Go from the desert and heat in Las Vegas to the cool (or cold) mountain top with a lodge, restaurant and cabins in less than an hour. Great scenic place and in the winter months you can frolic in the snow in Las Vegas. How cool is that !

This gets a five out of five just for the relief from the heat, 106 in Vegas and 72 at the top!

The Mount Charleston area is beautiful. There are many hikes but even if you only drive through you can see alot from the many overlooks. There is a small visitor center on highway 157. It's small but you can pick up a map of the area and get any info you need. There is also a gift shop.

It's neat to see the change in enviornments when you turn off highway 95 and begin going up in elevation. At the bottom is a brown empty desert dotted with only a few cactus. As you go up you see more and more trees until you are at the top and are surrounded by a forest of green.

Overall, it is worth it to explore the area, and anyone could easily spend a half of a day here.

This was our best day during our 10 day Vegas adventure. We went hiking on one of the trails and the sights were just breathtaking. We saw all sorts of interesting flowers, streams and a unique waterfall at the end of the hike. The temperture was only in the 70's and it is not very crowded which gives you a wonderful feel of peace. It's completely worth the drive and you should plan on spending the whole day here to enjoy. If you plan on hiking just make sure that you have a cozy bed to fall into when you get back to your hotel.

We spent one day of our trip to Vegas out at Mt. Charleston. What an escape! It was 107 on the strip yet at Mt. Charleston just 30 mins away it was 70! There was actually snow on the top of the mountain. The area was also very quiet and we took a two hour hike and never saw another person.

If you are in Vegas and the bright lights get to be too much, go check out Mt. Charleston. You will not be disappointed!