Mount Charleston Wilderness

The Mount Charleston Wilderness Area was created by the U.S. Congress in 1989 under the provisions allowed by the Wilderness Act of 1964. The Mount Charleston Wilderness Area is located west of Las Vegas, NV and is managed by both the Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Forest Service. This area consists of a total of 57,442 acres of protected wilderness, with the BLM managing 2, 142 acres and the rest by the U.S. Forest Service.

The Mount Charleston Wilderness Area extends across the entire Spring Mountain Range, including the ranges highest point, Charleston Peak, at an elevation of 11,918 feet. The area is also home to around 18,000 acres of Bristlecone pine, and is the largest collection of these trees in the intermountain region of the United States. The area also provides the only habitat for the only herd of Rocky Mountain elk located within Clark County, according the the BLM.

There are some 40 miles of trails located within the Mount Charleston Wilderness Area, which can be accessed from the Spring Mountain Recreation Area, commonly known as Mount Charleston.