Sunday, December 29, 2002
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

TRIP OF THE WEEK: Margo Bartlett Pesek

Picturesque Searchlight a shell of its mining boom days

Searchlight straddles the junction of U.S. 95 and Highway 164, an access road to Lake Mojave at Cottonwood Cove, part of Lake Mead National Recreational Area. Within easy reach of Las Vegas, Searchlight and Cottonwood Cove make a good cool season outing.

Searchlight lies 55 miles south of Las Vegas in a high desert setting at the foot of mountains paralleling the Colorado River. Lake visitors from California often bypass Las Vegas by taking the cutoff from Interstate 15 through Nipton and Searchlight to Cottonwood Cove. Return to Las Vegas from Searchlight on the Nipton Road and I-15 for a scenic loop trip.

Boasting a few weathered remnants of its mining boom years, Searchlight embraces the future with modern housing and facilities for its several hundred residents. Although old-timers cling to hopes of another mining boom, the community's economic future today depends upon the flow of traffic on the busy highways. Modern Searchlight meets the needs of passers-by with casinos, restaurants, filling stations, mini-markets and other facilities.

Searchlight celebrated its first century of existence in 1998. Gold discoveries in 1898 triggered the growth of the little town, at first just a ragtag collection of wooden shacks and tents in the desert. Initial discoveries and claims established by prospecting partners G.F. Colton and A.E. Moore included a claim called the Searchlight, reportedly after a popular brand of matches in those days. Soon the emerging community took that name. Its first weekly newspaper calling itself the Searchlight helped attract the rush of hopefuls to the promising new town.

By 1907 when Searchlight reached its zenith, the first newspaper competed with two others, serving a population of more than 1,500. The town boasted several stores, many saloons and enough businesses to warrant a chamber of commerce. A new-fangled telephone exchange facilitated communication.

Searchlight grew because of more than 40 mines and several mills in the vicinity. Transportation of ore at first involved arduous overland trips to railheads in Southern California. Completion of a narrow gauge railroad to a mill on the river in 1902 made possible shipping Searchlight's production by steamboat.

Wildly celebrating, the town welcomed the completion of the Barnwell and Searchlight Railroad in 1907, connecting Searchlight to the mainline Santa Fe Railroad. Unfortunately, a national panic later that year hit Searchlight hard. It came just when production began to taper off because of exhaustion of major rich ore bodies. Searchlight enjoyed a few more good years, but after 1910, the boomers began to leave. By the late 1920s, the population dwindled to just 50 people. A few mining revivals since then kept Searchlight on the map. About 800 people live there now, half of them retirees.

Beautiful desert and lake views await travelers along the 14-mile highway to Cottonwood Cove that parallels the route of the little narrow gauge railroad, long since removed. The road passes through desert dominated by dense stands of teddy bear cholla, one of the so-called "jumping" cactus. Rugged, colorful hills and cliffs provide a dramatic backdrop. Then the views change to the cool blue of the lake waters reflecting mountain ranges stretching into the Arizona distance.

To get better acquainted with natural features in the area, take advantage of the Desert Discovery Trail, a short hiking route developed by the National Park Service. Inquire about the location of the trailhead at the entrance station. Expect to pay an entrance fee that will be waived or reduced for holders of various national parks passes. Other fees also apply for camping and other services.

Those seeking winter camping opportunities should investigate the campground and RV park near the lake among many developed facilities at Cottonwood Cove. Popular with fishermen, Cottonwood Cove provides access to Lake Mojave, created when the waters of the Colorado backed up behind Davis Dam. Visitors also find motel-style accommodations, a restaurant, lounge and marina at Cottonwood Cove.

Margo Bartlett Pesek's Trip of the Week column appears Sundays.