A short drive from Las Vegas, you will find this Spring Mountain Recreation area, home to miles and miles of hiking, biking and horseback riding trails.

I'm sure you've heard of some of that.

Mary Jane Falls, Echo Trail, Cathedral Rock.

They are all great and very popular, but there are more.

With the help of my friend Ray, we are going to explore the North Loop Trail.

This spring, mountains have over 60 miles of trails throughout the range.

Those trails sit at an elevation of 6000 feet, with some reaching 11,916 feet at Charleston Peak.

Ray, so excited to be here.

Tell me about this area.

We are here on the North Loop Trail, one of my favorite hiking trails here at Mt.

Charleston.

It starts about 8400 feet, progresses up towards Mount Charleston Peak.

We go by beautiful mummy mountain along the way.

Right now, there's a lot of pinion and juniper with some Ponderosa.

And as we go up higher, we get to see some of the most special things here at Mt.

Charleston, the bristlecone pines, which are the oldest trees in the world.

And we have many of them here at Mt.

Charleston.

Advice for someone who's coming out here for the first time.

Well, number one is they should have a partner.

If they don't make sure that people know where you're going and when you're expected back, it is very high.

So people need to be aware of that.

The altitude can certainly affect their fitness.

Sunscreen is very important because we're so high up here at this elevation.

Plenty of water, even though it's cooler up here.

You really still need to have a lot of water on your hikes and good hiking shoes with a good tread.

Some of the places are very gravelly that you walk on along the trail.

What makes this area so special?

Well, it is a beautiful trail, a little bit lengthy for someone who's just starting, but it's not really steep until you get over to Mount Charleston peak about eight miles in.

So it's a nice day hike.

Parking is a little bit limited, but it's a fantastic trail.

right?

I'm so excited to go explore the North Loop Trail.

Let's go.

Yeah, we're still seeing a lot of color up here.

We're also seeing that with the juniper trees.

And some of the pinions have a tremendous amount of little cones coming out this year.

And that's so important, right?

Yeah.

It really helps that the animals, seeing all these trees, make my heart so happy.

They're all so beautiful and so unique in their own way.

Right.

We have a great trees up here at Mount Charleston.

One of our most unique one is this one right here.

And what is this?

This is one of our bristlecone pines.

Very distinctive with the bottle brush kind of needles.

Plus, you're at the elevation right now, 84, 8500 feet where the trees, those trees start to grow.

Most people think of those bristlecone trees they see up on top of ridges that are very gnarled and shaped by wind and factors like that.

But they don't all look like that.

And I love the way you describe it.

Tell me again, a bottle brush type of a look.

Some younger people not might not remember what that is just.

But you used to pour baby bottles.

Yes, yes, yes.

So at this elevation is where these trees start.

And then as we progress higher up the mountain, you see a lot more.

And why are they so unique for this area?

Well, we have one of the biggest stands of crystal cones here in the west of southwestern United States.

But it's because they're the oldest trees in the world.

Some trees all over in California.

The Methuselah tree is over 5000 years old.

So we are very fortunate here, very close to Las Vegas, to have some really great and wonderful, unique things up here at Mount Charleston.

It's so beautiful.

I'm getting so many wonderful new information that I didn't know.

All right.

So let's continue.

I can't wait to find out more about the North Loop Trail.

I really enjoy slowing down just a little bit.

You get to look around, see things that are going on, some of the plants and animals, for example, right here where we're at.

This is a really an amazing spot.

We have Pinon and we have Juniper right here, which are usually found at the lower elevations.

But we're also in the middle of this really great Ponderosa stand with a lot of white fur.

And then we've just started to see the very first bristle cones, which are very high elevation trees.

So this is a really unique spot that you could see here on the North Trail.

And let's talk about all these wonderful trees, theyre so important to our ecosystem, right?

Especially the pinyon trees with those pine nuts that fall here shortly really help so many of the animals get through the winters.

And it used to help the native Americans that really relied on them to get through the winter.

It always also helps when you have an expert with you on a trail.

You're learning so much.

I'm learning so much with so many trails here at the Spring Mountain Recreation area, I bet you will discover something new.

You might even find your own personal favorite mind, by the way, Cathedral Rock but the North loop a close second.

It really is all about the adventure.

So until next time, be safe, be smart, and please respect the land.

We'll see you soon.