ABOUT THE ROUTE:

For most of the 12-mile journey, the Scenic Road is flanked by the Spirit Mountain Wilderness Area on one side and the Bridge Canyon Wilderness Area on the other. The drive offers the best that southern Nevada landscapes have to offer. Sculpted granite rock formations rise impressively from the landscape, which is home to a cross-section of Sonoran, Mojave and Great Basin plant communities. Rock-studded canyons slope gently eastward toward the Colorado River. It is easy to spot animal and human likenesses in the jumble of rocks and boulders that abound in the area.

From the north, the drive begins about 14 miles south of Searchlight (2.3 miles south of CalNevAri), with a well-marked left turn onto a well-maintained dirt road. You’ll see an information kiosk here on the right. The road takes you from the Piute Valley to the Newberry Mountain range, where you will enter a juniper forest. Many of the pine trees were cut down for use during the mining era of the early 1900s, but you can still see some piñon pine and scrub oak. Several turn-outs, side roads and wilderness camping spots are available on the west side of the mountain, and make good places to get out and take a walk or have a picnic.

As you drive over the crest of the Newberry range, you will encounter expansive vistas of the eastern side of the monument as it descends to Lake Mohave through the Lake Mead National Recreation Area, with views into Arizona on the other side of the Colorado River. As you descend, you’ll get an awe-inspiring view of the tall, granite spires of Avi Kwa Ame rising majestically on the north side. There are a couple of right-side pull-outs in this area that you can use to safely stop and take in the scene.

Continuing to descend, you will pass some interesting shallow cave formations in the large rocky outcroppings on the south side of the road. Be on the lookout for a small thicket of scrub oak nearby. The road wraps around to the right toward the Grapevine Canyon Trail Road near this point, and soon you will notice a short side road on the right that leads to the trail, parking and restroom areas. 

The entrance to Grapevine Canyon, as well as the foothills and canyons around Spirit Mountain, are home to one of the most significant and expansive petroglyph sites in the American Southwest. Archeological research of rock shelters in the area indicates that the ancestors of the Mojave and perhaps the Southern Paiute people camped here as early as AD 1100, using rock shelters for a few days at a time while they were utilizing the resources of the area.

A fresh water spring flows out of Grapevine Canyon in non-drought years, and provides life-giving water to a wide assortment of plants, such as Cottonwood trees, native grapevines, cattails and rushes. Animals who frequent the area include desert bighorn sheep, red-tailed hawks, chuckwalla lizards and desert iguanas. The lush plant growth on the canyon floor strongly contrasts with the stark rock formations of the canyon sides and the extensive petroglyph panels displayed against the dark desert varnished rocks.

After passing Grapevine Canyon Trail Road, the Christmas Tree Pass Loop soon ends at Highway 163, about two miles west of Laughlin. You can head left down to the river area for lunch, or turn right (west) to take this road back to Highway 95.

KNOW BEFORE YOU GO:

Take plenty of drinking water, as there is none available along the trail. Be prepared for summer temperatures that can be as high as 120 degrees F. The road is gravel and in most places is in good condition, but a high clearance vehicle is recommended. This entire area is sacred to a dozen local tribes, and its ceremonial use continues today. Please stay on designated roads and trails, visit with respect and leave the Christmas Tree Pass Loop Drive better than you found it.

DIRECTIONS & ACCESS:

Drive south from Las Vegas on U.S. 93/95.

At Railroad Pass, head south on U.S. 95 through Searchlight.

About 2.3 miles south of Cal-Nev-Ari, turn left on the Christmas Tree Pass Road. There is a small road sign for the turnoff and a fairly large, covered information sign on the east side of the road that you can see in the distance.

The gravel road loop is aroudn 12 miles and connects back to the Nevada Highway about two miles west of Laughlin.

Take 163 back to its intersection with U.S. 95 and head north on U.S. 95 back to Las Vegas.