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 The Spring Mountains National Recreation Area (NRA) is administered by the U.S.D.A. Forest Service and is the third largest National Recreation Area in the National Forest System. The NRA is a spectacular scenic environment that provides a broad range of developed and dispersed recreation activity from camping, picnicking and hiking to mountain biking, horseback riding, skiing, hunting and sightseeing. Visit the Spring Mountains NRA website.
Facts:
The Spring Mountains NRA totals 316,000 acres and hosts more than four million visitors per year.
The "sky island" ecosystem is comprised of numerous rare and endemic species, 57 of which are managed tightly under a 1998 Conservation Agreement between the U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and State of Nevada, designed to prevent these species from being listed as threatened or endangered.
There are 39 identified bio-diversity "hot spots" within the NRA. A drive up Kyle Canyon will bring you in touch with five of the six North American life zones, a unique experience only available in a few places on this continent.
The Spring Mountains provide a unique forested environment, especially in contrast to the surrounding Mojave Desert. The NRA encompasses about 8,000 feet of vertical relief, ranging from Joshua trees at 4,000 feet to alpine tundra at 11,918 feet on Mount Charleston. In addition to containing about 80 named springs or seeps, the Spring Mountains provide critical habitat for a huge variety of wildlife and plants, ponderosa and bristlecone pine forests, wilderness, recreation opportunites, and a major source of groundwater for surrounding communities.
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