Spirit Mtn

Revised Oct 2009 - please send updates to the webmaster

home See Driving Directions > Mojave Desert for context and how to get here.
info GPS waypoints: download GPX file

There is a small town on Hwy 95, called Cal-Nevi-Ari, about 20 miles north of I-40 (near Needles) and about 50 miles south of Hwy 93 (near Boulder City). Town may be stretching it a bit... but the turn you're looking for is a couple miles south of C-N-A, which is in turn 13 miles south of Searchlight. Searchlight, at the intersection of Hwy 95 and Hwy 164 (waypoint SEARCH), is MUCH more interesting because it has a big gas station with showers and laundry and it's the hometown of Harry Reid! But I digress.

Leave Hwy 95 by turning east on the road to Christmas Tree Pass (waypoint XTPJ95). This turn was well marked by a Piute - El Dorado Desert Management Area sign in early 2009, but later in the year some of the signs had been torn down due to road construction. Southbound as of Oct 2009 there was now a turn lane but no sign. Northbound the sign is still there, and some drivers found they had to do a U-turn to locate it. The dirt road to Christmas Tree Pass is wide, gravelly sand with bad washboards at first. The entire road is in good shape for any vehicle.

There are essentially no turns to watch for, except at waypoint XTREEW where the main road crosses to the north side of the wash and a much smaller road goes straight. There are other side roads, but the main road is obvious. You'll know you're at Christmas Tree Pass because the road tops out and starts to descend. In early 2009 all the Pinons and Yuccas were festooned with ornaments, garland, icicles, etc., but later in the year it had all been removed by totally humorless public servants. (Or public masters.)

Go slightly past the high point (waypoint XTREEP), to reach the trailhead (waypoint SPIRTH). The obsolete DPS Guide tells you to turn left here, onto a faint 4WD road, but the road is staked as closed wilderness. Several other side roads have been forced into the trees by people trying to get around the stakes, but the whole area is closed.

Park by the stakes at SPIRTH, across from a tree that was particularly well decorated in early 2009, and follow the closed road toward the saddle. You leave the road at the old DPS trailhead, waypoint SPIRTX, then traverse right and up to the first saddle (XTRSAD).


Useful Links: