Overview

This short, but fairly tough 1.16-mile hike leads to one of those quintessential Las Vegas experiences: a view into Groom Lake and the secret military base at Area 51. The government still claims that Area 51 doesn't exist and that they don't fly captured alien UFOs out there, but hike up and take a look for yourself. The facilities are 26 air-miles to the west, so bring high-powered optical equipment and get an early start to ensure that the sun is low and at your back. Even if you don't see any UFOs, the view is spectacular and gives the impression of being on top of the world.

Much of the dirt road to the trailhead is maintained and can be driven at 35 mph. The very end of the road, about the last 0.2 miles, requires a 4-wheel-drive vehicle. The route follows a use-trail and paint marks on steep, rocky hillsides through a pinyon-juniper forest.

Link to map or elevation profile.

Watch Out

Other than the standard warnings about hiking in the desert, ...this is a safe, but pretty rough hike. The use-trail is steep and rocky, and there are many places where you could loose your footing. The only place to fall off something is the summit, so stay back from the edge. There is no water on the mountain. The elevations run from about 7,000 to 8,000 feet, so take it easy if you aren't used to the elevation. I've heard rumor that there is an issue about black helicopters and shoot-to-kill orders, but you didn't hear about it from me.

While hiking, please respect the land and the other people out there, and try to Leave No Trace of your passage. Also, even though the hike is short, this is a remote area, so bring the 10 Essentials. Make sure this route of the appropriate difficulty for your skills.

Bring a trash bag and plan to pack out more trash than you bring in.

Trail Guide

Getting to the Trailhead

This hike is located in the Pahranagat Range (near Alamo), about 3 hours north of Las Vegas.

From Las Vegas, drive north on Interstate-15 for 21 miles to Highway 93 (Exit 64) (Table 1, Site 674). Exit the interstate, turn left onto Highway 93, and drive north for about 66 miles (about 6 miles south of Alamo) to Tikaboo Road, an unmarked, well-graded dirt road that heads west (Site 871).

Tikaboo Road leaves the pavement at milepost LN 32.2; watch for a dirt road with a stop sign. The turnoff is about 0.4 miles north of the turnoff to Pahranagat National Wildlife Refuge Headquarters (which has a sign) and about 0.1 miles south of Upper Pahranagat Lake (there is a campground on the south edge of the lake that you can see from the turnoff).

If you need gas, continue on to Alamo. The Del Pueblo (Exxon Station) is the closest place for good food (try the green chili), and the little motel (about 1/4 mile before the Del Pueblo) is clean and acceptable if you don't want to sleep out.

In general, Tikaboo Road runs west, swings south to pass through a gap in the East Pahranagat Range (the mountains immediately to the west), and runs back up the valley between the East Pahranagat Range and the Pahranagat Range to the trailhead.

From the pavement, turn left onto Tikaboo Road and drive west across the valley, staying on the main road. The road winds around and cuts up a canyon onto the bajada, passing what was the worst part of the graded road. The road curves to the southwest and runs up a broad canyon. At 5.0 miles out, the road forks (Waypoint 02); stay left on the main road. At 5.6 miles out, there is a barbed-wire-fence gate (Waypoint 03). Leave the gate as you found it: either open or closed. Staying on the main road and generally heading south, drive up over a saddle (Site 893) and down a canyon on the other side. At 8.1 miles out (Site 872), take the hard right turn (this part of the road is not marked on USGS 7.5-minute topo maps) onto a road that runs up a canyon heading to the northwest.

Drive up the canyon, passing a rusty storage tank at about 11.5 miles out. From there, the road basically runs straight all the way to Badger Spring; don't take any of the side roads (e.g., major side roads intersect at 13.4 and 18.0 miles out).

At 21.4 miles out, the road forks. You can see the Badger Spring (dry) parking area to the left (Waypoint 07). Stay to the right on the main road. Beyond the fork, the road narrows until it becomes steep and rocky, requiring 4-wheel-drive (4WD) for the last 0.2 miles. Drive as far as you want in a 2WD vehicle, as it would be fairly easy to back out if necessary. There is a campsite adjacent to the road at about 21.6 miles out (Waypoint 17), which is the last place to camp before the 4WD section. At 21.8 miles out, the road ends on the saddle (Site 873). Park here; this is the trailhead.

If you are driving a jeep or other serious 4WD, you might be able to drive another 0.23 miles up the hillside, but I decided that it wasn't worth the risk in my rig. The only bad part is about a 1-minute walk up the road, so check it out if you want to try driving to the very end of the road.

The Hike

From the trailhead (Table 2, Waypoint 8), follow the old road south through a gap in the trees and up the steep hillside. The main road arrives on the saddle heading west, so this old road makes a 90-degree turn to the left. Walk up the old road, which initially is quite steep. The road levels out, more or less, and runs along the ridge.

There are several places along the old road where you can see the entire route and the summit, so take a minute to get orientated for the rest of the hike. From the end of the old road, a use-trail runs south and up the hillside to the ridge on the skyline, then runs west along the ridge, passing behind a large rocky knob. The trail then drops into a saddle and runs up the next hillside to the summit.

Follow the old road for 0.23 miles to an open area with a campsite (Wpt. 9), which is at the base of a steep hillside. About 10 steps before reaching the fire pit, a use-trail cuts west through the trees. Follow the use-trail southwest and up the hillside, staying to the east of the cliffy areas. Starting in this area, there are white spray-paint marks (a single, 8-10 inch long stripe in the direction of travel) on rocks along the trail. Although the marks are not necessary here, they are helpful beyond the saddle.

The use-trail is fairly steep with lots of loose rocks, and it generally zig-zags straight up the hillside. The trail runs fairly steeply until it becomes really steep (Wpt. 10). Fortunately, the steepest part is fairly short, and the use-trail levels out (relatively speaking) (Wpt. 11) as it cuts west across the sideslope and angles off towards the top of the ridge.

From the top of the ridge (Wpt. 12; 0.65 miles out), the faint use-trail runs west and downhill along the ridgeline, drops off the south side of the ridge to pass the large rocky knob, and drops into a saddle with a campsite and a big fire ring (Wpt. 13; 0.84 miles out).

From the fire ring, the trail continues in the same direction, passing under and to the left of a large pinyon pine adjacent to the campsite. On the other side of the tree, the use-trail becomes obvious again as it winds around a few shrubs and hits the base of the next hillside.

At this point, the trail starts up the hillside on the south edge of a fairly large, barren rock face. The use-trail cuts up the rock face and curves to the south. Watch for the paint marks and the few cairns, as it is easy to loose the trail on this hillside. On the way up, I missed the trail here and climbed the hillside without the advantage of the trail. There is a use-trail all the way up, so if you aren't on a trail, you are off-route.

Following the use-trail, the route runs up and slightly to the south across the hillside, hitting the summit ridge (Wpt. 14) just south of the summit. Follow the faint use trail and paint marks north along the ridge. A paint mark on a small rock in the trail marks a left turn that would be easy to miss. The trail leaves the ridge and crosses a flat area with another campsite and large fire ring (Wpt. 15) before continuing up the hillside.

From the fire ring, the route runs west through a gap between a pinyon pine and a large mountain mahogany, heading towards a dead tree lying on the rocks. You can't see them from the fire ring, but after you get started, red and white paint marks on the rocks lead to the summit (Wpt. 16), which is about 5 minutes away.

Someone built a blockade-type rock shelter (with four railroad ties) on the summit that provides a sheltered place to hide from the wind, or whatever you need to hide from, and gaze off to the west. The vegetation on the summit is mostly pinyon pine and juniper, with a bit of mountain mahogany, sage, old-man prickly pear, Ephedra, some grasses, and other odds and ends mixed in, but none of it blocks the view.

Return to the trailhead by following your footprints back down the mountain.