I was in Las Vegas for a conference (again). I wanted to find a highly prominent peak that would be within a few hours drive of Vegas and have access via a 2WD vehicle. I searched a bit and found Hualapai Peak near Kingman, Arizona that seemed to fit the bill.

In addition to having 4,447 feet of prominence, Hualapai is also the highpoint of Mohave County in Arizona.

Hualapai is an Indian tribe, with the name translated as "People of the Tall Pines". The area definitely sports beautiful forests of tall Ponderosa Pines.

I flew into Las Vegas and immediately jumped into a rental car and headed to the trailhead. I found the Hualapai Mountain County Park entrance, paid my fee ($8), then drove the short distance to the trailhead.

I started up the trail on a fairly warm, but sunny day right around 12pm. There are numerous options, but I took the left fork of the Potato Patch Loop trail. This trail passes through forest and some rock out-croppings before joining an old road north of Hualapai Peak. It was interesting being in a forest and seeing so many lizards and horned toads. I had never seen a horned toad and there were hundreds... very cool!

Once I joined the road, I dropped a few hundred feet before the road turned west and steeply ascended toward the base of the peak. Once at the base of the peak, I tried winging it and just going up. I had read the top was steep, brushy, and could get tricky if off route. My "instincts" led me to ascend the west side of the peak. It was grungy with the brush, but the rock was good, never any exposure.

Once on top, I saw the correct (more open and traveled) way was to ascend via the east side of the peak. Oh well.

The top sports great views as one would expect from such a prominent peak. I enjoyed the sun and views a while before heading down.

While easier, the east side I down climbed still had some brush and even cactus to contend with. I then hit the trail and followed the other branch of the Potato Patch loop to see some new terrain on the way out.

I contemplated doing some other close peaks, but with the flying and driving, it was already a long day and I still needed to get to Las Vegas and checkin to my hotel.

The drive back was fun. My Pandora playlist was rocking the classics from Pearl Jam, Dave Matthews, John Mayer, etc... I enjoyed it so much, I was almost sad to see the lights of Vegas.

I used this address on my phone for turn-by-turn:
Hualapai Mountain County Park, 6250 Hualapai Mountain Road, Kingman, AZ

Basically get to Kingman and follow the signs south to Hualapai Mountain State Park (any of the three exits in town) Drive about 10 miles along paved road to the park entrance. The trailhead (follow the signs) is up past a few campsites to a small parking area. Walk past a gate in the road about 200 feet and catch the trail on the left at a large sign.

From the trailhead, walk about 100 feet and turn left to start following the Potato Patch Loop trail (also signed for Aspen Peak). The signs are a bit confusing, but take the left fork when the trail branches to stay on the Potato Patch loop. This trail eventually meets an old road at a saddle north of Hualapai Peak. Turn left (south) onto the old road and follow it to the base of Hualapai Peak.

Find a decent route that heads up Hualapai Peak's west face. The class is easy class 3.