Hike Sawtooth Mountain and Rhyolite Bullfrog Hills BLM, CA

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Sawtooth Mountain is a somewhat big peak northwest of Beatty, NV. It hovers over the ghost town called Rhyolite, for which I included photos at the bottom, taken during a visit a few years ago (hence why there's snow in those photos). You can navigate directly to Rhyolite here: 36.9028879,-116.8282423, where you can see the iconic casino and other old buildings preserved by the NPS.

Getting to the trailhead I marked for Sawtooth Mountain can be done by any vehicle. To get there, navigate here (36.89080150313249, -116.86399436442724) and head north on the good dirt road. Better vehicles could make it to just below the summit of Sawtooth Mountain, but the road gets very steep so 4WD would be an excellent idea if attempting to drive all the way up.

I followed the road to the saddle separating West Sawtooth Mountain from Sawtooth Mountain, then heading east along the road toward some radio towers. I continued north toward the pinnacles guarding the summit. I kept to the left of the pinnacles, gaining a little elevation on the loose slope until I located a nice Class 3 crack on my right. Once above the crack, a Class 3 section with some light exposure led to the summit block. I normally don't write trip reports from drive-up peaks, but I was surprised at how fun (though short) the peak and its scramble ended up being.

To add some more fun to this too-short of a hike, I headed back to the saddle and continued west to the summit of West Sawtooth Mountain. The ridge crest has one impassable cliff, so I recommend keeping to the left on the sandy slope, only ascending to the ridge just before the base of the peak. From here, a steep slope leads to a Class 2 summit block.

PEAKS ON HIKE
Elevation (ft) / Prominence (ft)

Peaks on hike

Elevation

Prominence

Sawtooth Mountain

6001 ft

1361 rise

West Sawtooth Mountain

5940 ft

320 rise

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View toward the saddle between Sawtooth Mountain and West Sawtooth Mountain (the latter pictured center).

At the end of the road, just below Sawtooth Mountain.

Looking back at the radio towers.

I wrapped to the left around the pinnacles.

Loose slope beneath the pinnacles.

Class 3 crack.

Second Class 3 section.

Looking down the lightly exposed Class 3 section. The crack is visible on the right.

Sawtooth Mountain summit, view south. Sawtooth West visible top right.

Sawtooth Mountain summit, view north.

Now on my way to Sawtooth Mountain West, view back toward Sawtooth Mountain and the saddle.

Sawtooth Mountain West ahead.

Steep slope.

Class 2 summit block.

Sawtooth Mountain West summit, view east toward Sawtooth Mountain.

Definitely check out Rhyolite if you're in the area. Note these photos are from a few years ago, but I figured I'd include them in this trip report, since Rhyolite is right below Sawtooth Mountain. This photo is the entrance to Rhyolite.

All the following photos were taken around Rhyolite.

Hire me or show me some love!

Hire/refer me as a web developer or send me a few bucks if you find my site useful. I’m not sponsored, so all fees are out-of-pocket and my time preparing trip reports is unpaid. I really appreciate it!