Overview | Lava Butte, Nevada
Lava Butte is a distinctive landmark below
Frenchman Mountain and to the East. It can be seen from many high points in and around the
Lake Mead National Recreation Area including
Fortification Hill,
Mt. Wilson,
Frenchman Mountain and others. Technically,
Lava Butte is not in
Lake Mead National Recreation Area, but so close that we are placing it in this section of
LasVegasAreaTrails.com
Though it is only 2871 feet in elevation, Lava Butte offers sweeping views of
Lake Mead and the surrounding area. In addition, it is a quick out and back summit for those days that you only have a few hours for an adventure.
Lava Butte is a great example of a volcanic cone. Many are scattered throughout the Lake Mead area,
Pilot Cone in the nearby
Eldorado Wilderness being another example. Learn more about
volcanic cones in the Pacific Rim of Fire.
Directions to Start Point | Lava Butte, Nevada
Take I-15 North from Las Vegas, then East Lake Mead Blvd past the trailhead for
Frenchman Mountain and down toward
Lake Mead. Before you get to the
Lake Mead National Recreation Area entrance on East
Lake Mead Blvd, you’ll see a sign marked “
Sunrise Mountain”. There’s a parking area at this sign. It’s about 2.5 miles along unpaved roads (4WD recommended) to the base of
Lava Butte.
↓ Narrative Guide ↓
Narrative Guide | Lava Butte, Nevada
Second Exploration – Up the North Side and Down the West Side
This time around I had more time and ended up summiting
Lava Butte from the North side and descending on the West side. The terrain on the butte is fun and challenging, and the view from the summit spectacular. To the West, there is the
Las Vegas Strip with the
Stratosphere standing out proudly. To the South, almost directly below, is the beautifully designed community of
Lake Las Vegas. To the East is
Lake Mead with
Fortification Hill and
Black Mesa standing out. Further to the West is the
Rainbow Mountain Wilderness and
Mt Charleston Wilderness. And of course, immediately West…you can’t miss it…is
Frenchman Mountain. Curiously, you can see two Mt. Wilsons (both
Nevada Mt. Wilson and
Arizona Mt. Wilson) from
Lava Butte summit:
Mt. Wilson in Nevada’s Rainbow Mountains and
Mt. Wilson in Arizona’s Black Mountains.
The volcanic rock boulders on the West side are a deep black gray, very beautiful! Descend the South side a bit before heading down the West side since the West side directly from the summit is quite a dangerous drop-off. The return via
Lava Butte Road is quite a straight shot after weaving amongst the boulders above.
Initial Exploration – Ran Out of Time!!
Traveling East from the Lava Butte/Sunrise Mountain Parking Area Along the Power Line Maintenance Road
From the
Sunrise Mountain trailhead parking area head South on a pretty well graded unpaved power line maintenance road. Within a few hundred feet Lava Butte will come into view. It’s a pretty distinctive stand-alone volcanic cone. The power line maintenance road approach it not very pretty and feels a bit industrial, but you’re in the open desert with
Frenchman Mountain rising above to the right (West). There are a few intervening washes and as you cross them you appreciate the power line maintenance road which makes the crossing fairly smooth.
Impressive Power Lines Along Lava Butte Road
The power lines are very substantial towers, the kind that carry power directly from major power sources such as hydroelectric dams (
Hoover Dam in this case) and nuclear plants. You can hear the crackling of electricity above. I once heard the story of a person who lived beneath such power lines and placed a neon tube in their front yard. The tub lit up just from the power in the air. Incidentally, that person had a serious case of cancer…which may or may not have been attributed to the power lines. At any rate, I don’t suggest lingering beneath these power lines for an extended period of time!
Rainbow Gardens/Lava Butte Fork in the Road
As I neared
Lava Butte there was a fork in the road. The right split was labeled
“Rainbow Gardens”. The left split was labeled
“Lava Butte Road”. I took the left split, then soon departed from
Lave Butte Road in a bee line to the North slope of
Lava Butte. Had I continued on
Lava Butte Road that road would have taken me along the Western base of Lava Butte and to the South summit approach which I understand has a parking area and, being more gradual, is the more standard approach to the summit.
Rainbow Gardens/Lava Butte Fork to the Lava Butte Northern Summit Approach Ridge
However, not being limited by a car, I continued over a couple washes and up the North ridge of
Lava Butte. As I mentioned, this is a fairly short trip to be taken when you just have a few hours for an adventure. I actually ran out of time and had to turn around on this initial exploration at the Northern summit ridge. I’ll return soon to complete the trip to the summit, and possibly make it a circuit adventure by ascending the North ridge and descending the South ridge to return via
Lava Butte Road.
