Overview

Gass Peak is the highest point in the Las Vegas Range, the long ridge that forms the north edge of the Las Vegas Valley. During summer, Las Vegas residents sometimes see a bright reflection from the summit; this hike goes to that point.

This hike is 6.5 miles round-trip and fairly stout, but it is suitable for sturdy children. The route follows a series of side-ridges on the north side of the mountain to the summit ridge, and then follows the summit ridge to the peak. Views from the summit provide a striking contrast: to the north lies a vast and glorious wilderness, and to the south lies a vast urban area. In the far distance, hikers can see mountains in Utah, Arizona, and California.

Link to map. May 2018: trail is reported to be in good condition.

For general information on camping, regulations, other issues, and the natural history of the Wildlife Refuge, see the Desert National Wildlife Refuge -- Area Overview page.

Watch Out

Other than the standard warnings about hiking in the desert, ...this is a relatively safe hike. Depending on road conditions, the trailhead might be accessible with a 2WD-HC vehicle, but inquire locally or use a 4WD vehicle just to be sure. There are some rocks to scramble over on the summit ridge, but if hikers can get that far, they won't have any trouble.

While hiking, please respect the land and the other people out there, and try to Leave No Trace of your passage. Also, this hike is remote, so be sure to bring the 10 Essentials.

This hike is on a wildlife refuge, so pay particular attention to respecting the land. Please, don't bother the bighorn sheep. They have a hard enough time making a living in these desert lands; they don't need extra stress from people hanging around Gass Spring.

This hike is located on the Desert National Wildlife Refuge, about 1.5 hours north of town when the dirt roads are in good condition.

From town, drive out to Corn Creek Field Station and continue east 50 yards to a T-intersection. Turn right onto Mormon Well Road, driving south and then east, the road heads up the bajada towards the mountains. At about 4.35 miles out from Corn Creek, shortly before Mormon Well Road gets to the mountains, Gass Peak Road turns right at a signed T-intersection. Gass Peak Road heads south and then east for 8.1 miles to Gass Spring Road. On the right (south) side of the road, watch for a parking corral, a gate, and "Service Road Only" signs. Park in the parking corral; this is the trailhead.

The Hike

From the trailhead (Table 1, Waypoint 01), the route runs southwest on the service road (Gass Spring Road) heading towards mountains in the distance. While on these desert flats covered with dense blackbrush and scattered Joshua trees, hikers can look more-or-less straight ahead and see communication towers on the ridgeline. That is the summit; that is the goal.

At about 0.4 miles out, the road forks (Wpt. 02). The right-fork road leads to Gass Spring and makes an alternative for the descent. The better route to the summit continues on the left-fork road.

The left-fork road misses the spring, but it can be seen down on the right (dry in May 2017). Also, while hiking out the left-fork road, notice that the right-fork road heads farther west and eventually climbs the steep side of a ridge. Hikers should keep an eye on the right-fork road as they might want to descend that way.

The left-fork road continues south-southeast towards the mountains, eventually reaching the toe of a ridge (Wpt. 03) that runs up and right, parallel to the main Gass Peak ridge.

The road starts up the ridge, but then ends, for no apparent reason, after a short distance. From there, the route is obvious: it just runs up the crest of the ridge. Early on, the faint use-trail is hard to follow, but before long it becomes well defined. Even so, it is important to pay attention to remember the way down.

In this area, and all the way up the ridge to the summit, notice the silvery cholla cactus with short, densely packed stems. In the spring, they have green flowers, and looking closely, notice that the fruits have no long spines (but they do have nasty tiny glochids -- don't touch!). This is our very own rare plant endemic to southern Nevada: Blue Diamond Cholla. There are plenty on this ridge, and plenty on the south end of Blue Diamond Hill in Red Rocks, but they occur only in a few places.

The use-trail runs up the crest of the ridge, which is a series of steeper parts followed by gentle parts or even slightly downhill parts. At about 1.2 miles out, the route passes the top of the right-fork road (Wpt. 04). Heading up, it is easy to miss this intersection, but on the way down the road below is more visible and the intersection is easier to see.

Continuing up the ridge, hikers eventually arrive on a slight knob or flat area where this parallel ridge ends. Turning left, the route continues more steeply south towards the main ridge.

Approaching the crest of the main ridge, the use-trail angles right to cut across the sideslope and eventually it climbs onto the summit ridge (Wpt. 05). Hikers expecting nice views across the Las Vegas Valley will be disappointed because a side-ridge to the south blocks the view except for the extreme east edge of town. Hikers need to continue up for better views south, but there are nice views north.

The route continues southwest following the main ridge and drops to cross a shallow saddle. In this area, hikers get nice views of the rest of the route. Beyond the saddle, the route climbs steeply to the next knob, then drops across a shallow saddle (Wpt. 06) and climbs steeply again across the steep north-facing slope.

After climbing steeply, the route crests at a high spot on the summit ridge where hikers finally get broad views out over the Las Vegas Valley.

The use-trail switches onto the south-facing slope and climbs somewhat steeply below a rocky outcrop. Oddly, in this area the use-trail becomes quite faint again, but it continues onto the shoulder of the peak at a point level with the large solar array that powers the communications equipment on the far side of the summit.

Just before reaching the solar panels, the use-trail turns straight up the side of the ridge aiming towards an old metal tripod tower, the upper parts of which are visible from below.

Climbing onto the summit ridge, hikers pass the metal tripod and walk a few yards farther west to the summit (Wpt. 07), which is marked by a cairn with a summit register. There is also a summit USGS benchmark and two auxiliary benchmarks.

Views from the summit are spectacular. Hikers get grand sweeping views across the Las Vegas Valley, plus the views include mountains in Utah, Arizona, and California. For views from the summit, click here.

To get down, follow your footprints down the summit ridge and down the side ridges. Lower down, consider cutting straight down the steep side of the ridge (Wpt. 04) on the right-fork road. The upper parts of this road are steep and slippery, and it might be harder than just walking off-trail down the regular ridge, but this old road runs past Gass Spring and makes for a bit of a loop. For views of the descent, click here.