Liberty Bell Arch (Mohave County, Arizona)

I love hiking and backpacking. I cherish the opportunity to be outside, to visit natural and cultural treasures, and to find peace in the great church of the backcountry. With that said, I rarely find myself traveling to new areas, for whatever reason, without getting at least a couple of hikes in. This weekend, a trip to Las Vegas was in order. While the trip was mostly to enjoy the shows and dining experiences of Sin City, I found time to get some miles in while in the area.

This morning, I left my hotel room at the Luxor and drove out past Hoover Dam and into Lake Mead Recreational Area. The target for this hike was Liberty Bell Arch. The trailhead leaves a parking lot just off of the highway. A bridge allows the trail to pass under the highway as it follows a long wash into the red and white hills of the Colorado River basin.

It's very desolate out here, but a few small cacti and yucca poke up from the soil.  As I leave a smoothly carved section of the wash, I note a couple of small tents tucked away in a crevasse. Seems like a decent place to camp . . . unless a quick rainstorm comes through. The trail generally follows the wash, but eventually leaves it to cross over some of the sandstone hills.

As I climb up out of the wash, I note a antique mining cart abandoned on the hillside. Apparently, someone thought there were minerals of value here at some point in the distant past. As I climb over the next ridge, I get my first view of the arch. From this angle, it's impossible to see the negative space, but the shadow it casts, leaves little doubt of the formation's identity.

I continue on around through the desert searching for the best angle and finally find a spot that offers a great view of the natural arch. This arch would seem to be more of a hoodoo formation with a cap still present, but the shape left between the hoodoos is very clearly the liberty bell. It's no wonder how the arch got its name.

After snapping some shots, I head back the way I came. It seems I beat the crowds as the parking lot is starting to fill up. I was able to get about 4.3 miles in on this trail and to see such a cool arch was definitely worth the time and effort.