Turnoff). Turn west of the freeway onto Cold Creek Road (SR-172) and drive up the mountain past the prisons (State, Federal, work camps) toward the town of Cold Creek (approx. 13 miles).

(Fig. 1A)

Description of Area: It is located at an elevation of 6,500 feet at the base of the northern Spring Mountain Range nestled inside the boundaries of the Toiyabe National Forest. With a serene and breathtaking high mountain desert environment,  This is a place of wide open ranges, wide open spaces and sparse vegetation. The town's backdrop is a north-south mountain range topped by Bonanza Peak with elevations up to 13,000 feet, separated by long narrow valleys ranging from 5,000 to 7,000 feet. Taking Cold Creek Road, Wheeler Pass Road and then Willow Springs Road that all lead west of the town, there are dozens of off-trail roads that that cover a vast area around Cold Creek Springs and Willow Springs (Refer to Fig. 1A). The terrain is mostly hard packed but has some sand and gravel washed and moderate elevations climbs. Vegetation is a mix of Joshua trees and scrub brush on the desert floor and juniper bristle cone trees at the higher elevations.

05/01/2020 Trip Notes: On this date Jim Herring and I decided to visit Cold Spring for a little four wheeling and a picnic. The picture in (Fig. 01) is Willow Peak at the northern end of the Spring Mountains of Southern Nevada. Willow Peak towers behind the mountain village of Cold Creek. As you can see, even in May, this peak holds a lot of snow in the winter providing stunning scenery that can be seen clearly from Highway 95. This is because of some fires years ago that burnt down most all of the trees on the summit. We started out by taking Cold Creek Road, then parts of Wheeler Pass Road and eventually Willow Springs Road, driving deep into the wilderness. We took so many roads that I thought we might get lost. The first thing we came to was where the Cold Spring stream crosses under the road, an area that we had hiked on our previous trip. On the return we actually stopped here and did some more hiking. We probably only hiked along the stream for about a half mile. It seemed liked the spring at the beginning had a lot of iron in the water due to the color of the rock bed (Figs. 02 & 03), however this was not the case the further in we walked (Fig. 04). The only flower we found along the way was those in (Fig. 05). After a while we didn't think we were going to see any elk at this time of day, so we turned around and hiked back to the car. (Con't below)

Note: Water is managed by the Cold Creek Canyon HOA public water system and  is supplied from two drilled wells each using submersible pumps. Neither of the two springs, Cold Spring or the Willow Spring, provide drinking water to any of the town's inhabitants. Above-ground storage consists of a 218,000 gallon reservoir. The system is gravity fed and is closely monitored. Disinfections has not been necessary and is not practiced. Waste water is collected from the area is manage through individual septic systems.

(Fig. 02)

(Fig. 03)

(Fig. 04)

(Fig. 05)

Notes Continued: We then eventually got onto Willow Springs Road and came to a spot where the water from the spring was pouring over the road (Fig. 06). I walked up to what had been a small dam on the upside of the flow (Fig. 13) and took a picture looking back to the road where some others had stopped to admire the flow of the water coming from the spring (Fig. 07). The shot in (Fig. 08) is looking downstream from the tree. We then continued to drive Willow Springs Road that paralleled the stream looking for some trees that would provide a good spot for our picnic lunch. Along the way we spotted a couple of flowers (Figs. 09 & 10). We were surprised that there were so few flowers and that there were no cactus anywhere in the area. We eventually found a nice spot beneath a large shady tree, perfect for a picnic lunch. As I was leaving I spotted a horned lizard (Southern Desert Horned Lizard (Phrynosoma platyrhinos calidiarum) (Fig. 12). This is only the second time in my 10 years of hiking I have ever spotted one of these. He quickly scampered under a bush and refused to come out again. We then packed up and attempted to find our way back to Cold Creek (Fig. 13).

(Fig. 06)

(Fig. 07)

(Fig. 08)

(Fig. 09)

(Fig. 10)

(Fig. 11)

(Fig. 12)

(Fig 13)

Go to ... Cold Creek and Bonanza Trail North Trailhead - Summary Page

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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.