| rev:text
| - Lee Canyon - Skiing & Hiking for locals and tourists alike!
- 3.5 Stars for skiing; 5 stars for hiking...!
SURPRISE! - Skiing in Las Vegas Desert! Lee Canyon is a delightful, small resort for Skiing and Snowboarding in Winter! It has rentals for equipment & apparel; and Snow Bus Service available from the strip, thus quite convenient for tourists.
NO SURPRISE! - For Summer/FALL: Its surrounding area is a HEAVENLY place for Hiking/Mountain Biking in Summer and Fall, as well as for its musical events and sporting activities!
- And it's about 45min drive from the strip.
YELPY DETAILS YOU COULD SKIP
- Just go enjoy Lee Canyon!
1. SKIING/SNOWBOARDING in WINTER: [3.5 Stars]
- Although this small ski area has only 4 chairlifts and 11 runs, it does have a decent 900+ft vertical drop, a steeper run with moguls, and a longer, pleasurable intermediate run (~0.6mi). For expert skiers, tree-skiing/snow boarding is also possible depending on snow conditions. I found this ski area quite enjoyable, especially its longer runs for cruising. The steeper run is great for practising mogul skiing, too. It's no Vail, but a great place for season beginning "tune-up", before heading out to bigger resorts like Aspen!
- If you want to improve your techniques, be sure to ask the ski patrollers on the slopes for pointers. They are the nicest bunch of people, fun loving and very helpful! If you are lucky, they might even let you ski with them through the woods! Of course, go take a lesson in its ski school, too!
This ski area has a small café and a very nice Bristlecone Bar, and an open deck facing the slopes. It's sport shop provides rentals of equipment and apparel, including ski jackets, making it convenient for out-of-town visitors. By the way, there's ski bus service available in Winter.
NOTES:
(a) In Winter season, snow chains are required, except front-wheel or 4-wheel drive vehicles.
(b) Ski Tour Bus available!
https://www.skilasvegas.com/winter/mountain_info/Ski_Bus
2. HIKING & MOUNTAIN BIKING and OTHER ACTIVITIES [5 Stars!]
What a heavenly place for hiking and biking in summer and autumn! The very popular Bristlecone Trails (Easy/Moderate] around the ski area is one of the most popular, as well as my very own favorite.
- This trail actually consists of (1) Lower Bristlecone (~3mi) and (2) Upper Bristlecone (~2.5mi), with 2 respective trailheads.
- The Upper Trailhead is at the top parking lot by the ski area entrance. The trail is beautifully tree lined and completely shaded, making one feel like hiking in the forest. The trail gently winds uphill, passing a couple gorgeous valleys, reaching the peak (about 9500+ft elevation); down to a wider, open area, with a magnificent view of the green valley. That area marks the end of Upper Bristlecone Trail and the start of the Lower Part. The Lower Bristlecone Trail is a wide open path without any shade. It has distinctly different types of vegetations from those of the upper trail. All along this quiettrail are spectacular views of the green valleys and the ski area beyond!
Obviously, one can have a number of choices for hiking: taking either the upper or lower trail, or the entire trail from either trailhead and use the paved highway to complete the enjoyable 6+mi loop!
Besides the Bristlecone Trail, during weekends (Fri, Sat, Sun), one can also take the ski area's chair lift ($10) and get to the top at ~9500ft elevation and hike down the mountain within the ski area! Of course, you can also just hike around the top part, and then ride the chairlift down.
Furthmore, in Lee Canyon, along Hwy158 (off Hwy156), there are several other great trails as well, such as the popular, picturesque North Loop, where there is a magnificent 4,000+ years old raintree some 2.5mi up!
INTERESTING EVENTS in SUMMER/FALL:
- In the Summer/Fall, the Ski Area also has musical events, disc golf, private group activities, etc. - See link below
http://www.skilasvegas.com/winter/photos_and_events/EVENTS
By the way, the area has lodging available, too, such as the Tahiti Village, which offers 40%discount in the Summer/Fall.
- See the following link:
http://www.tahitivillage.com/Tahiti-Village-Ski-Packages.aspx
DRIVING DIRECTIONS to the SKI RESORT/BRISTLECONE TRAILS
- From the strip take I-95N , turn left to scenic Hwy156, heading towards the ski area. The Lower Bristlecone trailhead is 0.7 mi below the Ski resort entrace; the Upper trailhead is at the end of the road by the ski area entrance.
3. DRIVING AROUND forSIGHT-SEEING
- Even if you don't ski or hike, you'll find it a treat to your senses just driving around the Mt. Charleston area on (a) Hwy 157, where you can stop for lunch/picnic in the hotel resort or at the mid-mountain lodge café; (b) Hwy 158 scenic route; and (c) Hwy 156 to the Ski Resort!
REFERENCE SITE:
http://www.birdandhike.com/Hike/Mt_Char/Bristlecone/_Bristlecone.htm
YES! Go enjoy Lee Canyon and Mt. Charleston - all year round!
Peterskis, Aug 2012
-----
|
![[RDF Data]](/fct/images/sw-rdf-blue.png)
![[cxml]](/fct/images/cxml_doc.png)
![[csv]](/fct/images/csv_doc.png)
![[text]](/fct/images/ntriples_doc.png)
![[turtle]](/fct/images/n3turtle_doc.png)
![[ld+json]](/fct/images/jsonld_doc.png)
![[rdf+json]](/fct/images/json_doc.png)
![[rdf+xml]](/fct/images/xml_doc.png)
![[atom+xml]](/fct/images/atom_doc.png)
![[html]](/fct/images/html_doc.png)