Mount Charleston, Nevada facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Mount Charleston, Nevada
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Location of Mount Charleston in Clark County, Nevada
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 Mount Charleston, Nevada
Location in the United States
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| Country | United States |
| State | Nevada |
| County | Clark |
| Named for | Mount Charleston |
| Area | |
| • Total | 29.32 sq mi (75.93 km2) |
| • Land | 29.32 sq mi (75.93 km2) |
| • Water | 0.00 sq mi (0.00 km2) |
| Elevation | 7,510 ft (2,289 m) |
| Population
(2020)
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| • Total | 314 |
| • Density | 10.71/sq mi (4.14/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC-8 (PST) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-7 (PDT) |
| ZIP code |
89124
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| Area code(s) | 702 and 725 |
| FIPS code | 32-49310 |
| GNIS feature ID | 0859202 |
| Website | Mount Charleston Town Advisory Board |
Mount Charleston is a small community in Clark County, Nevada, United States. It's known as an "unincorporated town," which means it doesn't have its own city government but is part of the larger county. It's also a "census-designated place," which is an area the U.S. Census Bureau defines for gathering population data.
The town gets its name from the nearby Mount Charleston, which is the highest point in Clark County. Mount Charleston town is located in a valley of the Spring Mountains, northwest of Las Vegas. It's famous for its many hiking trails and a hotel called the Retreat on Charleston Peak. Because it's about 7,500 feet (2,289 meters) high, the temperatures here are much cooler than in Las Vegas, making it a popular getaway for people from the city.
Contents
Exploring Mount Charleston's Location
Mount Charleston covers an area of about 29.4 square miles (75.9 square kilometers), and all of it is land. The community is made up of four smaller areas: Echo, Cathedral, Old Town, and Rainbow. There's also a group of apartments near the U.S. Forest Service's Kyle Gateway.
How Many People Live in Mount Charleston?
| Historical population | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Census | Pop. | %± | |
| 2020 | 314 | — | |
| U.S. Decennial Census | |||
In 2020, about 314 people lived in Mount Charleston. Back in 2000, there were 285 people living in 133 households. About 18% of these households had children under 18. The average age of people living here was 49 years old.
Getting Around Mount Charleston
You can reach Mount Charleston by using three state roads: State Route 156, State Route 157, and State Route 158.
Learning and Libraries in Mount Charleston
Mount Charleston has a small elementary school for children from kindergarten to fifth grade. It has two classrooms. The school was first named Mt. Charleston Elementary School in 1966. In 2001, it was renamed Earl B. Lundy Elementary School to honor its longtime custodian. The town also has a public library, which is part of the Las Vegas-Clark County Library District.
Weather and Nature in Mount Charleston
Mount Charleston has a cool climate, very different from the hot desert climate of most of Nevada. It gets enough rain and snow to support large pine and other coniferous forests. In February, there's usually about 11 inches (28 cm) of snow on the ground. In December 2010, it snowed a lot, with 89 inches (226 cm) falling that month!
Summers are much cooler here than in the lower desert areas. The average high temperature in July is around 79.0°F (26.1°C), and nights often drop below 50°F (10°C). In winter, more than half of all nights are below 32°F (0°C). During very cold times, temperatures can even fall below 0°F (-18°C), like in December 1990 when it reached -18°F (-28°C).
| Climate data for Mount Charleston, Nevada, 1991–2020 normals, extremes 1949–present | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °F (°C) | 70 (21) |
69 (21) |
73 (23) |
79 (26) |
86 (30) |
93 (34) |
98 (37) |
93 (34) |
90 (32) |
83 (28) |
79 (26) |
69 (21) |
98 (37) |
| Mean maximum °F (°C) | 57.2 (14.0) |
57.9 (14.4) |
62.6 (17.0) |
69.7 (20.9) |
76.1 (24.5) |
84.6 (29.2) |
87.9 (31.1) |
85.6 (29.8) |
81.0 (27.2) |
73.9 (23.3) |
65.4 (18.6) |
58.7 (14.8) |
88.7 (31.5) |
| Mean daily maximum °F (°C) | 44.2 (6.8) |
44.4 (6.9) |
49.1 (9.5) |
54.7 (12.6) |
63.3 (17.4) |
73.8 (23.2) |
79.0 (26.1) |
77.9 (25.5) |
71.6 (22.0) |
61.6 (16.4) |
51.4 (10.8) |
43.9 (6.6) |
59.6 (15.3) |
| Daily mean °F (°C) | 32.9 (0.5) |
33.2 (0.7) |
37.4 (3.0) |
42.2 (5.7) |
50.2 (10.1) |
59.7 (15.4) |
65.6 (18.7) |
65.0 (18.3) |
57.9 (14.4) |
48.2 (9.0) |
39.0 (3.9) |
32.5 (0.3) |
47.0 (8.3) |
| Mean daily minimum °F (°C) | 21.5 (−5.8) |
21.9 (−5.6) |
25.7 (−3.5) |
29.8 (−1.2) |
37.1 (2.8) |
45.5 (7.5) |
52.2 (11.2) |
52.2 (11.2) |
44.3 (6.8) |
34.7 (1.5) |
26.5 (−3.1) |
21.1 (−6.1) |
34.4 (1.3) |
| Mean minimum °F (°C) | 4.8 (−15.1) |
6.2 (−14.3) |
9.7 (−12.4) |
15.7 (−9.1) |
23.7 (−4.6) |
30.6 (−0.8) |
41.3 (5.2) |
41.0 (5.0) |
30.8 (−0.7) |
20.3 (−6.5) |
11.4 (−11.4) |
5.2 (−14.9) |
0.4 (−17.6) |
| Record low °F (°C) | −12 (−24) |
−15 (−26) |
−4 (−20) |
7 (−14) |
16 (−9) |
17 (−8) |
31 (−1) |
30 (−1) |
17 (−8) |
7 (−14) |
−5 (−21) |
−18 (−28) |
−18 (−28) |
| Average precipitation inches (mm) | 3.70 (94) |
5.12 (130) |
2.91 (74) |
1.01 (26) |
0.82 (21) |
0.31 (7.9) |
2.21 (56) |
2.34 (59) |
1.71 (43) |
1.79 (45) |
1.32 (34) |
3.16 (80) |
26.40 (671) |
| Average snowfall inches (cm) | 20.5 (52) |
29.3 (74) |
17.2 (44) |
6.2 (16) |
1.6 (4.1) |
0.3 (0.76) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
1.0 (2.5) |
7.7 (20) |
16.3 (41) |
100.1 (254.36) |
| Average extreme snow depth inches (cm) | 15.8 (40) |
21.1 (54) |
17.4 (44) |
5.7 (14) |
0.6 (1.5) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.8 (2.0) |
4.0 (10) |
11.8 (30) |
21.8 (55) |
| Average precipitation days (≥ 0.01 in) | 5.6 | 7.0 | 5.7 | 4.0 | 4.1 | 1.6 | 5.9 | 5.8 | 3.9 | 3.3 | 3.2 | 5.6 | 55.7 |
| Average snowy days (≥ 0.1 in) | 4.8 | 6.2 | 4.6 | 2.3 | 0.8 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.7 | 2.3 | 4.5 | 26.3 |
| Source 1: NOAA | |||||||||||||
| Source 2: National Weather Service | |||||||||||||
A Look Back in Time: Mount Charleston's History
Early Days and Charleston Park
Around the 1870s or 1880s, a man named Conrad Keil built a sawmill and a cabin in Kyle Canyon. This area was later called Charleston Park. In 1905, Edmund W. Griffith set up a campground there. He also built the Charleston Park Lodge around 1915. This lodge later added a casino. Sadly, the lodge burned down in 1961. Today, the Mt. Charleston Library and Volunteer Fire Department stand where the lodge used to be.
Places to Visit and Stay in Mount Charleston
The Mt. Charleston Lodge
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The Mt. Charleston Lodge was a famous restaurant and group of cabins. It was located at the end of Nevada Route 157, Kyle Canyon Road. By 1948, it had 25 rooms and 13 cottages.
On December 28, 1961, a big fire destroyed the lodge. Firefighters from Las Vegas took over an hour to get there. Because of this, a fire station was later built closer in Old Town. The lodge was rebuilt and reopened. In 1994, more than a dozen cabins were added next to the restaurant.
On September 17, 2021, another large fire destroyed the main lodge building. Luckily, the cabins next to it were not damaged. The fire started in a storage area. The owners plan to rebuild the lodge, which is a very important spot for the community. The cabins reopened a week after the fire. In 2022, a temporary restaurant called Pine Dining opened, and plans were shared for a new lodge with over 30 hotel rooms.
Other Places to Stay
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The Mount Charleston Hotel was built in 1984. It has 64 rooms and a restaurant. In 2008, it was bought and renamed the Resort on Mount Charleston. In 2018, it was sold again and is now called the Retreat on Charleston Peak, after another update.
A Project That Didn't Happen
In 1996, there were plans for a big project called Alpine Village, which would include the Mount Charleston Golf Resort. The golf course opened in 1997, but it wasn't very popular. A hotel was planned to go with the golf course, but it was never built. Local residents didn't want a shopping center as part of the project, and the Clark County Commission eventually said no to it.
The land was later sold to the U.S. federal government in 2004. The U.S. Forest Service wanted to return the land to its natural state. Any unfinished buildings from the project were taken down, and the Forest Service planned to build a recreation area there instead.
See also
In Spanish: Mount Charleston (Nevada) para niños
