The Spring Mountains ECHO

HIKING THE TRAILS OF MT. CHARLESTON

By Kerwin Dewberry

U.S. Forest Service

The Spring Mountains National Recreation Area, voted the Best Place to Hike by the Las Vegas Review-Journal in 1997, has 21 official hiking trails. Improving and maintaining these trails for the use of the public is a priority for the Forest Service. Some of these trails access the Mt. Charleston Wilderness Area. We are currently working to improve trail signage which will help educate visitors and direct them to a specific destination. These signs will also educate visitors about the importance of these special areas and the resources that are present.

Many of these trails receive heavy use from visitors. Periodic monitoring of trail usage helps us to anticipate and understand maintenance needs, and is useful in our future planning efforts. Figures show there is a need for additional trail construction, not only for hikers, but for mountain bikers and equestrians as well. Monitoring of these trails helps us to plan for ways to ensure endemic (has not been found anywhere else in the world) plant and animal populations are protected, and also to achieve our mission "Caring for the Land and Serving People."