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I'm off on a guy trip to Vegas this weekend and I would like to get in a quick desert peak on one of the days. I've been up to Mount Charleston many times and I'm looking for something different. I don't want to drive more than 45 minutes either. A little one would be fine. Thanks!

NancyHands wrote:I'm off on a guy trip to Vegas this weekend and I would like to get in a quick desert peak on one of the days. I've been up to Mount Charleston many times and I'm looking for something different. I don't want to drive more than 45 minutes either. A little one would be fine. Thanks!

Turtlehead Peak in Red Rocks would be nice. There are tons of peaks in Red Rocks you can do as a day trip and just as hikes or scrambles, though. Turtlehead is good because it's short (about 2.5 miles to the top, though sometimes quite steep), so you can get off the rocks fairly early if it's going to be a hot day or your buddies can't wait until the evening to hit the "gentlemen's clubs."

NancyHands wrote:I'm off on a guy trip to Vegas this weekend and I would like to get in a quick desert peak on one of the days. I've been up to Mount Charleston many times and I'm looking for something different. I don't want to drive more than 45 minutes either. A little one would be fine. Thanks!

I was there a little over a week ago. Turtlehead was a nice hike and the trail was easy to fnd pretty much the whole way- no real route finding issues. Turtlehead had great views of the Red Rocks looking to the west. You'll likely see many hikers up Turtlehead and stgart early, it gets hot Windy Peak was a great hike, much more physical of a hike and route finding was pretty tough. But well worth it, more adventure and the summit was more interesting as was the general area. You will likely NOT see anyone on this hike. I saw one person the whole time and he was scaling the south wall, also I saw bighorns on the descent. Unless you have an suv for a rental you'll need to park close to the state highway and that adds about another mile to the walk in. I wanted to to Devil Peak, as it sounded like a fun hike but I ran out of time. These peaks are in the 6300 foot range. Potosi also sounded interesting, was a bit higher in elevation but again, time was an issue. All pretty much fall into being about 45 minutes from Vegas.

I agree with turtlehead. I climbed it on my Vegas trip last year and it was a fun diversion from the Vegas scene. I loved the views of Red Rocks the whole way, and the valley from the summit.

Thanks gents, Turtlehead it is...