Nevada Power Trail

The Nevada Power Trail is named after just that: the power lines that run along most of the trail. It’s a paved walk that burrows through the Anthem Highlands and Madeira Canyon communities. It is always a relaxing walk/​jog/​bike ride with plenty of uphill/​downhill for a great workout.
While you’re out make sure you watch out for snakes (a few) and coyotes (at night mostly). Carry a walking stick or some other protective device just in case. Other than that, enjoy the excellent view of the Las Vegas valley and the beautiful weather during Spring and Fall.
In Madeira Canyon, we’ve actually had a couple of snowfalls this year which is a nice unexpected change in weather.
This trail is a great place for picture-​taking and the communities it winds through are extremely quiet.

Vegas is Sun City! From the Spring Mountain slopes to the Lake Mead valleys, hiking trails follow the sun. Down in the southernmost border of the Las Vegas Valley where the rooftops of the Anthem Master Planned Community merge with the open spaces of the Sloan Canyon National Conservation Area lies a 2.10 ribbon of asphalt and gravel named the Nevada Power Trail.
The Nevada Power Trail is an unadvertised jewel. There is a want for parking directly off the trail. An extended walk is necessary for hikers to reach the trail. When I did this hike, I parked at Esselmont Park, which is a pocket park off of Anthem Highlands Drive.* From there I walked south on Anthem Highlands Drive a couple hundred feet to the 4-​way stop sign. This is Democracy Drive. I crossed it, then made a left onto the eastbound sidewalk. After a couple of hundred feet I saw a pedestrian Crossing sign then turned right onto the spur trail through a Canyon of fenced off yards toward the Nevada Power Trail.
The Nevada Power Trail is easy to spot on account of the power lines. Throughout the duration of the trail, Nevada Power Trail is parallel to the power lines. These aren’t the massive towers similar to those things marching out of Hoover Dam. These are the poles you would recognize alongside a Las Vegas surface Street. These are the same power lines that are parallel to the Anthem East Trail alongside the east border of Anthem and the Sloan Canyon National Conservation Area.
When I did this hike, I made a left to go northeast. On the way back, I’d hike the segment that ends to the west.
Lately I have been suffering from a foot problem that is an ankle sprain and plantar fascilitis. Because Vegas is Sun City, I needed to celebrate its greatest asset out on a trail. On Google Maps, I saw the Nevada Power Trail. An hour later, I saw it in person.
When I stepped onto the Nevada Power Trail, I was on an asphalt line in the sand between the Las Vegas Metropolitan Area and the Sloan Canyon National Conservation Area. As I glanced to the right, I took in the beautiful open spaces of the desert reaching toward the McCullough Mountain Range. The Nevada Power Trail is a gateway to fascinating hikes in the desert. Trails reaching into the horizons of the desert branched off to the right. As I glanced off to the left, I’d take in the manicured fenced in yards of Anthem. After steep elevation gains, the views to the left changed into scenic overlooks above rooftops reaching across the Las Vegas Strip toward the Spring Mountains. As the trail reached its only surface street crossing with Democracy Drive, I’d rest at a set of benches to enjoy the scenic overlook. By this time, I had climbed a couple of hills and walked on topography that was mostly pavement with a gravelly segment. After crossing Democracy Drive, Nevada Power Trail changes from a boundary between Vegas and the desert to suburban. On a straight paved stretch the Nevada Power Trail is a linear landscaped buffer separating fenced in backyards. Being in Anthem, graffiti is relatively nonexistent. The deeper I hiked on this stretch, the taller and closer the hill in front of me grew. And being Anthem, there were homes on top of the hills. The trail turned toward the right intersecting with a non name trail bound for access points to Anthem. The trail now made a course upward on what I consider a steep hill. If you are familiar with the Three Sisters of the River Mountains Loop Trail, this incline is a similar beast. The homes that were on the right side returned to the Sloan Canyon National Conservation Area. At the top of the hill Nevada Power Trail ends at a cul-​de-​sac. There is a dirt trail that follows the same power lines that in a short distance change into Anthem East Trail and intersect with the Black Mountain Trail.
The 2.10 mile walk back was better because it was mostly downhill. I’d get to explore the short segment West of the spur trail toward Esselmont Park. The gravelly surface replaces the pavement as Nevada Power Trail climbs a hill that reaches another scenic overlook over Las Vegas. As Nevada Power Trail reaches the end where Anthem merges with the desert, there is a short paved section. It looks like a dirt trail follows the power lines into the horizon. The geography geek in me believes these are the same Powerlines that meet up with Las Vegas Boulevard South of Sloan.
Because Vegas is Sun City, I have to be out on the trails that follow the sun. By the summer, I want to turn my dream of the Nevada Power Trail leading me onto the trails that into the Sloan Canyon National Conservation Area into reality. Optimistically I will be back on the Nevada Power Trail.
*For directions to Esselmont Park from I-​215. take Eastern Southbound to the end. Turn right on Anthem Parkway. At the third traffic signal turn right on Bicentennial. At the stop sign turn left on Anthem Highlands Drive. Esselmont Park is on there right.