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Hiking Las Vegas.com1
Hike: Goodman Peak - route Trailhead: Lost Creek - marked Distance: 4 miles - up and backElevation gain: 2,100 feetElevationof peak: 6,374 feetTime: 4-6 hours - up and backDifficulty: 3Danger level: 4Class: 3+How easy to follow: 5Children: noWaypoints: (WGS-84) See Page 8Fees: Red Rock Canyon Pass. $7.00 per car; $30 annually. Golden Eagle accepted.Best Season: Spring and autumn
Driving directions: From the Mirage on Las Vegas Boulevard (the Strip) go north three miles and
turn left (west) onto Charleston Boulevard. Drive 16 miles on Charleston to Red Rock Canyon. Turn
right, drive to the fee booth, and drive 7.3 miles along the Scenic Loop road. Turn right at the signed
turnoff for Willow Springs. Drive 0.2 of a mile to the signed Lost Creek parking area. Waypoint 1.
Comments: This class 3 hike is a fun scramble similar to Juniper Peak in difficulty and length, only
more climbing. A GPS is recommended for following the route. You can extend the hike to North
Peak, but this description ends at Goodman Peak. Photo 1 shows the peak and an overview of the
route from the trailhead.
The Hike: Hike south on Lost Creek Trail (not Children Discovery Trail) 70 yards and go left onto
the SYMC Trail. In 100 yards the trail crosses Red Rock Wash. The trail temporarily disappears in
the wash. It continues on the far side and soon makes a sharp curve SE (left). Leave the trail here
(Waypoint 2) and follow a steep path that heads south and has numerous prickly pear cacti growing
along the right side. To avoid the brush ahead, take any fork (they soon merge) to the right (SW).
Continue SW and parallel the sandstone wall in front of you about 30 yards to a large boulder
(Waypoint 3), which provides an easy way over the wall. Go east (left) 30 yards on a faint path
Hiking Las Vegas.com2
until the wall is at an angle you can
scramble up. You’re now a little east
(left) and below the cave.
Scramble past the cave
(Waypoint 4) and up the class 3 chute
in Photo 2. When brush blocks the
chute (Waypoint 5), go north (right)
and walk on top of the cave. Be
careful, there’re small holes between
the boulders. It’s almost 100 feet
down to the floor of the cave. Once
out on the flat sandstone, go west
(left) and walk about 30 yards to a couple of small
walls below the pinion circled in Photo 3. Climb
the walls to the pinion. Take a good look at this
pinion; it will be a major landmark during your
descent.
Hike south 10 yards past the pinion to the
jagged walls with lots of erosion holes. Turn east
(left) and hike along the base of the wall. The
terrain soon opens up into a field of manzanita.
Photo 1
Photo 2
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Hike past the crag in Photo 4. Continue heading south over easy rock veering toward the big wall to
your right. The terrain is flat up here. When you come to the first obvious break in the wall, turn right
(Waypoint 6) and scramble past the juniper in Photo 5. You will eventually be right above the
boulder circled in Photo 5.
Just past the juniper, head straight to the wall in front of you. Although it looks like a dead-
end, there’s a scramble to the left next to the wall. Next switchback to the right climbing (Waypoint
7) and looking for cairns. The terrain is steep here allowing for only one way up.
You’ll scramble by the boulder (Waypoint 8) in Photo 5. Your next landmark is the tree in
Photo 6, which is about 100 yards SW of Waypoint 8. The tree marks the start of the wash you’ll
ascend. There’s no real landmarks except for the tree in Photo 6.
Photo 3
Photo 4
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Enter the wash by the tree (Waypoint 9). You’ll
scramble about 300 yards up the wash until you
have to follow a definite course. Staying in the
center of the wash is more difficult climbing (up to
class 5); going out to the right or left is much easier.
You’ll pass Waypoint 10 as you scramble up the
wash. In a few hundred yards it becomes obvious
that a big wall blocks the wash. See Photo 7.
At the dead tree (Waypoint 11) circled in Photo
7 head east (left) following cairns. There’s an easy,
but expose traverse to get above the wall.
Continue up the wash (Waypoint 12), which
is now smaller and less defined. The wash is
well cairned here and mainly class 2. As the wash
disappears and the terrain becomes loose, you have the option of traversing to the right onto solid
terrain. The log in Photo 8 (Waypoint 13) is your landmark. The chute you’ll soon ascend is in the
background of Photo 8 and has a tree that has fallen against the south wall.
If you choose to hike on solid terrain, veer right from the log in Photo 8 and onto sandstone.
Scramble up the sandstone to a wall where a path heads east (left) to the chute (See Photo 9.)
Either route you take leads to the chute. (Waypoint 14)
Scramble up the loose chute about 30 yards and veer right into another chute. Ascend to the
top of the chute (Waypoint 15). Photo 10 shows the next part of the route. This is a fun, but exposed
Photo 5
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class 3 climb. Waypoint 16 is the top of
the climb. Photo 11 shows the next part
of the route. (Waypoint 17) is where
you cross over on the ribs of sandstone
outlined in Photo 11.
A weathered pinion (circled in Photo
11) stands at the top of the climb. About
30 feet past the pinion look down and
to the left for a cairn. Descend here
(Waypoint 18) to level ground. Walk
south about 125 yards over easy rock to
the chute in Photo 12 (Waypoint 19).
Scramble up the chute. Be careful of
loose rocks. Waypoint 20 is the top
of the chute. Once up head north
(left) about 60 yards to the summit
(Waypoint 21).
The peak offers great vistas
of the northern part of Red Rock
Canyon, including White Rock Hills
Peak, Turtlehead and Turtlehead Jr,
plus Calico Hills.
Photo 6
Photo 7
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To Descend: Retrace your steps.
Photo 8
Photo 9 Photo 10
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Photo 11
Photo 12
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