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| - Life is funny. Sometimes the best adventures are unplanned. My Shoreline Trail adventure was an unplanned adventure.
On a beautiful Spring afternoon, I was hiking on the River Mountains Loop Trail from the Lake Mead Parkway trail-head which is by Mile Marker 12 toward Mile Marker 14 to admire the spring wildflower bloom. Further into my hike, there was this issue of dumping a now empty beverage cup. There is an abundance of wildflowers on this segment of the River Mountains Loop Trail, but not one single trash can. The closest trash can was below me in the distant horizon of the Las Vegas Bay Overlook all the way across Lake Shore Drive. I couldn't be a litterbug. I did the right thing, got off the River Mountains Loop Trail short of the wildflower bloom segment, then literally hiked toward Las Vegas Bay in the distant horizon.
Now on the Las Vegas Bay Overlook, I was mesmerized by the vista of the Las Vegas Wash emptying into Lake Mead. It is a mesmerizing spot that the Wetlands Trail and Bluff Trail fall short of touching. This view is lightning captured in a jar. Immediately my mind went from the spring wildflower bloom to the solitude of the running Las Vegas Wash emptying into Lake Mead. Was there a trail down below that I could hike? Google Maps came to my rescue. Below along the shoreline of Las Vegas Wash and Lake Mead an adventure awaited me on the Shoreline Trail. My good deed of going out of my way to leave the River Mountains Loop Trail litter free paid off. Instant Karma rewarded me with a new beautiful hike in Lake Mead. I'd leave the Las Vegas Bay Overlook, then walk a few hundred feet alongside Lake Shore Drive to the road that leads to Las Vegas Bay and Shoreline Trail.
The following paragraphs portray a picture of the Shoreline Trail experience through words. The Shoreline Trail starts at the former Las Vegas Bay boat ramp. To reach the road that ends up at Las Vegas Bay,you will drive on Lake Shore Drive as if you were headed toward Boulder City for approximately two miles from the Lake Mead Parkway Fee Station. There will be a sign for Las Vegas Bay directing you to turn left. From here you drive on a downhill, windy road toward Lake Mead. On the way you pass the turnoff for the road to a campground and the Wetlands Trail. Near the end of the road at Las Vegas Bay is a parking lot by a picnic area. Due to the temporary closure of Las Vegas Bay on account of low water levels, this is an underpopulated
area. Past this parking area is the hill to the boat slip. The Shoreline Trail starts at the sidewalk to the right of the boat slip.
The Shoreline Trail soon turns to the right on a sandy path bordered by rocks. The landscape is riparian. The scenery and aroma is wetlands. To the right are the sandstone bluffs that include the Las Vegas Bay overlook where I learned about this trail. The trail turns to the left heading deeper into the riparian environment. Ahead is a rock monolith that only your imagination can describe. To me it looks like a combination of a circular pyramid and large pineapple head. Soon the trail steeply climbs along the edge of what looks like a sandstone bluff. Straight ahead is the very spot where Las Vegas Wash empties into Lake Mead. This is the spot that the Wetlands Trail and the Bluff Trail tease the hiker about touching. From this very spot, the Shoreline Trail continues through the riparian environment. It is an environment ideal for birds. I'd set eyes on a roadrunner up on one of the bluffs. The vistas are now of a very tranquil Lake Mead distant from the bathtub ring and motor boats. To the right is a what looks like a tee pee and towering hills. There is another breathtaking vista where you walk up a small climb that looks like you are about to touch Lake Mead. Abruptly,The Shoreline Trail turns right and continues along sandstone bluffs that look like an amphitheater. The trail travels deeper into the riparian environment and seems to keep going and going like the Energizer battery. Eventually it peters out into the riparian environment.
I could be wrong, but it appears that Shoreline Trail is a relatively new trail that is a work in progress. What makes me say this is that none of the Las Vegas hiking literature mentions it and when I was hiking on it a man was doing some work along the trail.
The Shoreline Trail is currently a relatively short hike. According to my Cardio Trainer app, the length was 1.51 miles and time it took to hike it was approximately 34 minutes. Keep in mind that I did this hike in conjunction with a lengthy hike on the River Mountains Loop Trail. From my experience,the ultimate Shoreline Trail experience would be to hike it after either a Wetlands Trail or Bluff Trail hike. Wetlands Trail travels along the Las Vegas Wash just east of Lake Las Vegas and the Bluff Trail overlooks the Las Vegas Wash on way to Lake Mead.
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