Route Editor
Route Scout
Dance it on top! by Jim_H  Charleston Peak has two trails which access it. The shorter South Loop Trail, and the scenic, but also much longer North Loop. The Trail Canyon trail is a great alternative to trim some miles off the North Loop's lower portion, and allows you to hike the scenic upper trail to access Charleston Peak. Trail Canyon trail leaves from the parking lot's north side and climbs gradually up the canyon on a very well built trail. The trail gets steeper as you hike up, and begins to take on switchbacks shortly before you enter a regrowing burn area. Views open up in the upper sections, and soon you can see your destination. The switchbacks grow longer, and after a short distance you are at the junction with the North Loop Trail. Once at the North Loop Trail, turn left, and continue up slope. After 1/2 a mile you come to Cave Springs, and a trough with water in it, though the water is piped from a source higher up. This water may be reliable for most of the summer, or only in the early summer when snow melt feeds it. This is the only source of water on the hike, unless you melt snow in later spring. From Cave Springs the North Loop gets progressively more interesting and substantially more scenic. Initially, you hike through the upper portions of the old burn, which has a lot of nice bristlecone and aspen. This gives way to a spectacular forest of old bristlecone pines, steep slopes, impressive views of Kyle Canyon, Charleston Peak, and the cliffs along the hike. As you ascend, the hike only seems to get better. This is probably one of the nicest and most impressive sections of trail I have been on, and I highly recommend it. After 4 miles of impressive hiking you arrive at the base of the peak itself and begin the final push to the summit. Charleston is an ultra prominent summit despite it's modest altitude of 11,918', so despite being below 12,000', you might feel like you are much higher. Barren rocky slopes and minimal vegetation could convince someone they were several thousand feet higher. On top, views are reported to be up to 300 miles on a good day. Enjoy them if you are lucky to have those conditions. From here, return the way you came, or descend the South Loop Trail, which goes to a different trailhead. Check out the Official Route and Triplogs. Note This is a moderately difficult hike. Leave No Trace and +Add a Triplog after your hike to support this local community.
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
WARNING! Hiking and outdoor related sports can be dangerous. Be responsible and prepare for the trip. Study the area you are entering and plan accordingly. Dress for the current and unexpected weather changes. Take plenty of water. Never go alone. Make an itinerary with your plan(s), route(s), destination(s) and expected return time. Give your itinerary to trusted family and/or friends.
Most recent Triplog Reviews
Charleston Peak from Trail Canyon
trail canyon> charleston peak> south loop
great hike! 18.2 miles w/ this loop. last mile requires a walk back to the parking lot. snow patches, sketchy passing across slushy snow on a 45 degree slope that could only end badly if you fell... cave spring was flowing a quart a minute, snowmelt was welcome way to fill our bladders (treated w/ aquatabs). camped along telegraph road which is passable in good conditions w/ a small SUV. views along some sections of trail canyon were epic. looking down on vegas from the north loop was super scenic. granite-gnarly out there, plenty of photo ops. the south trail was bland in comparison. saw the plane crash, made our way down the switchbacks to the car in about 9 hours at a reasonable pace. summit was (as usual) a blast! literally 40mph blast... what a gem for the locals. this mountain is FUN. prolly one of Pickle's and I favorite hikes this year!
great hike! 18.2 miles w/ this loop. last mile requires a walk back to the parking lot. snow patches, sketchy passing across slushy snow on a 45 degree slope that could only end badly if you fell... cave spring was flowing a quart a minute, snowmelt was welcome way to fill our bladders (treated w/ aquatabs). camped along telegraph road which is passable in good conditions w/ a small SUV. views along some sections of trail canyon were epic. looking down on vegas from the north loop was super scenic. granite-gnarly out there, plenty of photo ops. the south trail was bland in comparison. saw the plane crash, made our way down the switchbacks to the car in about 9 hours at a reasonable pace. summit was (as usual) a blast! literally 40mph blast... what a gem for the locals. this mountain is FUN. prolly one of Pickle's and I favorite hikes this year!
2019-07-14 te_wa
Charleston Peak from Trail Canyon
This will probably end up being my biggest hike of the year, which is fine as it is truly spectacular. I trust the GPS route data I used for the miles, and I feel the AEG is probably accurate, but I am not 100% sure I lost and gained that much additional elevation on the hike. Did I?
Passing through Las Vegas and with the long drive, I remembered why I always ignored this hike and opted for Colorado or California hikes and peaks in the past. However, that really isn't a good reason to skip Charleston, more so when living at low elevation, but mostly because this is probably one of the most interesting hikes I have done in the last few years. The hike along the upper cliffs is just spectacular, the views of Kyle Canyon, and then the bristlecone forest are really worthy of a hike in their own right. Charleston Peak, as an Ultra-prominent summit might as well be much higher. I am sure I'll be back someday to hike this again, and other stuff in the range.
I ended up being in better shape than I expected, and it turns out that yes, the heat, has a lot to do with my lower tolerance for longer hikes this year. Altitude did fatigue me and slow me down, but I was not sore or dead tired as I expected. I was tired for the last few miles, but 2 days out I barely notice, which is good and much better than 1 month ago in Zion, and even 2 weeks ago on Wrightson. Guess I like hanging out in heat, but not hiking in it. Who knew? My legs, it seems. I found the upper 6 miles (12 round trip) above Trail Canyon on the North Loop Trail to be spectacular, and the miles simply are not as noticeable as one might think they would be. They go fast!
I ended up having great dry conditions with zero storm risk, and fantastic hiking conditions. A trough was pushing the monsoon flow east, but it brought smoke into the valleys from numerous fires in California. So, I could barely see most distance points, and Telescope Peak was hazy and just visible. No Sierra Nevada views, as hoped for. I bet, on a good day in early winter or fall after the cold dry, clear air comes in, this is a fantastic place to be.
Wildflowers
Pretty scattered, but this is a drier range.
Passing through Las Vegas and with the long drive, I remembered why I always ignored this hike and opted for Colorado or California hikes and peaks in the past. However, that really isn't a good reason to skip Charleston, more so when living at low elevation, but mostly because this is probably one of the most interesting hikes I have done in the last few years. The hike along the upper cliffs is just spectacular, the views of Kyle Canyon, and then the bristlecone forest are really worthy of a hike in their own right. Charleston Peak, as an Ultra-prominent summit might as well be much higher. I am sure I'll be back someday to hike this again, and other stuff in the range.
I ended up being in better shape than I expected, and it turns out that yes, the heat, has a lot to do with my lower tolerance for longer hikes this year. Altitude did fatigue me and slow me down, but I was not sore or dead tired as I expected. I was tired for the last few miles, but 2 days out I barely notice, which is good and much better than 1 month ago in Zion, and even 2 weeks ago on Wrightson. Guess I like hanging out in heat, but not hiking in it. Who knew? My legs, it seems. I found the upper 6 miles (12 round trip) above Trail Canyon on the North Loop Trail to be spectacular, and the miles simply are not as noticeable as one might think they would be. They go fast!
I ended up having great dry conditions with zero storm risk, and fantastic hiking conditions. A trough was pushing the monsoon flow east, but it brought smoke into the valleys from numerous fires in California. So, I could barely see most distance points, and Telescope Peak was hazy and just visible. No Sierra Nevada views, as hoped for. I bet, on a good day in early winter or fall after the cold dry, clear air comes in, this is a fantastic place to be.
Wildflowers
Pretty scattered, but this is a drier range.
2017-07-14 Jim_H
