Escaping The Vegas Three-Digit Heat By Biking Mt Charleston

When it's late May and it's three-digit-temp time in the Las Vegas Valley, it's time to seek cool refuge at 8,000 feet and Mount Charleston, where the temps are in the pleasant 78-80-degree range. The evergreen aroma is amazing, bringing me back to biking Trail Ridge Road in Rocky Mountain National Park.

On Monday, to contemplate why our country is so beautiful and so violent at the same time, I biked the Lee Canyon Rd. and Kyle Canyon Rd. areas near the top at 8,000 feet, including the nine-mile, high-elevation road that connect the two.

I prefer Lee Canyon near the Meadows and ski lodge area.

The pass road connecting both canyon roads is an amazing ride, though it's much harder going from Kyle to Lee Canyon Road. This perspective is looking south toward Kyle Canyon Road.