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Clark County Wetlands Park Nature Center, Las Vegas, Nevada
Type of Trail: frontcountry Length: >3 miles Width: 8 ft. Surface type: concrete, asphalt, crushed stone Typical grade: 1% Maximum grade: 4% at the Las Vegas Wash bridge Typical cross slope: 1% Maximum cross slope: 1% Obstacles: none Use Fee required?: none Accessible features: visitor center, restrooms Clark County Wetlands Park Nature Preserve, on the southeastern side of the Las Vegas valley, is part of a 2,900-acre restoration of the streams and mesquite groves that once lived along the Las Vegas Wash before modern settlement confiscated the water. Las Vegas, in Spanish, means “the meadows”. This is part of the original meadows. The Las Vegas Wash is the main stream that drains the entire Las Vegas Valley. There are approximately three miles of flat paved trails and also some fine aggregate surface trials. Clark County has built a demonstration park with numerous trails circulating through the trees and wetlands with an ultimate destination of a bridge over the Wash. There is a nice duck pond with turtles and crayfish. Keep your eyes open for signs of beaver. Across the bridge there are miles of strenuous paved desert bike trails. The park even has a grand visitor center with a theater, and is the site of numerous school field trips. Because this is an area of periodic flooding, the visitor center is elevated. There are long ramps with resting levels from parking up to the information center. An elevator is also available. Trailheads are at the visitor center and also across the parking lot at the accessible restrooms with actual flush toilets. Wetlands Park is located at the eastern end of Wetlands Park Lane. The Lane intersects East Tropicana Avenue in the curve where Tropicana becomes South Broadbent Blvd. Accessible features include restrooms at the parking lot, as well as nicer restrooms at the visitor center. No picnicking or pets are allowed at Wetlands Park. Reviewed by Ed Price April, 2019 See the Fine Print |