Bird Spring Range Trip

Overview

This unexplored mountain range near Las Vegas always had my curiosity since I've lived here. It did more than hold up it's expectations. The views were stellar of the entire area. Mt. Charleston had just received snow the previous night which made the views even better.

Driving to the Bird Spring Range was very straight forward. Road conditions once heading towards Cottonwood Pass were slightly marginal. A high clearance vehicle would definitely be recommended here. After Cottonwood pass the road improved. Not until the last portion heading toward the trailhead on a wide wash did a high clearance vehicle become necessary again.

The Hike

As sierragator and I got near the trail head he started driving up the hill so we could cut some distance off the hike. This wasn't a good idea as the road deteriorated quickly. I had to guide him in reverse until he could turn around. We then parked at the bottom of the hill and started hiking from here.

We followed this route.





At first you go up a narrow road over a little ridge. The road then gets very steep. After the steep section there is a rocky outcrop. After this rocky outcrop the road narrows considerably into a trail that leads you to the Bird Spring High Point.

Once on the summit we had views of Las Vegas, snow capped Mt. Charleston and the Spring Mountains, the dry lakes to the southeast around Jean, and much more. The summit log had not been signed since May day 2005. There were also some interesting summit register postings that were very interesting, which I can not mention here on summitpost.

After a short stay on the High Point we then hiked south down the ridge to Bird Peak. Along the way you could see down a canyon on the east side of the range down to where Bird Spring resides. It would have been much more challenging to take this route. The views from Bird Peak were superb as well. This summit had not been hiked for about 8 years. It is always amazing to be some where you know people have not been for so long.

Images

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