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| - The Spring Mountain National Recreation Area is generally regarded as the area around Kyle and Lee Canyons. The recreation area allows many things that you wouldn't expect in the Las Vegas area. There's skiing and snowboarding in the winter, snowshoe trips in the winter, hiking in the summer, and lots and lots of trees. While it's still desert, the mountains get much more rain, relatively speaking, than does Las Vegas and thus the lush nature of the mountains.
I visit the mountain in various times of the year but mostly in the summer for hiking. There are many trails. The hiking can be difficult for many because of the elevation. There are few trails that start at less than 7,500 feet so you may be gasping to catch your breath and stopping more often than for a normal hike.
In the summer, on weekends, you can ride the chairlift to the top of the ski area and walk back down, ride back down, or enjoy a game of Frisbee golf as you make your way down the run.
If you're lucky, you can see some of Nevada's wild horses as they roam free in the Spring Mountains.
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A couple of things to remember about the Recreation Area in 2014.
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Due to the Carpenter 1 Fire of 2013, there are several trails and areas that are closed. These are the Cathedral Rock Trail, the South Loop Trail, the Little Falls Trail, and the Echo Trail. Fines for hiking in the fire burned area can be as high as $5,000. It is a federal offense. Don't be a jerk and hike through the burn area. You're just impeding the regrowth of the forest and you'll be harming the ecology. Be a smart user of our shared resources!
Stay out of those areas and you still have a large part of the Recreation Area to explore and use--Lee Canyon and the trails of Deer Creek Road. These are still open. Use them.
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