Adventure Slide Guide will appear Summer of 2024

McFarland Peak’s Stand-Alone Summit

McFarland Peak is a stand-alone height with an amazing 360-degree view spanning a great slice of Southern Nevada and California. To the North there’s the Northern stretch of the Spring Mountains and the desert terrain toward Bald Mountain. To the East there’s the Desert National Wildlife Refuge, Sheep Range and Northern Las Vegas Valley. To the West there’s Pahrump, Death Valley the Panamint Mountain Range with its high point, Telescope Peak, and the Nopah Range. To the South there’s the Southern stretch of the Spring Mountains.

The Challenge and Beauty of a McFarland Peak Summit Adventure

McFarland Peak is a challenging summit. The first challenge is to make the long trek to McFarland Peak. The nearest trailheads are in Lee Canyon and Cold Creek. Both involve an approximately 8-mile approach on foot to the base of the peak. However, the approach trails are lightly traveled, fairly untouched, beautiful and pristine with a combination of ancient bristlecone pines and sculpted limestone pillar formations to a backdrop of brilliant blue skies and spectacular surrounding views.

Then, there’s the challenging summit approach gully with its steep loose rock surface and tricky class 3 ledges. By the time you reach the summit of McFarland Peak you’ve traversed quite a gauntlet of challenges!

Easiest, Most Direct Route to McFarland Peak Summit

Though there are a number of vertical routes to McFarland Peak’s summit, the route shown here is the easiest, most direct route to this challenging height. The route begins at the Old Mill Picnic Area on Lee Canyon Road. From there, ascend the Sister’s South Trail to its first high saddle. Then traverse a ridgeline to the left to connect with the upper Bonanza Trail. Take a right on the Bonanza Trail and continue to the North edge of McFarland Peak. Ascend the steep, challenging summit gully to the summit ridge. Finally traverse the fairly level easy summit ridge to McFarland Peak’s summit.

Views from McFarland Peak Summit

High points you will see from McFarland Peak’s stand-alone summit are (in a clockwise direction):

• Angel Peak
• Mummy Mountain
• Lee Peak
• Charleston Peak
• Kingston Peak
• Nopah Range
• Panamint Range with Telescope Peak as High Point
• Black Mountains
• Funeral Mountains
• Grapevine Mountains
• Bald Mountain
• Sheep Range
• Gass Peak

And this is just a short list!

Best Time of Year for a McFarland Peak Summit Adventure

The best time of year to summit McFarland Peak is during the Summer months. Mid-Fall through late-Spring can bring icy, snowy conditions which can slow progress, make route finding difficult and create treacherous conditions on the steep summit approach gully.

Route Starting Point Directions | McFarland Peak Summit | Mt. Charleston Wilderness | Spring Mountains, Nevada

Take Hwy 95 North from Las Vegas and take a left at the Lee Canyon Road  exit (Hwy 156). Travel up Lee Canyon Road to the Old Mill Picnic Area which is at the first traffic circle. Park in the wide, unmarked parking area on the left (East) side of the road.

Narrative Guide | McFarland Peak Summit | Mt. Charleston Wilderness | Spring Mountains, Nevada

Lee Canyon Road to the South Sister’s Approach Trail

From the wide parking area across Lee Canyon Road from the Old Mill Picnic Area, cross over to the Old Mill Picnic Area and ascend the main road there. At the upper end of the Old Mill Picnic Area find a nice rock-lined trail angling off to the right. Take that trail to another, fainter right splitting trail. This is the South Sister’s approach trail.

South Sister’s Approach Trail to the High Saddle

Continue on the South Sister’s approach trail as it parallels the right side of a wash ascending that wash between two high ridges. At a few points the trail will cross the wash. Eventually the trail will ascend the high ridge on the left side of the wash reaching an initial high point on a ridgeline saddle.

High Saddle to the Upper Bonanza Trail

A right turn on the ridgeline saddle will take you to South Sister. A left turn on this saddle will take you up a ridgeline that connects with the upper Bonanza Trail. Take a left up the ridgeline. Surprisingly, there’s actually a fairly nice trail up that ridgeline. You can see the Bonanza Trail’s ridgeline ahead and will arrive there sooner than you thought possible. At the point you connect with the upper Bonanza Trail, you’ve cut off a couple miles each way compared with the route from the Bristlecone Pine Trail in Lee Canyon! The energy you saved will come in handy as you continue to McFarland Peak’s summit.

Upper Bonanza Trail to McFarland Peak’s Summit Approach Gully

Turn right on the upper Bonanza Trail and continue toward McFarland Peak, which will soon become visible. Up to this point literally all of the approach from Lee Canyon has been uphill. That’s good because you’ve avoided a lot of energy-sucking rolling hills. Your first and only significant downhill stretch of the day comes as you approach McFarland Peak. There’s a high point on the Bonanza Trail as it skirts the left side of the forested high point called Divide Peak. The trek down from Divide Peak to the South edge and on to the North edge of McFarland Peak involves some moderate descent. However, the stretch along the Western edge of McFarland Peak is decorated by spectacular limestone pillars!

Locating McFarland Peak’s Summit Approach Gully

Watch carefully because McFarland Peak’s summit approach gully is unmarked. Here are the indications you need to make a right turn off the Bonanza Trail and into the summit approach gully:

• You’re on the Bonanza Trail at the Northern edge of McFarland Peak
• You can see what looks like a gully ascending up the North end of McFarland Peak
• The Bonanza Trail begins to take a significant switchback descent down that gully on its way to Bonanza Peak
• There’s a faint right-splitting trail ascending in a direction up the gully

Ascending McFarland Peak’s Summit Approach Gully

Take that right split up McFarland Peak’s summit approach gully. The trail begins along the upper right side of the gully. After about 1000 feet, the trail descends to cross the gully and continue upward on sometimes faint, sometimes well defined switchbacks, primarily up the left side of the gully. There are cairns along the way, but watch for the faint trail, the switchbacks and an ascent mostly up the left side of the gully.

There are at least two fairly brief, class 3 scrambles up and over steep, somewhat exposed rocky ledges. After each scramble, the steep gully switchback trail continues. You are mostly ascending the switchback trails up the gully.

Finally, you can see blue sky on the horizon ahead. This is your indication that you are nearing the end of the summit approach gully at the Northern summit ridge of McFarland Peak.

McFarland Peak’s Summit Ridge

As you top McFarland Peak’s summit ridge, you can look over the ridge to the town of Cold Creek below. Now take a right along the West edge of the summit ridge. There’s a trail that appears and disappears, leading to the summit, which is on the South end of the summit ridge. For some reason, I experienced an urge to head downward on the East side of the summit ridge, especially during the return trip to the summit gully. So, watch your approach along the summit ridge carefully. Look back often to see what the return trip along the summit ridge will look like. Approaching the summit is fairly easy. Returning from the summit to the summit approach gully can be a bit confusing.

Arrival at McFarland Peak’s Spectacular Summit!

The stretch between the summit approach gully and McFarland Peak’s summit is a quarter-mile fairly gradual incline. The summit is obvious. There’s a summit box. Continuing further would require a descent along a somewhat narrow ridge. Enjoy this spectacular summit!

Return to Lee Canyon Road

Now, retrace your route back to the Old Mill Picnic Area on Lee Canyon Road. Once you’ve cleared the Southern edge of McFarland Peak on the Bonanza Trail and ascended to the West edge of Divide Peak, it’s literally downhill all the way back to your starting point!