Bittersprings Road - LMNRA

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This page last updated on 05/26/2019

(Fig. 01)

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Directions: This road is located along Northshore Road in Lake Mead National Recreation Area, about 50 minutes east of Las Vegas. From town, drive out to Lake Mead. From the intersection of Lakeshore Road and Northshore Road, drive north on Northshore Road for about 25.9 miles. Shortly before the mile marker 26, watch for the sign (Fig. 02) and turn left onto Bittersprings Road.

Description of Area: Bittersprings Road (NPS Rd 101), is a 6.4-mile backcountry road that runs north from Northshore Road to Bitter Spring, then continues northeast following Echo Wash back to Northshore Road. Bittersprings Road provides access to Bitter Spring Backcountry Byway that travels west to Buffington Pockets. From the pavement, the graded road runs northeast and then north as it descends gently through rolling hills (Fig. 01). The road surface here is firm dirt, and the Park Service maintains it from time to time. The road eventually follows washes descending towards a gap in Echo Hills (Fig. 03). Running down the bajada (Fig. 04), the road eventually reaches a signed road intersection (3.3 miles out). Here, the Bitter Spring Backcountry Byway runs left (also straight ahead), and Bittersprings Road continues to the right.

(Fig. 03)

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Turning right, the road runs out about 0.25 miles and drops into the sandy wash. For drivers in 2WD vehicles wishing to visit the spring, park on firm ground before dropping into the wash, and then walk the last few hundred feet to the spring (Fig. 05).

(Fig. 05)

05/23/2019 Trip Notes: When we reached the signed 3-way intersection, we turned right and headed to the Bitter Spring. It has been more than 4 years since I last visited the Bitter Spring. See the last visit of [Bitter Spring] In addition to this year's heavy rains, flash floods during the fall of 2010 and 2012 scoured away most of the emergent vegetation, but the cottonwoods survived and the other vegetation is slowly growing back. The two large cottonwoods at the source of the spring appear to have taken a real beating (Fig. 06). What used to be a sandy wash is pretty much down to the bare rock along the way (Fig. 07). Much of the vegetation on both sides of the waters leading down the wash from the source of the spring have been washed away. The remaining vegetation show evidence that the waters that washed through here was pretty strong (Fig. 08). The last time I visited there were thousands of animal tracks in the water saturated sandy areas. We found a wild horse feeding on the grasses along the edge of the spring and even spotted two coyotes. We found no sign of life here on today's visit. (Click the link above to see pictures of these on the previous visit.)

(Fig. 06)

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(Fig. 08)

Bitter Spring is a quiet little place for birdwatching where water flows into the desert and forms a spot of green amid the vastness of the dry Mojave Desert. At the spring, vegetation includes two cottonwood trees and a few sprouts, lots of narrowleaf cattail, honey mesquite and desert willow, some catclaw acacia, black-banded rabbitbrush, and arrowweed, plus saltcedar that Land Managers are trying to eradicate (feel free to pull up seedlings). Walking around the surrounding desert is dry creosote bush, white bursage, and a few other hardy species. After walking around the area we headed back to the parking area downstream. The flow of the water coming from the spring was actually flowing at a very steady rate. In fact the ground was so saturated, sometime your foot would seek into the sand. There seemed to be more water than in past years.

We finally turned around and drove back to the signed intersection and started driving up the Bitter Spring Backcountry Byway Road headed towards Buffington Pockets. Somewhere along the way we either got lost, taking a bad turn, or the road we were on had gotten washed out due to heavy rains. The road got so narrow and rocky, it became impassable and we thought we should abandon it and return. Disappointed we paused to have a picnic bag lunch. Disappointed, we then drove back to the Bitter Spring and beyond it to the exit that took us up onto the Northshore Road. 

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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Cottonwood Springs - Pinto Valley Wilderness Area

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This page last updated on 02/03/2018

(Fig. 01) Looking Northwest towards the Mud Mountains

(Fig. 02)

Directions: The location for this hike is northeast of Las Vegas along Northshore Road in the Lake Mead National Recreation Area. From the Stratosphere Casino head northeast on Las Vegas Blvd about 3 miles and turn right to merge onto US-93/95. Go 12.5 miles and Merge onto NV-564 E/W Lake Mead Pkwy via Exit 61B. Heading east on NV-564 (Lake Mead Blvd) go over the mountains to the park entrance station. Pay the entrance fee ($5 per car or an annual pass), and proceed to the T-intersection with Northshore Road (NV 167) and Lakeshore Road (NV 166). Bear left and drive north on Northshore Road (NV 167) for 18 miles, approximately .2 miles past mile marker 18 (see map in Fig. 02 above) to a roadside trashcan pullout on the left side of the road.

Historic Photo

Description:  This roadside pullout provides access to Cottonwood Spring, Hamblin Peak, Razorback Wash South, Razorback Wash North, and Pinto Valley to the south, and the Bowl of Fire (Southwest) to the north. With an elevation of only a little over 100 feet, this easy Cottonwood Spring hike is a 2.10 mile out and back trail. This peaceful hike follows a wash down to a spring and a couple of cottonwood trees*, from which the spring got its name. Unfortunately the spring is usually dry. However, the water table is only about a foot below ground level and you can see evidence of local animals that have dug down into the sand to reach water. *Note: During the summer of 2017, flash-floods washed away the cottonwood trees that stood in front of the spillover near the spring.

12/21/2017 Trip Notes:  Today Bob Croke and I decided to hike this trail after making a decision not to hike in the Red Rock park due to the 20-40 mph winds. Due to the protection from the sides of this deep wash kept up protected from the winds almost the whole time we hike. However, whenever we hike up out of the wash, the winds were still quite strong. Taking the fairly well marked use-trail leading south from the trailhead, just 100 feet west of the turnoff, you can see how deep this wash is in Figures 01 and 03. As we wound our way up the wash (Figs. 04 & 05), there we sever instances of dead willow trees and other shrubs (Fig. 06) that had washed down the wash during the flood this past summer. When we reached the halfway narrows (See Fig. 02) we came upon a low, fairly smooth, yellow-brown wall on the left side of the wash (Fig. 07). It was full of fossils such as oyster or mussel shells, snail shells, worm tracks, and other identified things (Figs. 08 & 09). At the middle point of this wall, there is a little wash that comes down the hillside and cuts a notch in the wall. Up in this notch, about 20 feet from the bottom of the wash, there are some great examples of "fossilized" ripple marks of an ancient sea floor. There are even more examples a little further up the wash on the left (Figs. 10 & 11). After climbing to the top of this notch we had the nice views seen in (Figs. 12 & 13). (Notes con't below)

                                                     

(Fig. 03) Looking South toward the Hamblin Mountain

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(Fig. 11) Bob Croke's Picture

(Fig. 12) Looking North back toward the Muddy mountains.

(Fig. 13) Looking South up the narrows and Cotton Springs wash

Notes Continued: Continuing up the wash it was quite narrow in some places (Fig. 14). After leaving the narrows, Being ever observant, Bob noted two sets of tracks (probably big horn sheep) coming down the side of the wall of the wash (Fig. 15). Finally we reached the area of the spring that was full of small trees and heavy brush to the right of the wash (Fig. 16). To the left the wash was blocked with a 12 foot spill-over (Fig. 17). Bob climbed up to see what the view was on the other side (Fig. 18). The picture in (Fig. 19) is looking  back down the wash from the top of the fill-over and the picture in (Fig. 20) is of Bob climbing back down. I took a use trail off to the right of the wash that led to yet another large was that was actually an alternate route to Hamblin Mountain. The picture is (Fig. 21) is a view looking back toward the Cottonwood Wash. Walking the left side of the Cottonwood wash just a hundred yards north of the spring there is an old steel trough (Fig. 22). You can see in the collage that a pipe rand back to the mouth of the spring. In one corner of the trough an animal dug down to the water level to get a sip of water. We even observed an occasional bird while walking around the area of the spring (Fig. 23). To read more about this bird go to ... Long Crested Stellers Jay.
                                                       

(Fig. 14)

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(Fig. 18) Bob Croke's Picture

(Fig. 19) Bob Croke's Picture

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(Fig. 21) Side wash to Hamblin Mountain

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(Fig. 23)

Blue Point Spring

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This page last updated on 01/05/2018

(Fig. 01)

Location:  Blue Point Spring is located east of Las Vegas on the north side of Lake Mead near Echo Bay. The easiest way to get there from downtown Las Vegas is to drive north on Interstate-15 for about 2 miles to Lake Mead Blvd. Exit the Interstate, turn right onto Lake Mead Blvd, and drive east out of town, over the mountains, and down to the lake. About 1.8 miles past the Lake Mead entrance station, turn left at the T-intersection onto Northshore Road, and drive east for about 45 minutes to the paved Blue Point Spring parking area, which is on the left (northwest) side of the road a few minutes north of the Rogers Spring site. The parking area and palm trees can be seen from the road.

Description:  Blue Point Spring is a natural warm spring within Lake Mead National Recreation Area. In the past there have been soaking opportunities at this spring; however, the spring and the creek below it are all now overgrown. Blue Point emerges from the ground at a temperature in the upper 80s. A use-trail leads along the creek to the spring (Fig. 02), as does an old road, and there are a few short use-trails around the palms, but the area is not developed for hiking. It is possible to follow the foliage and walk just under a half-mile to the side of a mountain (Fig 03), the source of the spring, where you can see it bubbling up through silken sand. The source of Blue Point's water is still uncertain, but some think that it travels in underground aquifers from the mountains near Ely, Nevada, located 250 miles to the north. In 1903, farmers near the town of St. Thomas—presently a ghost town with its own unique story—began to construct irrigation canals from Blue Point and Rogers Spring. They used shovels, homemade tools, and a horse team to scrape and dig the canals, but they soon found that the water from the spring only traveled a short distance before soaking into the packed canal dirt. They lined the canals with homemade clay, which also failed. The men borrowed money and spent several months to layer the canals with cement. Ultimately, the entire project failed. Today, the green riparian vegetation in this sparsely-vegetated section of the Mojave Desert attracts desert birds year-round and migrants during spring and fall.

(Fig. 02)

(Fig. 03)

12/08/2017 Trip Notes: After eating our picnic lunch I wandered into the heavily overgrown area of tall reeds surrounding a clump of palm trees. I eventually found a small area where the waters from the spring found their way to the surface (Fig. 04). It was amazing how quickly the water was flowing through this area (Fig. 05). After walking out 3/4 of the way to the end we did find another small spot where the water reached the surface. Other than these two, the whole distance of the canal contains no visible water. On a subsequent visit, Bob visited this area again with some friends and this time hiked all the way to the end of the trail and found where the water from the spring was "bubbling up" in the sand (Fig. 06).

(Fig. 04)

(Fig. 05)

(Fig. 06) Bob's picture

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Lava Butte and Rainbow Gardens - Summary Page

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This page last updated on 04/13/2017

(Fig. 01)

Directions: From the Stratosphere Casino head southwest for 0.3 miles on S. Las Vegas Blvd toward W. Baltimore Ave. Turn right onto W Sahara Ave for 0.7 miles and merge onto I-15 North via the ramp to Salt Lake City. Travel 3.9 miles and take exit 45 for Lake Mead Blvd, then turn right onto NV-147 E/E Lake Mead South Blvd. Travel 13.4 miles, past the base of the Sunrise and Frenchman Mountains, and turn right onto a gravel road. To continue to Lava Butte, go 1.3 miles and turn left and travel 85 feet and turn left again. Go 0.7 miles and turn left and go 0.9 miles. All told you will drive approximately 2.9 miles from the initial turn off to the parking area, which is beneath some power lines. The road will fork on occasion, but has markers that say Lava Butte along the way, take note because if you see a marker for Rainbow Gardens you will know you are off course.

Rainbow Garden Description: This whole area, located just west of the Lake Mead National Recreation Area near Lava Butte (Fig. 01), a large black volcanic mountain, is generally referred to as The Rainbow Gardens. As seen on the map in (Fig. 02), the area of Rainbow Gardens contains three roads, Black Butte Rd, Rainbow Gardens Rd, and Kodachrome Rd, running north to south and spanning from east to west. The Rainbow Gardens that surrounds Lava Butte is known for its many colorful rock layers which are made up of gypsum, quartz and many other minerals. The Frenchman Mountain-Rainbow Gardens area lies on federal land managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). Until the mid-1990s, the main public uses of the Frenchman Mountain-Rainbow Gardens area were uncontrolled target shooting, illegal dumping, and off-road vehicle use. As the Las Vegas population grew and began to encroach the foot of Frenchman Mountain (Fig. 02), target shooting was no longer permitted in this area. Stricter anti-dumping laws are now much more aggressively enforced, and much of the old trash has been removed during BLM-Boy Scout-volunteer clean-up campaigns. Not least because of an endemic species of bearpaw poppy (Arctomecon sp.), whose habitat is fragile and disappearing, but also to protect geologic resources. Exposed rocks in this region date back more than one billion years, representing every major era of Earth's development. The oldest exposed rocks are to the west in and around Frenchman Mountain, including the 1.8 billion year old Vishnu Schist, the oldest exposed rock in North America. In 2000 the BLM classified the Rainbow Gardens as an "area of critical environmental concern," which carries with it a measure of protection from unrestricted off-road vehicle use and other abuses. Rainbow Gardens and the many surrounding hills have coral and shell fossils from the Paleozoic era along with crystalline gypsum, quartz and many other minerals. The ravines and washes hold many fossils washed down from the surrounding hills. When hiking Rainbow Gardens, look for Pinnacle Butte (also known locally as "Hitchhiker's Butte") and Red Needle. Depending upon the time of year, keep your eyes open for rattlesnakes. Other animals you may encounter wile hiking this area include desert tortoise, lizards, the cotton tale, the burrowing owl, Big Horn Sheep, wild donkeys, coyote, badgers, chip monks and raptors.

Lava Butte Description: The view of Lava Butte in (Fig. 01) was taken from Northshore Drive, just past Lake Las Vegas, looking northwest in the early morning hours shortly after entering the Lake Mead National Recreational Area that boarders the east side of Rainbow Gardens. Composed of Dacite, an igneous volcanic rock, Lava Butte is part of a geologic wonder called Frenchman’s block that may have been a volcanic dome formed over 13 million years ago. Geologists are still arguing about this. It was formed when fresh lava forced itself between the older, adjacent layers when they were horizontal. As with many rocks in the Lake Mead region, tectonic activity has moved this rock tens of miles to the west from where it first spewed from the Earth. The dark outer coating on these iron oxide rocks is desert varnish. The many smaller hills and peaks in the area composed of limestone that are much easier to climb. At a mere 2,871' above sea level, Lava Butte rewards nice summit views of the surrounding mountainous areas, as well as Lake Mead, the City of Las Vegas, and Lake Las Vegas. The most prominent point in the area of Rainbow Gardens, the picture in (Fig. 03) was taken from Lava Butte Road on the approach to the Mountain.

Lava Butte Hiking Notes: There is no real trail on this hike, although from time to time you may see remnants of one. Aim for the saddle on the south side, which will eventually follow a ridge all the way to the top. Elevation: 2,871 feet. Difficulty: Hiking Lava Butte itself is a moderate to difficult due to the steepness and some bouldering near the top. Length: The 1.5 mile R/T hike takes about 2 to 3 hours depending on your physical shape. Best Time to Hike: The best time to tackle this monster is during the cooler months of late fall and winter. during the cooler months. If tackling this summit during summer, be sure to go in the early morning and late afternoon hours. Unfortunately this is the time that you are more likely to encounter the diamondback rattle snake and the sidewinder. Both snakes are poisonous so one should be on high alert for them while hiking. The area surrounding Lava Butte has many hiking trails and falls under the care of the Bureau of Land Management.  These “mini hills” composed of limestone, give you great traction, making it easy to climb to many of the smaller peaks with little difficulty. Bring lots of water and good hiking boots are recommended for hiking the dark, iron oxide covered lava rocks on Lava Butte.

04/10/2017 Trip Notes: On today's visit Jim Herring, Blake Smith and I decided to travel the entire length of Kodachrome Road, the western most road on the map in (Fig. 02). Click here for pictures and a description of this visit ... Kodachrome Road Drive
                                 
12/08/2016 Trip Notes: On today's visit to Lava Butte and the Rainbow Gardens, I followed behind the Rockhounds van from the Henderson's Senior Center. While some of the group attempted to climb Lava Butte (Fig. 03), three of us decided to drive up and hike along Rainbow Gardens Road. As you can see from the map in (Fig. 02), there are four main roads that run through the area of Rainbow Gardens. Lava Butte Road runs past the west side of Lava Butte. Middle Washington Road and the "designated road" Rainbow Garden Road, run through the middle of the area. The road on the west side of the area is Kodachrome Road. These roads all connect on either end, allowing you to make a complete loop of the entire area. Branching northwest off Lava Butte Road, Rainbow Garden Road snakes it was through a colorful pass that cuts between two ridges (Fig. 04). After cutting through the pass leading to Rainbow Garden Road, you are confronted with hills on both sides of the road colored with a variety of reds, oranges and white sandstone, gypsum, quartz and other minerals (Fig. 05). After parking the car, we began our hike up the road that followed a very colorful wash on the right side (Fig. 06). (con't below)
                                                      

(Fig. 02)

(Fig. 03)

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(Fig. 06)

Notes Continued: Along the way we wandered up a hill on the east side of the road to see if we could see of Lava Butte. The top of Lava Peak is in the very center of (Fig. 07) behind the near ridge line. From here we met with some additional hikers and continued up the road. When we go to the top, Blake, "Buster" and I stopped for some picture taking (Figs. 08-10). From this vantage point, looking to the west, you could see the unique geology on the top of Frenchman Mountain (Fig. 11).
                         

If you click on this image to enlarge it you can see the two towers on the top of Frenchman Mountain on the right. On the opposite side of the road, it is bordered by the very long colorful ridge seen in (Fig. 13). We then continued hiking down the road toward the bottom of the ridge-line seen in (Fig. 08). Eventually we came to the intersection of Rainbow Garden Road and Washington Road (refer to Fig.02). (con't below)
                         

(Fig. 07)

(Fig. 08)

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Notes Continued: At the intersection of Washington Road, which happens to be a wide wash (Fig. 14) that pretty much parallels a portion of Rainbow Garden road, we came upon a wash-out that completely took out a large portion of Rainbow Garden Road (Fig. 15). The result of this flood was a swath about ten feet wide and nearly six feet deep, including large sections of concrete culverts that had been under the road (Fig. 16).

Nearby we found a specimen of fossilized seabed. You can recognize the lapping of water on a shore shore (Fig. 17). Because some had a time that they had to be back at the van, we made a decision to begin our return. Two of the party decided to return via Washington Road. As we hiked back up the road (Fig. 18), about the only vegetation, other than the ever present creosote bushes, we only were able to find very few cactus or plants.

(Fig. 14)

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04/24/2013 Trip Notes: As you can see from the map in (Fig. 02) there are three roads that run along the northwest side of Lava Butte; Kodachrome Road to the far west, Rainbow Gardens Road in the middle and Lava Butte Road running along the base of Lava Butte. On today’s visit, Harvey and I entered from Lake Mead Blvd (NV-147) and headed south, driving the full length of Kodachrome Road (approx. 8-miles). The pictures in (Figs. 19 & 20) were taken at a stop about a quarter of a mile in. We got out and hiked to the shaded cliff in the middle of (Fig. 18). The view in (Fig. 20) was taken from the top of this point, looking southwest. About halfway down Kocachrome Road we made another stop to do a little hiking and took the pictures in (Figs. 21 & 22). Climbing to a high point, (Fig. 21) is looking south towards Las Vegas. The view in (Fig. 22) was looking north, back toward the area that we had just covered. Shortly after leaving this spot, I found the rock specimen in (Fig. 23) which appears to be the fossilized edge of a shoreline back when this whole area was covered by water. For the trip back we headed up Rainbow Gardens Road which provided views of Lava Butte to the east (Fig. 24). Having hike part of this road on a previous visit (see below), I didn’t take too many pictures.
             

(Fig. 20)

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02/02/2012 Trip Notes: Today’s rock hound trip from the Henderson Heritage Park Senior Facility was to Lava Butte and the Rainbow Gardens. Even through the drive in from Lake Mead Blvd (NV-147) was a little rough in spots, we made it to the base of Lava Butte’s northwest face. While the majority of our group hiked the power line rode that ran along the length of the butte and around towards its south face (marked in green on the map), two of our members actually climbed and hiked its entire ridge-line from north to south. Their performance was actually an encouragement for the rest of us to give it a try on our next visit. On our way out from Lava Butte, we took one of roads marked ‘Rainbow Gardens’ (western most green dashed line on the above map), however, it did not lead to the main area that we were looking for. As we ran out of time to explore the other road that led to this area, we were forced to leave it for another trip. The picture below (Fig. 25) was taken at the beginning of the road that winds its way from NV-147 to Lava Butte. A washout in the road caused us to park our van (visible in the center of the picture in (Fig. 26) near the base of the butte’s northern end. We then hiked the power line road up hill for nearly a mile along its west face before it eventually turned and reached the butte’s southern exposure, shown in (Fig. 27). With a view of the Las Vegas valley, I continued on about another three-quarters of a mile before heading back. (Fig. 28) shows Bill, our driver, looking for signs of the last five hikers that had yet to return. On the right in (Fig. 29) is Albert Ramos, another longtime member of our group, taking in some final sights before boarding the van for our return trip. The birds in (Figs. 30 & 31) were captured along the road that we followed around the base of the butte. I believe they are house finches.

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Rainbow Gardens Road: Again, due to a wash out, we had to park our van several miles short of our destination point along this road. The pictures below are some of the views that my hiking partner Blake and I shared while hiking this two mile stretch. The first picture below (Fig. 32) is of a small pass that we hiked thru that led to a wide valley between two long ridges. The next picture (Fig. 33) in this series was taken on our return while standing in the center of the picture below, looking in the opposite direction. If you click this picture to enlarge it, you can see Lake Mead in the upper right-hand corner. The final three pictures (Figs. 34, 35 & 36) were all taken along Rainbow Gardens Road. It is quite easy to see why they call this area Rainbow Gardens.

(Fig. 32)

(Fig. 33)

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(Fig. 36)

Click here to view more pictures from previous visits .... Lava Butte - Rainbow Gardens