Bridge Mountain is a

mountain A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually highe ...

located in the Spring Mountain range of southern

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a state in the Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the 7th-most extensive, ...

. It is located on land managed by the

United States Bureau of Land Management The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior responsible for administering federal lands. Headquartered in Washington DC, and with oversight over , it governs one eighth of the country's la ...

as the

Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area The Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area in Clark County, Nevada, is an area managed by the Bureau of Land Management as part of its National Landscape Conservation System, and protected as a National Conservation Area. It is about west ...

, part of the Rainbow Mountain Wilderness. Bridge Mountain is named for the natural feature of a bridge-like

natural arch A natural arch, natural bridge, or (less commonly) rock arch is a natural landform where an arch has formed with an opening underneath. Natural arches commonly form where inland cliffs, coastal cliffs, fins or stacks are subject to erosion ...

of sandstone near the summit.

Hiking Route

The Bridge Mountain hike begins at the Rocky Gap Summit Trailhead, accessible by

4WD Four-wheel drive, also called 4×4 ("four by four") or 4WD, refers to a two-axled vehicle drivetrain capable of providing torque to all of its wheels simultaneously. It may be full-time or on-demand, and is typically linked via a transfer ca ...

drive only. Hikers can park at the north Willow Springs campground and walk to the summit. Alternatively, hikers can turn North from Highway 160 and drive North on the Lovell Canyon Road and park where the pavement ends. The hike from here to the summit is about and has less elevation gain. The hike climbs over the crest of the shale formed, north-south oriented Spring Mountain Ranges, and rewards the hiker with panoramic views of the Red Rock Escarpment below. A marked trail along the crest descends to the sandstone escarpment. Here, steep free climbing down a chimney—possible without technical gear—takes the hiker to a narrow neck of rock that separates the drainages of Pine Creek to the south and Icebox Canyon to the north. The hike is marked by cairns that show the route to proceed up toward the base of a cliff, angling left just above the northern drop-off. The hike ascends the slickrock here, in a crack in the rock. After about , the route comes to a point where there is a broad, flat ledge on the left, then continues about several feet to the left where a wider gully climbs to the top of the cliff. This leads up to the natural bridge for which the mountain is named. The bridge itself is the remains of a tinaja, or water tank, that eroded and left a remnant of the side, now a bridge. In order to get to the top, one must climb over a fallen tree, bringing the person within reach of several pools, access to the bridge, and near the Hidden Forest (see below). Heading south for several hundred feet, one then must climb along a steep, difficult ridge to get near the top. At the top, a small ammunition box contains the peak's sign-in book. In a cleft in the sandstone of Bridge Mountain's summit, there is a small hidden forest of

Ponderosa pine ''Pinus ponderosa'', commonly known as the ponderosa pine, bull pine, blackjack pine, western yellow-pine, or filipinus pine is a very large pine tree species of variable habitat native to mountainous regions of western North America. It is the ...

. Expansive views of the

Las Vegas Valley The Las Vegas Valley is a major metropolitan area in the southern part of the U.S. state of Nevada, and the second largest in the Southwestern United States. The state's largest urban agglomeration, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Statistical Area i ...

can be seen from the Eastern end of the hidden forest.

Gallery

File:Pine Creek Canyon 1.jpg, Pine Creek Canyon with the south side of the Bridge Mountain on the left File:Bridge Mountain 3.jpg, View from South East with entrance to Pine Creek Canyon on the left File:BridgeMountainRedRockCanyon.jpg, View from East File:Bridge Mountain 4.jpg, View from North East with entrance to Icebox Canyon on the right File:Bridge Mountain summit 3.jpg, Summit File:Bridge Mountain 1.jpg, Summit from

Turtlehead Peak ''Chelone'' is a genus of four species of perennial herbaceous plants native to eastern North America. They all have similarly shaped flowers (which led to the name turtlehead due to their resemblance to the head of a turtle), which vary in c ...

to the North East File:Bridge Mountain from west 1.jpg, Summit from the West

References

{{reflist Spring Mountains Mountains of Nevada Natural arches of Nevada Mountains of Clark County, Nevada