There are many instances in life where something so good can come out of something so bad. It was only two years ago when lightning ignited the Carpenter fire that burned several acres of the Spring Mountains. Fast forward two years later and there is a new state of the art visitor center that serves as a trailhead for a new system of trails. The Escarpment Trail is one of them. The new Visitor Center is easy to locate. It is off of Kyle Canyon Road(Route 157) at the traffic circle. It makes for a nice trailhead. There is a sundry of parking. And the visitor center has trailmaps, Rangers that answer questions, and even beverages. The Visitor Center looks across a beautiful limestone escarpment and forested mountains. This picturesque view is the Escarpment Trail. The trail proper is 2.4 miles with an elevation gain of approximately 500 feet. That is high up considering that the Visitor Center is at 7,000 feet elevation. The Escarpment Trail is also a loop trail. To reach the Escarpment Trail from the Visitor Center, you want to follow a red colored trail that travels downhill to the former 9 hole golf course. It is amazing what they did to a former golf course. The abandoned pond has been filled in with xeroscaping creating a botanical paradise. Former golf cart trails have been recycled into hiking trails. They are the beginning segment of the Escarpment and Acastus Trails. If you want an easy hike you want to stay on the Acastus Trail. Now if you want a moderate hike, you want to continue reading this review and stay on the Escarpment Trail. When you look up you see the limestone escarpment. It is beautiful and a wonderful place to be with nature for a couple of hours. But there is some work getting to the base of the escarpment and beginning of the Escarpment Trail proper. You have to ascend the paved trail up a very steep hill. It amazes me how a golf cart could make it up this very steep hill. With that said, this is the hardest part of the hike and please bring water. Now you are hiking along the base of the trail where in late August wildflowers are in abundance. The views of the escarpment are spectacular. As I traveled east, the vistas included caves. After passing a telescope, there is a dirt trail leading toward the east. This is the Escarpment Trail proper. It is unsigned. I did the Escarpment Trail clockwise where I went from east to south to west to north. The trail gradually gains 500 feet elevation that will bring the hike onto the escarpment. The switchbacks are very gradual. There is no scrambling. The scenery is out of this world beautiful. As you hike uphill there is a view of Kyle Canyon Road reaching toward the desert. As the trail changes direction the scenery changes to forest touching Mount Harris. It is from the top of the escarpment that time stands still. As soon as you reach the top, there is a five star view including Angel Peak, Fletcher Peak, the Visitor Center, the Resort at Mount Charleston, scenic byway Route 158, and the parkland below. The continuous forest interspersed with manzanitas is to the left. On top of the escarpment, the trail gently weaves through the forested landscape. My dearest view was on the west of the escarpment. This is a view of Kyle Canyon Road travelling up canyon toward the town of Mount Charleston, Fletcher Canyon, Cathedral Rock, Mount Charlrston, forest, Acastus Trail, and blue skies. From this point, the trail travels downhill toward the former golf course. It was here that I observed a trio of burros. Besides the scenery, another nice luxury of the Escarpment Trail are the benches. They are recycled from fallen trees. They are extremely comfortable and create five star relax in nature moments. I highly recommend hiking on the brand new Escarpment Trail. Five stars is my stamp of approval.
