Mission: To Systematically Explore, Map and Video Document
Every Wilderness Area Within 150 Miles of Las Vegas
Most Recent Adventures
June 6, 2025
Switchback Spring Loops Intro
May 29, 2025
Mud Springs Loop
May 21, 2025
La Madre Springs
West Ridge Loop
May 16, 2025
El Bastardo Peak Summit
West of Las Vegas
(Select Area, Then Click Through to Individual Trails and Wilderness Routes)
East of Las Vegas
(Select Area, Then Click Through to Individual Trails and Wilderness Routes)
North of Las Vegas
(Select Area, Then Click Through to Individual Trails and Wilderness Routes)
South of Las Vegas
(Select Area, Then Click Through to Individual Trails and Wilderness Routes)
Las Vegas Metro Area Trails & Further Outliers
(Select Area, Then Click Through to Individual Trails and Wilderness Routes)
View a summary description of every major wilderness area on this site. Follow the area descriptions to view individual adventures.
Charleston Peak Summit
Las Vegas Area Trails is a site created especially for you if:
- You’re a wilderness explorer at heart and love hiking, climbing or trail running.
- You live in or near Las Vegas, Nevada or visit Las Vegas often.
- You feel that a drive of up to 3 hours from Las Vegas is worth it if you end up in an astonishingly beautiful wilderness area.
- You can no longer experience adventures like these, so a virtual video tour would be a great joy.
What’s Unique About This Wilderness Website?
- Walk Where Few Have Walked: Many adventures have no trails. The goal is to explore and document an approach to a hard to reach area, often a summit.
- See What Few Have Seen: Expect rare vivid visuals. Each adventure page has a slide show that follows the adventure route and a detailed adventure route video.
- Quickly Find Your Adventure: Follow the home page wilderness area thumbnails to the adventure of your choice – you’re within just 2 clicks!
- You’re in Control of Your Experience Here: Select your level of detail from Overview Images > Adventure Summaries > Complete Adventure Details
- Cross-Platform Integration: The companion YouTube Channel follows the same organization as the website. YouTube Playlists match website wilderness categories. Interact on YouTube!
- New Weekly Adventures: Every week a new wilderness adventure is created and documented. See the “Recent Adventures” section below for the 3 most recent adventures.
David Smith, a writer, web designer, professional speaker, life-long hiker and trail runner, moved to Las Vegas, Nevada in 2016 and fell in love with the vast wilderness areas around Las Vegas. In his first 3 years he mostly explored the Mt. Charleston area, Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area and Death Valley National Park. Beginning in November of 2018, he began to systematically explore new trails and wilderness areas – some largely uncharted. He created LasVegasAreaTrails.com to document his adventures while inviting others to explore these wilderness areas. More about David Smith and this Journalistic Legacy Website, including how you can get David’s help to create your own Journalistic Legacy Website…
Bristlecone Pine
Mummy Mt. Summit
View Projected Adventures list for a particular wilderness area at the bottom of that area’s Overview Page.
5 Guiding Principles for LasVegasAreaTrails.com
- Every place we stand is sacred ground with its origin in Creative Consciousness.
- All things are connected and are one through this common origin.
- All places are connected. Lines that divide are artificial and imaginary.
- The energy-giving forces that unite are much stronger than the energy-sucking forces that divide.
- Our greatest pursuit in life is to explore, enjoy and celebrate.
Get Healthy, Enjoy More Hiking and Running!
Do You Have the Heart of An Explorer? (take this test)
1) Do you tend to explore a mountain you see, then later consult a map to find out where you were vs. consulting a map before entering the area?
2) Do you feel more at home, safe and at peace in a wilderness area miles from the nearest human than you feel in an urban setting?
3) Do you navigate by the sky, the terrain, surrounding landmarks, faint tracks and gut feelings vs. referring to maps and electronic devices?
4) Does it sometimes seem to others that you’re a bit careless and irresponsible, although you yourself feel confident in the numerous hidden safety measures and precautions you employ while navigating wilderness areas?
5) Does it sometimes take numerous trips to reach a destination or summit because you’re discovering potential routes as you go? However, by the time you reach the goal you know the entire mountain like your own living room?
6) Do you feel by the time you’ve explored an entire wilderness area that you could be landed there by helicopter, blindfolded, yet still easily find your way around and out? And that this would be great fun?
7) Do you feel that the boundary between yourself and the wilderness has dissolved, and it’s hard to say where you end and the wilderness begins?
If you answered “yes” to these questions, you likely have the heart of an explorer!
Las Vegas Area Trails Sponsors
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