Overview

This is a short, but moderately strenuous, loop trail that heads up a narrow canyon to limestone caves that, according to local legend, were used by bandits as a hideout while raiding travelers on the old Mormon Trail.

Link to map.

Watch Out

Other than the standard warnings about hiking in the desert, this is a pretty safe trail; however, be careful when crossing the road. If you let your kids climb in or around the caves, watch them carefully near the edges; some of the limestone rock is slicker than you might expect. Also, the elevation is over 8,000 feet, so take it easy if you've just come up from the desert.

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 Deer Creek Road between Kyle and Lee Canyons, about 1 hour 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 17.1 miles to Highway 158 (Deer Creek Road) (Site 727), which is just past the Mt. Charleston Hotel. Turn right onto Highway 158 and drive north for another 3.4 miles to a paved parking area on the east (right) side of the road (Site 740). Turn into the parking area just as the road starts to make a hard, 90-degree bend to the east (right) to cut across a hillside (which is clearly visible from down the road). There is a trailhead sign on the left side of the road; but if you are driving, it is easy to miss the sign because the road is curving to the right and you will be looking to the right. Park here; this is the trailhead.

The Hike

From the trailhead (Table 2, Waypoint 1), walk across the road, pass the trailhead sign, and hike westward on a clearly marked trail through a forest of pinyon pine, white fir, mountain mahogany, and rabbitbrush. The mixture of lower elevation (pinyon pine) and higher elevation (white fir) trees indicates that this is a transition zone between the lower elevation Pinyon-Juniper Woodland (Upper Sonoran) and Yellow Pine Forest (Transition) life zones.

As the canyon narrows, the trail steepens, but stone and concrete steps ease the way. On the way up, notice that a trail cuts off to the south (left) at the beginning of the second set of stone and concrete steps; this trail is the end of the loop.

Continue up the stone steps to the caves (Wpt. 2), which are only about 5 minutes from the trailhead. The trail leads directly to a large cave in the north (right) wall of the canyon; there is a smaller cave in the south (left) wall.

The forest is wetter here in the narrow canyon, and the extra soil moisture supports a forest of tall ponderosa pine trees and white fir, species typical of the Yellow Pine Forest (Transition) and Pine-Fir Forest (Canadian) Life Zones. After investigating the large cave, continue up the canyon for a minute or two. The canyon narrows and pinches off at a pour-over that blocks further progress. The canyon is only a few feet wide at this point.

On the way down, stay on the south (right) side of the canyon and pick up the trail that heads east across the slope and towards the smaller cave. After that cave, the trail continues eastward, makes one big switchback (Wpt. 3), drops into the bottom of the canyon (Wpt. 4), and rejoins the main trail to close the loop. From there, retrace you footprints down the canyon and back to the trailhead.

Local legend has it that during the pioneer days, Robber's Roost was used by horse thieves as hideout around 1885. They say the outlaws put up a fence and used the canyon for a corral, used the caves for shelter, and used high points around the caves as vantage points for spotting approaching lawmen. They also say the bandits stashed stolen goods around Robber's Roost, so perhaps there is some treasure in the hills. This makes a good story, but looking at the cave makes me wonder if it was such a good place to live.