Black Mountain Trail

beautiful hike and great workout

THE FLAG IS BACK!

Thanks to whom ever did that!

For a more detailed review, see my review 29 days ago.
This is the third time I have been up this trail in 29 days and it is worth the strenuous (last part of the trail) hike.

On one of my hikes to Black Mountain, I used my Asolo boots to see how they would work on this trail and the stiffness began to give me friction issues so I had to slow down. While I had planned enough time for the hike, the friction issues took my hike into the night.

I had always taken a head lamp with me along with the 10 essentials (maps, compass [even though I use GPS], sun protection, extra food and water, protective clothing, matches, fire starting materials, a knife and first aid kit). I often questioned the need for some of the ten but that day my dedication to the ten paid off, for real.

Not only did I need my head lamp, it got cold and windy so I used my rain jacket as a wind breaker (rain is not always an issue in the dessert but the rain layer is intended to serve multiple uses).

I was never afraid during this unexpected night hike, but I began to get disorientated and thought I might need to stop and camp; I had an emergency bivy for extra warmth if I needed it.

I began to wonder why it was so hard to see the trail (it was only after doing some post hike research I found out that warm light would have been better for my situation for better color contrast. Part of this trail gets faint and hard to see at points; the cool white light washes out the faint contrast between the trail and surrounding gravel. From my research, the only warm light head lamp I found was from Zebra light).

I soon heard some voices ahead but I was still a good distance from the trailhead and was wondering what that was all about… soon, I saw lights bobbing up a head: must have been 5 or 6. When then lights got closer, I saw that the lights were on trail runners… trail running at night. About three groups of them passed me; all in all there must have been 15 of them. Cool!

After they left me, I was still having some difficulty orienting myself. Suddenly, it was like someone turned on a night light: moonrise; and it was a full moon! I turned down my headlamp and, once my eyes adjusted, I could better see the trail.

Morel of the story: always carry the ten basics.

Trail BLM404 (Black Mountain) is an easy hike most of the way until the last ½ mile when you might have to engage in some scrambling (class 2). Because of the distance and last segment of the hike, it is considered strenuous by most accounts; it kicked my butt pretty good

You access the trail via the Shadow Canyon Trailhead and follow a paved portion of the Anthem East Trail. There is a reservoir and you want to keep right of it (SE). You know you are on the right track if you pass by a small brick structure with a trail sign on it: find BLM404: this is the trail to Black Mountain. Follow along the top of the spillway till you see a sign that reads “Black Mountain Trail”. The trail itself is well marked from there and soon follows a ridgeline to the top.

Warm weather hiking is difficult due to the lack of shade so bring plenty of water (3 liters when hot, 2-1 liters when cool). While the landscape is stark in the beginning, there are breathtaking views of the valleys below as you hike along a ridge line with some switch backs.

As you get to higher elevations, there are small windswept Joshua Trees and about three types of Barrel Cactus. As you approach 1/3 of a mile from the peak, there are nice clusters of Teddy Bear Cholla… but be careful: these cacti are painful to brush by and often have little clusters that have fallen off the mother plant scattered about.

You will know when you are getting close to the peak as the trail gets steeper and more rugged with loose rocks and a steeper assent. You might want to have your hands free to steady yourself at that point. I was so focused on the trail; I was stunned by the abrupt appearance of a nicely made 9 foot diameter rock wall build around the benchmark medallion when I reached the peak. The wall had an opening, was about 3 feet high and gave great protection against any wind.

I found three benchmark medallions from the US Coast & Geodetic Survey at the peak.

The view was amazing from the top and totally worth the hike!

Beautiful hike just start early it gets hot. Make sure to take lots of water and sunscreen. The top is the hard part other then that it’s mostly switch backs which aren’t too bad.

Challenging trail close to Henderson and very easy to follow to the top. Apple Watch clocked me around 1 hour 30 minutes each way, 17,000+ steps total, 174 flights climbed total and from shadow canyon parking lot 3.6 miles each way. Therefore 7.2 miles round trip. Plan for 3 to 4 hours to complete this one.

Moderately difficult hike with some scrambling near the peak . great views of LV from the top.

Excellent hike and the last half mile to the top is difficult and steep.
FYI.... the exact distance from the parking lot to the top is 4.55 miles one way.

Nice trail with a cool 360 view at the end. The grade is really pleasant for most of the hike and the steep grade towards the end is rocky, giving it a technical element (thus making it less grueling).
Definitely a great hike other than it being a pretty busy trail (saw about 8 other groups on a Sunday). In the summer you should definitely leave early to skip the midday/afternoon heat.

Fun! Did this hike this early this morning (4:30 a.m.) to catch the sunrise at the peak. Like others have said, the last 1/2 mile is killer.

The Black Mountain Trail is the perfect combination of mild to somewhat extreme, and I recommend taking a previous commenters suggestion and do the hike in moderate temperatures. It's not difficult, but the last half-mile to mile section gets to be a bit of a rocky climb. The trail makes for great desert scape/ wildlife observation. It's a peaceful hike, but once at the top you get bombarded by flying bugs. There's a white flag at just passed mid-way, and an American flag at the top next to a rock fort with a sign in canister. It takes about 2 hrs to get up with a moderate pace and breaks and about an hour and a half down at the same pace. The views at the top are definitely worth the work, and you can see the entire valley including Boulder City and part of Lake Mead. I would do it again and recommend it to others.

it gets pretty steep so hiking shoes are a must

Omg what a great trail but it definitely kicked my ass. the view from the top is worth it though.
March 25, 2018.

Pretty tough climb! The mountain progressively gets more challenging, but the view at the top is worth it. I wouldn’t do this on a day above 75° or any kind of rain. I’ve done some other “hard” trails on AllTrails, but this one was the toughest so far (mainly the ascent).

Awesome challenging trail. Definitely worth the view.

love the elevation gain.

if you want a harder 404 trail to the top of black mountain then go to the left of the original starting point wooden sign.

where you start the trail at the shack there are two Trails one to the left side of the mountain and one to the right side of the mountain.. The one to the left side by the water tanks or big beige gas tanks is a more strenuous difficult trail that not many can handle.

so if you want more of an adventure go to the left.

keep up with the trail with the wooden stakes poking out and rocks that prior hikers have placed on trail.

enjoy!

-Jeremiah

great hike, cool views at the top

Hiked this trail on New Year’s Eve. Spectacular 360 degree views from the top. Ammo box in rock circle at peak has book you can sign. Slippery rocks and steep last part of climb to top and down the same with switchbacks. Took us about 4 hours with a 5yr old who’s a pretty good scrambler.

Nice, easy and beautiful trail. It gets difficult the last ‘leg’ of the hike to reach the summit. Rocks can be slippery and you are very exposed. Be prepared and be careful.

Trail 404. A gradual but continual uphill. Relatively easy until the last half mile or so. Not the prettiest hike but it’s worth it for the views at the top!

Good hike with most of the elevation change towards the last quarter. It'll challenge you, but the views are totally worth it.

Unreal view great fall hike

Fun and worth the climb but definately not easy, kind of scary at some points too, still plan on doing it again, highly recomended!

Nice and smooth path no major challenges

strong incline great view at the top.

Hard, but well worth it!!

Great day hike with the best view of the Las Vegas valley!

We hiked this in March and I like to wait 6 moths to review to let it set in ;)
Fun hike and certainly challenging....uphill all the way with few flat areas for rest.
The best views in the valley from the peak and well worth the challenging work out. You will need to use your hands quite a bit and I suggest wearing gloves in warmer weather as the rocks get really hot.

Was pretty easy at first and then it got hard in about 5 minutes flat, mostly due to the loose rock towards the top of the mountain. Definitely would not go without at least one other person. Ran into a diamondback about halfway back down the trail I was about 2 inches from stepping on him, almost was bitten. Lots of harmless lizards but beware of snakes. Flowers are beautiful, and the summit was breathtaking. Was a fun experience, but probably wouldn't go a second time (I'm deathly afraid of snakes).