We were heading to Las Vegas for the 2019 iHeartRadio music festival. This is a 2-night festival with popular acts from all genres... from Miley Cyrus to Def Leopard to Tim McGraw. It was awesome!

But before the festival, we planned on hiking up Charleston Peak. Charleston Peak had always been on my list, but I am typically in Vegas in the dead of winter or heat of summer. Finally I was there in a shoulder season when the peak could be comfortably climbed.

Charleston Peak is a county highpoint (Clark) and sports over 8000 feet of prominence, making it in the top 10 most prominent peaks in the lower 48. This is an impressive mountain that dominates the Las Vegas Skyline.

For our ascent, we chose the south loop trail. Some do this as a loop, but it adds mileage to the ascent and I was already pushing it with my wife :-)

We left our hotel in Vegas at 7am and were on the trail slightly after 8am. The trailhead has dozens of parking spaces and 2 bathrooms.

The trail is has great tread and is well-signed. That wasn't a surprise given the popularity of the peak. What did surprise us was the beauty of the area, especially the rock cliffs we were hiking below.

We set a pretty steady pace and appreciated it was a cool and windy day. Our pace allowed us to catch a few groups, though we did get passed by 2 runners that quit running and headed back shortly after passing us.

The initial 3000 is gained in the forest on steep switchbacks. Once the trail reaches a saddle just west of Griffith Peak, the trail turns and follows a ridge to Charleston and is far less steep. On this ridge the trail goes through meadows, burned forest, then gets above the treeline. At 6 miles in, you finally see the final push and the peak still seems a long ways off!

We fought the wind and cold for the final section and made the top after 4.5 hours of hiking. On top we enjoyed the views from a small alcove just below the summit, which was warm and wind-free. We ate our left over pizza and rested our feet knowing we still had over 8 miles of hiking left.

The way down went well, but the last mile tested our endurance. But with the peak done, we could focus on having fun the last 3 days of the trip. Good times!

Make your way up Kyle Canyon. We used Google Map directions to "Trailhead - Mt. Charleston National Recreation Trail, South Loop". It gets a bit confusing up there with picnic areas, multiple trails, etc. So it was nice having Google direct us right to the trailhead.

We did the well-signed "South Loop" trail.