Overview

This easy, 2.25-mile hike climbs about 725 vertical-feet from the Harris Canyon trailhead to Harris Saddle. The trail starts at the upper edge of the Pinyon-Juniper Woodland (Upper Sonoran Life Zone) and follows an old road built by the WPA in the 1930s. The old road runs up and across a sunny hillside until it ends abruptly at the bottom edge of the Pine-Fir Forest (Canadian Life Zone). From there, a trail continues on to Harris Saddle, which is in a cool, alpine-feeling Pine-Fir forest with Quaking Aspen. From the saddle, there are great views to the north into Kyle Canyon and south towards Mt. Potosi. Driving up Harris Canyon Road is a bit rough, but weather permitting, a careful driver could get there in any vehicle. Most of the trail offers little shade, but during cool weather, this is a great short hike.

Link to map or elevation profile.

Watch Out

Other than the standard warnings about hiking in the desert, ... this is a safe hike if you stay on the trail. The first 1.5 miles of the trail are wide and secure (i.e., an old road), but the sidehill below the road is quite steep. The remaining 0.75 miles of trail present no unusual hazards. This shadeless trail gets surprisingly hot during warmer weather.

While hiking, please respect the land and the other people out there, and try to Leave No Trace of your passage. Also, this hike is fairly short, so just bring what you need of the 10 Essentials.

Trail Guide
Getting to the Trailhead

This hike is located up in the Spring Mountains on Harris Springs Road (off Kyle Canyon Road), about 1.5 hours northwest of Las Vegas.

From town, drive north on Highway 95 to Highway 157 (Kyle Canyon Road) (Table 1, Site 667). Turn left onto Highway 157 and drive west for 12.3 miles to the Harris Springs Road (Site 764). From the pavement, it takes most of an hour to get to the trailhead. Turn left onto the dirt Harris Springs Road and drive south as it runs across the wash and cuts sharply up the hillside. The road runs over the hills and drops into Harris Springs Canyon at a fork in the road (2.25 miles from the pavement). Continue south (straight), passing a side road to the right (2.6 miles out), to another side road to the right (3.15 miles out). Turn right and drive west and up the road for 5.5 miles to the parking area at the end of the road (8.65 miles out). The road ends abruptly atop a sharp ridge overlooking Lovell Canyon (Site 594). Park here; this is the trailhead.

The Hike

From the Harris Canyon trailhead (Table 2, Waypoint 13), the trail runs northwest on the old, gently graded Harris Canyon Road and out onto the steep, west-facing slope high above Lovell Canyon. There are great views to the southwest across the desert towards mountain ranges that disappear into the distance. The high peak to the northwest is Griffith Peak.

Near the trailhead, the vegetation is dominated by Curlleaf Mountain Mahogany and a mixture of Gambel's oak, sagebrush, manzanita, silk tassel, wild current, green ephedra, serviceberry, other low bushes, and a few pinyon pines, but little shade. The vegetation here is typical for hot, dry hillsides in the upper Pinyon-Juniper Woodland (Upper Sonoran Life Zone). It is interesting to note that there are a few small Ponderosa Pine (Yellow Pine Forest; Transition Life Zone) growing among the Singleleaf Pinyon Pine at the trailhead. In addition, along the road below the trailhead, the shady, north-facing slopes support a nice Pine-Fir Forest (Canadian Life Zone), demonstrating that aspect, as well as elevation, influences the distribution of Life Zones.

The trail follows the old, one-lane road for about 1.5 miles to where the road abruptly ends high in Lovell Canyon (Wpt. 5). The abrupt end of the road seems odd at first, but a story explains it. During the 1930s, the road was being built by the Works Progress Administration (known as the WPA), one of the government-funded public works programs that put people to work during the Great Depression. The road was intended to be a fire road that would connect with the Lovell Canyon Road (bottom of the canyon below the trail). However, in 1935 President Roosevelt went on a junket to the western mountains (the official line is the he came to inspect the construction site) and asked the project foreman where the road was going. The foreman said he didn't know (probably not really true; he was probably just nervous about talking to the president), and the president immediately stopped the project. Fortunately for the workers, the crew was moved to another project in Lee Canyon.

Up near the end of the old road, the vegetation is still dominated by Curlleaf Mountain Mahogany and sagebrush, but many of the other species have dropped out and a few pines and White Fir begin to appear. Here the trees include Limber Pine, a high-elevation species that is less common in the Spring Mountains than the other pines.

From the end of the old road, a good, normal-sized hiking trail continues on across the sideslope. Just past the end of the old road, a several old rock drills (at least four) that are still stuck in the rock, attest to the abrupt end of work on the road. These drill bits would have been retrieved and the rock blasted away if the road had been finished.

With a bit of what seems like unnecessary up and down, the trail continues northwest towards Harris Saddle (Wpt. 6), the saddle between Griffith and Harris peaks. Along the upper section, the vegetation transitions from a mix of dry, middle-elevation species to a cool, alpine-feeling Pine-Fir Forest (Canadian Life Zone). There is a pretty little meadow on the north-facing slope at the saddle with grasses, forbs, and spring wildflowers, but it is getting a bit overgrown by a thicket of low-growing Quaking Aspen. The trees here are mostly White Fir, Limber Pine, and Quaking Aspen with a few Ponderosa Pine mixed in. There are also some Oregon grape, twinberry, sagebrush, and Common Juniper in the area.

The saddle is a great place to stop, rest, and take in the views. There are great views to the north into Kyle Canyon and Mummy Mountain, and to the south towards Mt. Potosi and the vastness of the desert beyond. While there, keep an eye out for Mount Charleston Chipmunks and Clark's Nutcrackers. Palmer's Chipmunks are unique to the Spring Mountains; they occur nowhere else on earth. Clark's Nutcrackers, noisy, black-and-white birds about the size of a jay, occur only at the highest elevations in Southern Nevada -- if you find Clark's Nutcrackers, you know you are in a nice place.

From Harris Saddle, the Griffith Peak Trail continues west, climbs up through the limestone cliffs, passes near the summit of Griffith Peak, and connects with the South Loop Trail at the top of Echo Canyon. The South Loop Trail can be followed up to the summit of Mount Charleston or down to the Cathedral Rock Picnic Area in Kyle Canyon. In addition, a pleasant off-trail route runs east to the summit of Harris Mountain.

To get back to the Harris Canyon trailhead, retrace your steps down the Harris Saddle Trail.