Overview | Frenchman Mt East Approach Loop | Near Lake Mead National Recreation Area, Nevada

Adventure Video Guide to Appear Here Week of 3/16/2025. Slide guide to appear thereafter.

Experience the steeper, wilder East approach to Frenchman Mountain just West of Lake Mead National Recreation Area in Nevada!

The Frenchman Mt East Approach Loop to the summit immediately takes you away from the popular, well-traveled trail and into a little-known, strange and magical wilderness wonderland. The familiar main trail to Frenchman Mountain’s summit is a maintenance road with a steady stream of hikers and a couple good view spots at the summit. On the other hand, the Eastern Approach Loop dives into a maze of spectacular canyons before ascending a slope that has non-stop expansive views all the way to the summit.

Route Summary

The route begins at a parking area just beyond the main trailhead area. From there, ascend a gully, then descend into a canyon wash nearly as narrow as a slot canyon (should we call it “The Frenchman Mountain Narrows“?). Emerge to skirt the Eastern base of Frenchman Mountain crossing fairly gradual ridges and gullies toward the now visible approach slope near the South side of Frenchman Mountain. Ascend the slope to the summit, then descend the main trail to the trailhead. On the way down, take a detour to explore the gully draining to the West of the main Frenchman Mountain saddle. When the terrain turns evil about half-way down, return to the main trail. This Western gully needs to be tested from the bottom up.

Spectacular Views Along the Way and from the Summit

Here is a short list of near and distant views you’ll take in:

• Rainbow Gardens
• Black Mesa
• Fortification Hill
• Lake Mead
• Arizona Mt. Wilson and Its Ridgeline
• Lake Las Vegas
• River Mountains
• Railroad Mountains
• McCullough Range
• Las Vegas Valley and Strip
• Potosi Mountain
• Rainbow Mountains: Standing out are Nevada Mt. Wilson, Rainbow Mountain and Bridge Mountain
• La Madre Mountains: Standing out are Damsel Peak, La Madre Mountain and El Padre Mountain
• Mt. Charleston Wilderness: Standing out are Griffith Peak, Charleston Peak, Fletcher Peak and Mummy Mountain
• The Sheep Range
• Gass Peak
• Sunrise Mountain

Terrain and Navigation

Surprisingly, the terrain along the way does not exceed the class 3 level of climbing. Most is just a walk, though there are some steep, loose rock slopes. Take it step by step, planting each step firmly, and you will be okay. There are no trails, so some wilderness navigation skill is important, though most of the time you can see your target goal. About half of the loop is through pathless wilderness.

Best Time of Year for This Adventure

Stick to late Fall through early Spring, where you will find temperatures refreshingly warm. On the other hand, late Spring through early Fall can bring mid-day temperatures exceeding a dangerous, life threatening 120 degrees!

Directions to Route Starting Point | Frenchman Mt East Approach Loop | Near Lake Mead National Recreation Area, Nevada

Take I-15 North from Las Vegas, then East Lake Mead Blvd past the trailhead for Frenchman Mountain and down toward Lake Mead. Watch for a parking area on the left, about a half-mile past the main Frenchman Mountain Trailhead. That’s your starting point!

Narrative Guide | Frenchman Mt East Approach Loop | Near Lake Mead National Recreation Area, Nevada

Getting Your Initial Bearings

You can’t see much of the East side of Frenchman Mountain from the parking area. You only know that as you top the hills on the opposite side of Lake Mead Blvd., the long, distinctive East slopes and peaks of Frenchman Mountain will appear to your right. You’re eventually going to skirt the Eastern base of those Frenchman Mountain slopes and ascend a summit approach gully at the far end (Southern end) of Frenchman Mountain.

Parking Area to the Frenchman Mountain Narrows

Looking across Lake Mead Blvd. you can see two gullies through the hills on the opposite side of the road. Cross and head down the road past the first gully, then take a right to begin ascending the second gully. There’s a faint old road (we think it might be a mining exploration road) that will aid your easy, brief ascent up this gully through the hills. Once you reach the summit, you’ll be welcomed by an unexpected incredible view of a terrain suddenly dropping into a maze of deep canyons. To your right you can see a portion of the Frenchman Mountain ridgeline.

As the road takes a turn to the right along the upper edge of the huge canyon, leave the road, angling a bit to your left and downward to the canyon wash you can see below. Were you to stay on the road, continuing along the upper edge of the canyon the walls would get higher and more vertical and you’d find it very difficult and technical the descend into the wash. The descent point you’re taking where the road turns is steep and rocky, but no more difficult than a class 3 level of rock scrambling. Soon you’ll find yourself in the nice wash with a flat gravel surface.

Through the Frenchman Mountain Narrows

Once you land in the wash, take a right to find yourself passing through what I experienced as the most beautiful stretch of this adventure: What I call The Frenchman Mountain Narrows. The spectacular vertical Jurassic Era sandstone and dolomite walls rise on either side of this narrow stretch, nearly as narrow as a slot canyon. Curiously, the walls to the right are reddish, indicating iron oxide. The walls to the left are light brownish. Iron oxide is neutralized by sea water (the brownish walls), while it remains in fresh water (the reddish walls). This seems to indicate that each side of the canyon was formed during a different ancient era!

As you move through the canyon, you may feel like a rat in a maze. Pass the first branch of similar size to your left, than another branch to your right, finally taking the next branch to the left (see the map for more detail). Your main guide through this maze is knowing the direction of the Frenchman Mountain ridgeline ahead and knowing that you will eventually angle to the left to emerge from the maze and skirt the Eastern base of the Frenchman Mountain Ridgeline. In fact, you’ll get a glimpse of one of the Northern peaks on that ridgeline above to keep you oriented as to your basic direction.

Frenchman Mountain Narrows Opening to the Eastern Summit Approach Gully

So, in the narrows, you took the first right, then took a left to emerge from the Narrows. Now you can see the Eastern slopes of Frenchman Mountain to your right and a high ridgeline to your left. Near the South (far) end of the Frenchman Mountain ridgeline, notice the band of a narrow, reddish rocky slope ascending to the summit of the Frenchman Mountain ridgeline just to the left of the furthest communications tower on the left. That slope is your next target. It looks impossibly steep, especially near the summit. In fact, when you are on that slope you will experience more stability than you have while ascending the Frenchman Mountain main trail!

Between you and that ascent slope is a series of low hills and gullies skirting the Eastern base of the Frenchman Mountain slopes. It’s now just a matter of angling your course to the base of the ascent slope as you cross the intervening hills and gullies.

Eastern Summit Ascent Slope to the Summit

As you near the Eastern Summit Ascent Slope, notice a low, reddish ridgeline rising to the base of the ascent slope. The reddish color is created by the plants on the approach ridgeline. As you ascend that ridgeline, the angle of incline gradually increases to the rocky base of the approach slope where it dramatically increases. Now you’re on the rocky surface of the approach slope. I find the larger rocks provide more stable footing. You’re more likely to slip on the fine gravel. Where you can navigate along the low rocky ridges on the slope, those areas also provide more stability.

As you ascend the slope, there is a rocky area to the left of the main band of scree. At times, this rocky area provides firmer foot placement. Pick the terrain where you feel most comfortable. Always test each foot placement for stability and try to avoid putting your full weight on any single boulder. Some of the boulders are loose. In fact, the entire slope is composed of gravel, rocks and boulders that are in the process of descending from above. Tread lightly! I found firm foot placements all the way to the summit, did not slip even once, and there was no exposure to a fall of more than a few feet. When on the slope, the terrain feels more gradual than it looked from a distance.

As you ascend, turn around often to experience expansive views to the East, North and South. See the list of reference points you can view (above).

Near the summit I moved over to the firmer rocky area to the left of the scree strip. However, the scree strip looked stable enough, the rocks were large enough to provide good traction based on my experience of similar terrain below.     

Summit to the Main Saddle Western Gully

When you hit the summit of the Frenchman Mountain ridgeline, spectacular views open to the West, South and North in addition to all the views you were experiencing to the East during your ascent. Enjoy! That’s quite an accomplishment to reach the summit through this amazing Eastern route!

To your immediate North is the communications tower on Frenchman Mountain’s South Peak. The tower complex is surrounded by a high chain link fence. You’ll find a narrow trail along the fence as you round the complex in a clockwise direction. Once around the complex, you’re on the main Frenchman Mountain Trail. We took the main trail down to the base of that huge saddle between the two heights on the Frenchman Mountain ridgeline. As I noted above, the fine gravel surface on the steeply inclined trail was far less stable than that wild Eastern approach slope! Watch your footing!

Testing the Western Gully

The Western gully, to the left at the base of the saddle was just too inviting. We were looking for a potential East-West crossing on the Frenchman Mountain ridgeline, so decided to test the gully. Descent was okay at first. On the map we could see where a trail crossed far below along the Western base of the Frenchman Mountain ridgeline. Our goal was to reach that trail, then circle around the North side of the ridgeline back to the main trailhead. We got about half-way down the gully before it turned evil with some vertical drop-offs that looked a bit chancy. We’ll return and test the gully from below, ultimately working out an East-West crossing of the Frenchman Mountain Ridgeline.

For today, we returned up the gully to the main ridgeline saddle, then took the main trail back to the trailhead and finally to our starting point. Find a video documentation of the main Frenchman Mountain trail here. As we descended the Western gully, we were looking around to observe other potential Western descent routes. The high ridgelines on either side looked complicated, but might be possible. There are other potential descent gullies on the West side. A combination descent weaving among gullies and ridgelines looks possible.

A proven Western descent point would be the ridgeline that descends from the Northern height above the saddle. 

Frenchman Mt. East Approach Loop Summary

Congratulations on completing this wild Eastern loop route and experiencing the amazing canyons and ridges on the little-known Eastern side of the Frenchman Mountain ridgeline. It’s a magical, hidden world, and you’ve created life memories. You’ll never look at Frenchman Mountain in quite the same way. Instead of seeing the mountain as a linear trail, now the mountain begins to open up as a unique world of possibility and wonder!