Mountain’s Edge provides trail mix in southwest

Mountain's Edge, a 3,500-acre, master-planned community located in the southwestern Las Vegas Valley, celebrates the Old Spanish Trail since the 19th-century historical path is in proximity to the land the development currently uses.

To commemorate the Trail, the community named its first park Exploration Park, and the mountain that lies at the entrance to the community was named Exploration Peak.

The Western theme featured in Exploration Park was created to celebrate the Old West and craft an environment where children can learn about the area's history.

At the community, Paiute Park is named for the Paiute Indians who were some of the first inhabitants of our valley. Other parks are named after individuals who played a key role in our history, including pioneer explorer John C. Fremont, who named the Old Spanish Trail; Helen Stewart, the founder of one of the first ranches in Las Vegas; and Nathaniel Jones, a 19th century miner at Mt. Potosi, just up the hill from Mountain's Edge.

"It is our goal to create master plans with depth and character, and that create a sense of community, thereby providing a high quality of life for residents," said John A. Ritter, chairman and chief executive officer of Focus Property Group, master planner of Mountain's Edge. "The more people understand about the land they live on and the people who traveled there before them, the more they will bond with their surrounding environment and feel truly at home."

As a result, Focus Property Group, creator of eight master-planned communities in addition to Mountain's Edge, formed a partnership with the Outside Las Vegas Foundation (OLVF) to assist in the efforts to create a Southern Nevada Regional Trail and Open Space System. The trail system one day will connect Mountain's Edge as well as its other master-planned communities such as Providence and Kyle Canyon in the northwest, and Inspirada in the southeast, with public lands and recreational areas in the valley.

"The OLVF is doing excellent work in developing plans and working with the many agencies involved to connect our master planned communities to this integral trails system," Ritter said. "These trails will allow residents to hike, bike and explore our city's natural backyard and actively enjoy the pure beauty of our desert environment."

The OLVF is a private non-profit organization formed to enhance the connections between people and the natural and cultural landscapes of Southern Nevada.

Residents of Mountain's Edge already have access pedestrian and biking interconnectivity, with a series of existing and planned paseos and paths, which ultimately will weave throughout the community linking every neighborhood to the existing Exploration Park and five other public parks that are planned in the area. Additionally, 10 miles of trails systems are planned to be built throughout Providence, and Inspirada will offer more than 20 miles of trails to its residents.

Mountain's Edge will include four elementary schools, one of which is already open, two middle schools and a high school when it is fully developed. The community will have a fire station, shopping centers, restaurants and commercial office space.

More community information is available at the Home Search Café, located at the community's entrance on Buffalo Drive and Blue Diamond Road.

Other information is available at Mountainsedge.com. The Café is open to the public from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily, and can be reached at 898-5777.

Builders with actively selling subdivisions are Amstar Homes, Beazer Homes, D.R. Horton, Engle Homes, KB Home, Kimball Hill Homes, Lennar, Meritage Homes, Pardee Homes, Pulte Homes, R/S Development, Ryland Homes, Toll Brothers, Warmington Homes Nevada and Woodside Homes. Other builders, including Astoria Homes, Phillips Homes and StoryBook Homes, are expected to begin sales in the coming months.

For more information, visit focuspropertygroup.com.