For visitor information: (702) 872-5486, www.gomtcharleston.com.
9 Spring Mountains Visitor Gateway
Opened in late spring of 2015, the Spring Mountains Visitor Gateway in Kyle Canyon is the place to start any visit to the Mt. Charleston area. The complex features a new forty-five hundred-square-foot visitor center surrounded by 128 acres. The complex has something to offer all ages. Besides the visitor center, the Gateway includes an education building, two amphitheaters, a group picnic site, the nation’s first Cold War Memorial, and the Nuwuvi (Southern Paiute) Seven Stones Plaza. Three hiking trails begin behind the visitor center.
Resting benches made of natural logs are found throughout the property, and there are stations to refill your water bottles or hydration packs, or maybe even draw water for your dogs. Great thought also went into choosing the native plants here. Look for aspen trees and evergreens, and for wildflowers blooming in summer.
Directly behind the visitor center is the USAF 9068 Memorial and Silent Heroes of the Cold War National Monument. As our nation’s first Cold War Memorial, it honors veterans and those citizens who gave their lives in the national effort to maintain military readiness during almost fifty years of nuclear-armed tension.
On November 17, 1955, the highest peak of the Spring Mountains was the site of the USAF 9068 plane crash at 11,918 feet. The crash, which took place during a winter storm, cost the lives of fourteen men. They included Air Force personnel, scientists, engineers and CIA officials who were on a secret flight returning from “Area 51.” The very existence of the Area 51 airbase and related facilities wasn’t even acknowledged by the government until recent years, because their role is believed to be developing and testing secret weapons. The formerly secret U2 spy plane was tested there. Signs are present to interpret the memorial, and an airplane propeller, salvaged from the crash site, is on display
The Seven Stones Plaza acknowledges the Nuwuvi belief that their ancestors were created in the Spring Mountains. Here are seven boulders, one for each branch of the Southern Paiute people. These surround a center boulder with a hand print, which represents the Nuwuvi’s creator, Ocean Woman.
If you have small children along they will be enchanted by the kid-friendly interpretive signs, wildlife tracks painted on the pathways, and the one-half-mile Pack Rat Trail, suitable for those who can’t walk too far. In summer there are also ranger programs and other events.
The Spring Mountains Visitor Gateway in Kyle Canyon opened in 2015.
The Spring Mountains Visitor Gateway is open 9 a.m.–4 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, and open till 6 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays. However, hours are subject to change, so always check before going. All the trails are open from dawn to dusk. For more detailed information go to www.gomtcharleston.com, or call (702) 872-5486.
Spring Mountains Visitor Gateway at a Glance
Best Season: May to mid-October, barring snowfall.
Length: Three trails ranging from 0.5 to 2.5 miles.
Difficulty: Easy to moderate.
Trailhead Elevation: Sixty-six hundred feet.
Jurisdiction: Spring Mountains National Recreation Area, Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest.
Directions: From Las Vegas, take U.S. Highway 95 north about 17 miles. Go left on Kyle Canyon Road (Nevada Route 157). Drive about 16.5 miles and turn left to the Spring Mountains Visitor Gateway.
10 Mary Jane Falls
Although there are many excellent hikes on Mt. Charleston, ranging from toddler-friendly trails to strenuous peak hikes, Mary Jane Falls might well be the best-all-around one, especially if those in your group vary by ages and abilities.
From its signed trailhead the route is obvious; just head up the wide and well-defined trail. Notice the rip-rap rocks set in place along the trail to help prevent erosion. Children find it irresistible to walk upon these, testing their balancing skills.
The trail starts as a pleasant stroll through a forest of ponderosa pines, white fir, aspens, and mountain mahogany, with an understory of thistle, elderberry, and willow. Along the lower part of this trail, you’ll also find some rare wildflowers including a species called rough angelica (Angelica scabrida), which is also found in avalanche chutes in these mountains, yet nowhere else in the world.
Hikers walk along the avalanche chute at the base of Cathedral Rock.
After about seven-tenths miles the hike changes dramatically and you’ll have to start doing some work. Here you’ll begin the steady ascent up a steep slope, helped along by twelve switchbacks which make the walk longer but less steep.
If you have children along, this is a good place to teach them the importance of staying on official trails, and how shortcutting wreaks havoc, causing washouts, and destroying plant life that in many cases takes decades or longer to grow back. You’ll notice where the U.S. Forest Service and various volunteer groups have placed jute netting, logs and branches along the slope to protect the area and help it recover from past damage.
Here, you have a chance to see the Palmer’s chipmunk, a species unique to the Spring Mountains. It’s usually found at an elevation of about eight thousand feet, where the dominant vegetation is ponderosa, as on this trail. The more abundant Panamint chipmunk is also seen here, but has a wider range. They look almost identical except the Palmer’s is slightly larger and a brighter color.
The final switchback leads you up to the base of limestone cliffs, where you will follow along the cliff base over a mix of natural and man-made steps, leading to the falls. The perennial water flow is from two springs located high on the cliff wall, well over one hundred feet above. During heavy run-off you will find three or more waterfalls. Watch your footing as the terrain becomes increasingly uneven, and extra-slippery near the falls. Every time I have visited I have seen one or two people take a painful pratfall.
Tempting as it may be, resist climbing up inside the large overhang next to the falls, because of the fragile plant life. There are some natural steps though, by which you can climb up and take a good look into this natural shelter. From here you can look across the canyon to Big Falls, another great hiking destination, less known but a good one for those up to some route finding and rock scrambling.
On the far side of these falls, look for the well-worn spur trail which will lead you to a small cave, a good place to stop, relax, and take in the view. This is a popular hike so don’t expect much solitude, but it is a good one to familiarize yourself with Kyle Canyon. And that will be a good idea, because most people like what they find here, and will soon be coming back to try its other trails.
Mary Jane Falls At A Glance
Best season: May to mid-October, barring snowfall.