Most of the Sloan Canyon news this year has been about a building. The Bureau of Land Management closed Nawghaw Poa Road and the parking lot at its end on November 12, 2024, to build the Sloan Canyon National Conservation Area Visitor Contact Station. The posted closure runs through November 11, 2026. Friends of Sloan Canyon has a crew scheduled to prepare the grounds around the station for a grand opening "in January."
For Anthem, that building sits at the far edge of the map. The trails that go directly into the North McCullough Wilderness from this side of Henderson start at a neighborhood park and a residential street in Sun City Anthem. The city's next new trailhead is also planned for Anthem's side of the mountain. Cooler weather has started the hiking season, and Anthem's way into Sloan Canyon is the one closest to home.
The Closure Notice Names One Road
BLM's notice is narrow. It covers Nawghaw Poa Road and its end-of-road parking area. It reroutes two trails, Petroglyph Canyon and the 101 Trail, and moves their parking to Democracy Drive. The notice does not mention any Anthem trailhead.
BLM's own map of the conservation area lists Anthem East as one of its trailheads, along with McCullough Hills, Dutchman Pass, Shadow Canyon, Quo Vadis and Petroglyph Canyon. Two of those six, Anthem East and Shadow Canyon, sit inside Anthem.
Two Doorsteps to Black Mountain
Black Mountain rises to 5,093 feet and is the highest point in the North McCullough Wilderness. You can reach it from two Anthem trailheads, and they make for two quite different mornings.
| Anthem East Trailhead | Shadow Canyon Trailhead | |
|---|---|---|
| Where | Anthem Hills Park, 2256 N. Reunion Dr. | Sun City Anthem, near 2268 Shadow Canyon Dr. |
| Facilities | Park restrooms, park hours 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. | Limited parking, no restroom |
| Approach | Half-mile paved path to Trail #404 | Paved first half-mile |
| Route | Black Mountain North Loop, 7.4 miles, about 2,000 feet of gain | Trail #404 out-and-back, 7.5 miles, 2,054 feet of ascent |
At Anthem East, the hike starts on asphalt. A half-mile path, part of Anthem's larger network of paved trails, climbs to a large flood-retention reservoir. As it curves above the basin, it passes an official Sloan Canyon Wilderness entrance sign before reaching the Black Mountain Trailhead, Trail #404. The trail is clearly marked, though the signs are small. The loop starts at about 3,000 feet and climbs along two ridges to the mountain's double summit. You can see the whole loop from the trailhead. Higher up, dark volcanic boulders mix with creosote, cactus, yucca and Joshua trees. From the top, the view takes in the Strip, Mount Charleston and, to the east, the Eldorado Wilderness and Black Canyon.
The Shadow Canyon route goes in from the south. It's 3.7 miles to the summit, and the last 0.7 mile is steep and eroded, the hardest part of the climb. About 1.33 miles in, Trail #402 branches off toward the Park Peak Loop, #403, a shorter option for a day when the summit is too much. That trail guide was published in 2020. Parking and street conditions at a residential trailhead can change, so look at the curb before you head up.
Timing is the main thing to plan around. The most recent guide to the North Loop, from September 2026, recommends late fall through early spring, on days when Las Vegas highs are forecast at roughly 70 to 80 degrees. It warns about ice near the summit on rare winter days and about high winds. October is the start of that window. The North McCullough Wilderness has its own rules about bikes, dogs and horses, so check BLM's designated-use maps before you bring anything besides your own two feet.
The Long Trails That End in Anthem
Black Mountain is the steep option. Two longer trails link Anthem to the rest of Henderson.
The McCullough Hills Trail runs about 8 miles one way. It starts at the Mission Drive trailhead, 295 Mission Dr. near East Horizon Ridge Parkway, and ends at the Anthem end of the route. Along the way it crosses volcanic hills with views toward Lake Mead, the Las Vegas Valley, Potosi and the Rainbow Mountains. The city lists hiking and bike trails, horse tie-ups, picnic tables and restrooms at the Mission Drive end. Unlit city trails are open dawn to dusk. Starting from Anthem turns it into an outbound walk toward the lake views.
The Amargosa Trail is the easier one. Henderson describes it as a 10-mile, mostly paved route with four trailheads: Siena Heights Park, Paseo Verde Park, Reunion Trails Park and Hidden Falls Park. It also has a separate natural-surface section for mountain biking. The Siena Heights trailhead is at 2570 Siena Heights Drive and has restrooms. Its city page has carried a notice that the trailhead lights weren't working and that it was open in daylight only. That notice isn't dated, so check it before an evening walk.
Petroglyph Canyon Is the One You Drive To
Sloan Canyon's best-known site can't be reached from Anthem on foot. Petroglyph Canyon has more than 300 rock-writing panels and nearly 1,700 designs, ranging from the Archaic era to historic times. While the station is under construction, you get there from the Democracy Drive parking area, near the closed end of Nawghaw Poa Road.
The rules here are stricter than on the Anthem-side trails:
- The hike is 5.5 miles.
- Hours from October 1 through May 19 are 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. daily.
- Dogs are not allowed, except service animals. Bikes, e-bikes and other mechanized travel are not allowed either.
- No more than 20 people can be in the canyon at once.
- The trailhead has no restrooms. BLM points visitors to Aventura Park or Montagna Park and recommends at least a gallon of water per person per day.
The new station is what will change this trip.
What the New Station Is Planned to Hold
The environmental assessment describes a 3,000-square-foot building. Plans include a welcome and exhibit area, public restrooms, an outdoor exhibit space, an amphitheater, shade pavilions, and an accessible half-mile interpretive loop. Connector trails would run to the Petroglyph Trail, and parking would hold about 80 cars plus several buses. These features come from the planning documents. The finished building hasn't opened yet, and no published source confirms that the old trailhead layout will come back unchanged.
Construction is close to done. In a June 18, 2026 snapshot, a federal contract tracker showed the project 99% complete, with a contract end date of October 9, 2026. The contract value had been amended up to $17,759,639. No exact ribbon-cutting date has been announced, so check BLM's Sloan Canyon page before you plan a January visit.
Fall Dates on the Sloan Calendar
Friends of Sloan Canyon is the nonprofit that supports the conservation area. Its mailing address is on Anthem Village Drive. Its October calendar is mostly hands-on work:
- October 24, 3 to 7 p.m. A BLM table with wildlife specimens at Inspirada Fall Fest, staffed by volunteers who teach visitors about the conservation area.
- October 25, 9 a.m. to noon. Trail restoration around the new Visitor Contact Station, including raking, moving rocks and vertical mulching. The group calls it a good first project for people new to trail work.
- October 31, 9 a.m. to noon. Repairs to switchbacks on the Petroglyph Canyon Trail.
After a morning of trail work or a loop on Black Mountain, Rebellion Market + Deli has opened next to Rebellion Pizza at 2540 Anthem Village Drive, Suite 110. It sells fresh-baked bread, sandwiches, pastries, and deli meats and cheeses by the pound.
The Next Trailhead Is Planned for Anthem's Side
The city's next new trail project is next to Anthem. Henderson's Black Mountain Nature Preserve covers about 1,300 acres bounded by Horizon Ridge Parkway and I-11. It's funded by a $5.5 million grant from the Southern Nevada Public Lands Management Act. Plans connect it to Sloan Canyon, Hidden Falls Park, the Amargosa Trail and the McCullough Hills Trail. According to plans submitted to the city, the trailhead would sit at the end of Buckhorn Street. It would have a parking lot, picnic tables, two overlooks, and lights and a restroom powered by solar panels. Construction is targeted for early 2027, and the city hopes to open the preserve by the end of that year.
The preserve will mostly formalize paths people already use. Amie Wojtech, the city's park planning manager, described the approach to the Las Vegas Review-Journal in June:
"We will be taking advantage of the trails that have been carved out from people just using the area. We'll bring those up to city standards and use those, as opposed to creating new trails."
BLM is weighing a similar question inside Sloan Canyon. In December 2025 it held a trail-route workshop and took public comments on whether to adopt or restore unofficial social trails. No decision has been published yet.
Shaun Marion has lived in Las Vegas since the 1980s and pays close attention to which Anthem streets are a short walk from Anthem Hills Park, Shadow Canyon Drive and the coming Buckhorn Street trailhead. If you'd like to know how being near a trailhead affects what your Anthem home is worth, Marion Real Estate Services can help. Get your instant home valuation.
