Park Service wants to make two summer trail closures permanent at Lake Mead

The National Park Service is considering permanently closing two trails at Lake Mead National Recreation Area during the summer months.

Park officials temporarily closed the Goldstrike Canyon and Arizona Hot Spring trails during the summers of 2014 and 2015 after a rash of heat-related emergencies in 2013 and 2014 that left four hikers dead and more than 60 others in need of rescue and medical attention.

Now administrators at the 1.5 million-acre recreation area want to make the temporary closure into a permanent seasonal shutdown.

Under the proposal up for public comment, access to the trails would be prohibited from May 15 through Sept. 30.

The Goldstrike Canyon trail on the Nevada side of Black Canyon is steep and requires some rock climbing. It leads past a series of hot springs to the Colorado River below Hoover Dam. The Arizona Hot Spring trail is actually a network of paths leading through White Rock Canyon to the namesake spring, Liberty Bell Arch and the Arizona side of the Colorado River.

During the proposed closure period, visitors will still be able to access the popular hot springs along both sides of the Colorado River by hiking up from the water.

Other, less strenuous trails throughout the park will remain open.

Feedback on the proposed closure will be accepted through May 1 both online at www.nps.gov/lake/parkmgmt/comment-and-review.htm and by mail at: Lake Mead National Recreation Area Superintendent, Attention: Proposed Seasonal Trail Closure, 601 Nevada Way, Boulder City, NV 89005.

For those planning a hike during the heat of summer, the Park Service offers safety tips online at www.nps.gov/lake/planyourvisit/summer-hiking.htm.

Contact Henry Brean at hbrean@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0350. Follow @RefriedBrean on Twitter.