Overview

The Jackrabbit Loop Trail is a 0.11-mile ADA compliant trail that loops through a nice part of the Corn Creek area. Getting to and from the parking lot makes the hike about 0.22 miles total.

Corn Creek has been a birdwatching destination for decades, and now the Jackrabbit Loop Trail opens a bit of this area to persons in wheelchairs or with other walking issues, or just for people with little time to explore the area. The trail has interpretive signs describing the geology of springs the area. This trail provides a short, but nice introduction to the Corn Creek area.

Corn Creek is a tiny spot of green in a vast sea of desert-dry Mojave Desert Scrub. Springs provide water for trees, lush vegetation, desert wildlife, and even humans over the last few thousands of years. The ancients left their marks on the land, but most evidence of human use derives from pioneer and more recent times.

Link to Map.

Watch Out

Other than the standard warnings about hiking in the desert, ... this is a fairly safe hike if hikers stay on the designated trails as requested by refuge management.

The Jackrabbit Loop Trail is fairly level, although the first half generally is uphill, and the second half generally is downhill. The surfacing is smooth; part is concrete, and the rest is firm. There is one bench where people can sit and rest.

While hiking, please respect the land and the other people out there, and try to Leave No Trace of your passage. Even though this trail is short, bring what you need of the 10 Essentials. Also, this is a wildlife refuge, so pay extra attention to respecting the land and wildlife.

Getting to the Trailhead

The Jackrabbit Loop Trail is located northwest of Las Vegas on the Desert National Wildlife Refuge behind the Corn Creek Visitor Center. This is about 30 minutes northwest of downtown Las Vegas.

The Hike

From the parking lot (Table 1, Waypoint 00), hikers can walk through the Visitor Center and out the back of the building, or they can walk through the covered patio outside the Visitor Center (through a doorway leading to a rest rooms and drinking water) to the northeast (far) corner of the building.

A few steps beyond the covered patio, the concrete trail arrives at a trail junction with an information kiosk (Wpt. 01). Here, the Jackrabbit Loop Trail angles right and runs east towards the mountains. The trail is, however, a loop, and visitors can hike it in the other direction too. To do so, continue ahead to the left.

Staying left, the combined Coyote and Jackrabbit trails wind out onto a bridge over Corn Creek Stream. On the left, hikers look out over the cement pond where the rare Pahrump Poolfish find a home after their native spring dried out due to groundwater pumping in the Pahrump Valley. These fish have been living in a large aquarium, but they seem happier in the open water, even if they have to contend with diving ducks, herons, and crayfish trying to eat them.

The Cement Pond is a good place to look for birds coming to water in this arid environment. Watch for waterfowl, wading birds, and songbirds coming in to drink and eat aquatic bugs. Visitors might see a heron stalking the rare fish too. Coyotes often leave evidence of their presence near the edge of the water.

The large, circular drain adjacent to the bridge was designed to prevent crawdads in the stream from getting into the pond and eating the rare fish. Crayfish got in anyways, but it is always nice to hear the sounds of rushing water in the desert.

Continuing north, the combined Coyote and Jackrabbit trails runs a few yards to a signed trail junction (Wpt. 02). Here, the Jackrabbit Trail turns right to run up along the edge of Corn Creek Stream.

From the trail, thick willows and cattails block views of the stream, but soon there is a break in the vegetation at a USGS stream gauge. The gauge continually measures the water flow over a small, metal-and-concrete dam and transmits the information to scientists. This open area is good for spotting dragonflies. A sign here provides information about the gauging system.

Continuing up along the stream, the Jackrabbit Trail reaches another signed trail junction (Wpt. 19). Here, the Jackrabbit Trail turns right to cross back over Corn Creek Stream, while the Bighorn Trail continues straight. The Bighorn Trail also leads to the Whispering Ben Trail. An information sign at the junction tells the story of local geology and the flow of underground water.

This bridge is another good place to look for birds coming to drink, and it is a good place to spot dragonflies. The willow trees and cattails are thick, that makes the birds feel safe. It might be easier to just listen to the sounds of running water and hope to hear bird songs too.

From the bridge, the Jackrabbit Trail continues south to pass under a veranda. The veranda seems to have been designed as an entrance to the area, and the other side (the front side) has a bench and information signs. The bench is a nice place to sit and gaze out across the desert to mountain ranges in the distance.

When ready, the trail loops back west towards the Visitor Center. Soon the information kiosk (Wpt. 01) comes into view, and when passing it, be sure to check the information on the backside of the sign.

At the information kiosk, the trail forks. Heading back, hikers can bend a little to the left and walk to the back door of the visitor center, or turn harder to the left and walk back through the covered patio area to the parking lots (Wpt. 00).