Overview

The Griffith Shadow South Trail is the south end of what used to be a 4.2 mile in-and-out rather than a 4.8-mile loop. The other end of the "loop" is the Griffith Shadow North Trail, and the middle part connecting these two trails was recently built.

Griffith Shadow South Trail starts on the northwest side of the Lovell Canyon Loop Trail, and so although the trail is only 2.1 miles long, it takes 2.9 miles of trail to get there, such that the total hike is about 10 miles round-trip.

If not doing the entire loop, it also makes sense to only hike to the rocky promontory (1.2 miles out) or perhaps to the saddle with grand views west (1.3 miles out).

For photos of returning over the trail, see Griffith Shadow South Trail - Returning.

Link to Area Map or Hiking Map or Elevation Profile.

Watch Out

Other than the standard warnings about hiking in the mountains, this trail is pretty safe with no unusual hazards. Be careful out at the end of the promontory, as falls in this remote area would be serious.

While hiking, please respect the land and the other people out there, and try to Leave No Trace of your passage. Also, this hike is in a remote area, so be sure to bring the 10 Essentials. This hike runs near Private Property and into the La Madre Mountain Wilderness Area, so please pay particular attention to taking care of the land.

Getting to the Trailhead

This hike is located up in the Spring Mountains National Recreation Area at the north end of Lovell Canyon, about 1-1/4 hours west of Las Vegas.

From town, drive out Highway 160 towards Pahrump. About three miles past Mountain Spring Summit, turn right onto Lovell Canyon Road. Drive north 11 miles to Lovell Summit Road. Turn left and drive 0.4 miles to Lovell Canyon Trailhead.

The Hike

From the trailhead (Table 1, Waypoint 01), this hike runs north on the Lovell Canyon Trail. At the first fork (Wpt. 03), the hike turns left onto the Lovell Canyon loop and continues west and then north, eventually running out to a low saddle with a trail junction (Wpt. 07) marked by a wooden trail sign.

The Griffith Shadow South Trail starts at the trail junction (Wpt. 07) and begins by running northwest, but soon curves back to switchback up the hillside generally trending southwest. The trail climbs gently, passing five long switchbacks, until it climbs onto a low ridge and arrives at another trail junction (Wpt. 30) marked only by cairns.

At this trail junction, the main trails stays left (straight), while a use-trail turns right and runs out to a rocky limestone promontory. The promontory is some 200 yards distant, and the view is well worth the walk.

Continuing on the Griffith Shadow South Trail, the trail contours across a hillside onto a high saddle (Wpt. 32) with grand view north and east across upper Lovell Canyon. A few yards past the saddle, the view opens to the west over Trout Canyon.

The trail continues across the hillside, generally staying on the contour to where the original ended (Wpt. 33). The new trail then descends steeply to connect with the Griffith Shadow North Trail and continue the loop.