Popular trail near Mount Charleston reopens after 2-year closure

A popular hiking trail near Mount Charleston that closed in August 2023 after the U.S. Forest Service said it was heavily damaged during Tropical Storm Hilary is now accessible to the public.

Cathedral Rock Trail and the Deer Creek Picnic Site are now both open, the forest service announced in a news release Tuesday. However, several major trails in Spring Mountains National Recreation Area damaged during Hilary, incluing Mary Jane Falls Trail, Trail Canyon Trail and Upper Bristlecone Trail remain closed.

Mary Jane Falls Trail received funding from the Southern Nevada Public Land Management Act and is currently under an engineering review for the parking area, according to Spring Mountains National Recreation Area District Ranger Jeremy Dorsey.

“The damage sustained from Tropical Storm Hilary requires a reroute of the trail and significant construction repairs,” Dorsey said. “It is estimated that the trail will reopen in the fall of 2027 after the parking area and trail are both complete.”

The Bristlecone Trail also received funding from the act this year and will undergo surveys, National Environmental Policy Act analysis, design and construction in the next few years, according to the forest service.

The forest service said it estimates that the trail will reopen to the public in 2029.

Contact Taylor Lane at tlane@reviewjournal.com.