Amazing View Followed by Scary Break-In at Shadow Canyon!

Length: 6.10 Miles
Time: 3 Hours 19 Minutes
Steps: 15, 171
Enjoyment Rating: 4/10
Difficulty: Moderate
Location
Entry Fee: Free (But it cost me $400)

Over the past few weeks I have only been hiking at Red Rock National Park. I decided that I should branch out and try some other trails in the Las Vegas area. I did some research and decided to try hiking at Shadow Canyon.

There are a four different trails you can take from the Shadow Canyon access point. I intended to hike up to the Black Mountain trail, but I got lost and ended up on the Anthem East Trail. This trail goes straight up the mountain with four paths that loop off the main trail. These loops range from the levels of easy to extreme difficultly.

The cement path at the beginning of the trail.

Left: Anthem East Trail / Right: Black Mountain Trail

From the parking lot, I took the cement path up a short hill. I came to a fork in the path after walking approximately five minutes. Going to the right will take you to the Black Mountain Trail while going to the left will take you to the Anthem East Trail. I went to the left.

The Anthem East Trail is a moderate hike that is all uphill on a dirt path. Because there is zero shade on the path, I would recommend hiking this trail in the morning or late evening.

The view of Las Vegas: The only interesting thing on the trail.

The trail itself was honestly a little boring. I hiked up a continuous, slight incline to the very top of the hill. The only aspect of the trail that was interesting was the view of Las Vegas in the distance. I also thought it was cool that I could see the edge of the city of Henderson. It was a strange feeling to see where civilization ended and the vast wilderness of the desert mountains began.

There was another fork in the path and I decided to go to the right. This ended up being the wrong way.

At the top of the hill was a fence with a warning to stop and not proceed any further. I was disappointed because I had only been hiking for 2 hours and had only gone 2.5 miles. I turned around and went back down the path.

Going to the left on the Anthem East Trail.

On my way back down the hill, I decided to go to the left when I reached the fork in the path. I hiked up this short, extremely steep hill and came to a flat, barren area with a nice view of the city.