Railroad Peaks Traverse

McCullough Mountains BLM, NV McCullough Range + Southern Spring Mountains + Stateline Hills

Trip stats

Distance
6.4 mi
Net Gain
3,300 ft
Time
3-5 hrs
YDS Rating
Class 3
Route
Loop
Peaks
5

Ratings out of 10

Effort
4.9/10
Personality
5/10
Beauty
3/10
Solitude
3.6/10
What do these mean? →

Peaks on this hike

Summits listed in route order

Ridgeline of the 5 summits in route order 01 02 03 04 05
  1. Mount Scorpion
    4,089′ elevation · 129′ prominence
  2. Black Hill
    4,092′ elevation · 372′ prominence
  3. Peak 3954
    3,954′ elevation · 154′ prominence
  4. Railroad Peak
    4,142′ elevation · 1,526′ prominence
  5. Railroad Hill
    3,162′ elevation · 302′ prominence

Route map + Trailhead

Trailhead Coordinates

35.981974, -114.936934

The directions link below drops a pin on the trailhead coordinates and lets Google Maps pick the route. If the drive has rough roads or access issues that GPS nav might get wrong, I cover that in my trip report.

Get directions (opens Google Maps in a new tab)

Trip report

Mar 14, 2019 — With the lovely sounds of the gun club (you can see their sign plastered on a hill as you drive I-11) and trucks on the Interstate, this traverse of a small range that clearly inconvenienced highway developers isn't exactly where you go for solitude, but the scramble is enjoyable. It summits four small peaks: Mt. Scorpion, Black Hill, Peak 3945, and then Railroad Peak.

Note that I started from the college library parking lot and just traversed through the desert, but a year later I revisited the area and there is a lot of construction. You may have to improvise a little to get around fences to approach the route.

I've seen the Railroad Peaks countless times driving from Las Vegas to Boulder City, but they never felt too appealing. Finally, with an afternoon to kill, I parked at a college library parking lot and trudged through cleared desert that is likely soon to be the ever-growing Las Vegas sprawl, past power lines, and up to the base of the north end of the traverse. A dirt road leads you part of the way up the first peak, and a social trail leads up some Class 2 to Mt. Scorpion's summit register. For some reason, the register was on a sub-peak of the true Mt. Scorpion, so that was weird. Continue south up to Black Hill with no real obstacles, and then check out the pretty ridgeline from Black Hill over to Railroad Peak. There are a couple of easy Class 3 moves that are likely avoidable if you keep just east of the ridge, and some very light route-finding. Go over the hump that is Peak 3954 and down to the saddle beneath Railroad Peak. Note the gully on the right that will be your descent later. Railroad Peak has some more easy Class 3 moves and a couple of false summits, but you get nice views of the whole ridgeline and the surrounding desert, as well as a bit of quiet.

From the saddle of Peak 3945 and Railroad Peak, head down the Class 2 loose gully and use any number of dirt roads, washes, etc. to get back. Additionally, I tacked on Railroad Hill, which was a short Class 2 jaunt to add to the loop. My return route looks silly on the map, but it felt reasonable as I was doing it.

Also, I'm not totally sure these peaks are on BLM land. The ownership of the land was unclear to me.

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Photos

27 photos

  1. Starting from civilization and headed out toward the northern ridgeline leading to Mount Scorpion.
  2. Passing some power lines along a dirt road.
  3. Headed up the slope on an old dirt road that turns into a trail.
  4. Looking back toward Henderson along the trail headed up the ridge.
  6. Approaching the false summit of Mount Scorpion.
  7. Looking back toward the ridge I came up.
  8. Mount Scorpion false summit. there was a register here though. The true summit is ahead.
  9. Mount Scorpion summit looking south toward Black Hill.
  10. Heading down from Black Hill along the fun stuff.
  11. Scramble traverse from Black Hill to Peak 3954.
  12. A few Class 3 sections like this, likely avoidable on the left.
  13. If you stay too high on the ridge, you get cool features like this that make the traverse slower-moving.
  14. Looking back toward Black Hill.
  15. Summit of Peak 3954 looking toward Railroad Peak.
  16. Saddle before heading up Railroad Peak. The gully to descend is visible on the right.
  17. Class 2+/3 stuff on the way up railroad Peak.
  18. Skirt the ridge of Railroad Peak to avoid more difficult scrambling.
  19. Railroad Peak ahead.
  20. Railroad Peak summit, looking back toward Black Hill (right).
  21. Close-up of the River Mountains, Boulder City, and the gun club below.
  22. Back at the saddle, heading down the gully.
  23. Looking back up toward the Railroad Peak north saddle I just came down.
  24. Traverse the desert via washes and dirt roads.
  25. Quick detour up to Railroad Hill. View looking back toward Railroad Peak.
  26. View of the traverse from Railroad Hill.
  27. Railroad Hill, view west.

Photo 1 of 1

Hire me or show some love!

Hire or refer me as a web developer, or send me a few bucks if you find my site useful. I'm not sponsored, so it's funded by yours truly. It also takes a ton of work to edit photos and write these reports. I really appreciate it!

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GPX track

Railroad Peaks Traverse GPX route and driving track

The complete GPX track is available to download, so you can load the route straight into your navigation app or device. The trip report, route info, photos and planning details stay free.

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