Entry No. 51 — the Las Vegas file — filed under: mine
Griffith Mine
Tucked away in the cool pine forests of Mount Charleston, the Griffith Mine is a historic lead mine dating back to the early 20th century. Today, hikers can find two abandoned adits along the East Fork of the Stanley B Springs Trail, complete with old tailings piles and weathered wooden support beams. The mine entrances are now secured with iron grates, serving as a protected sanctuary for local forest bats.
The story
Forty miles northwest of the Strip, the neon heat burns off into pine forest and limestone cliffs. High up on Mount Charleston in the Spring Mountains National Recreation Area, tucked along the East Fork of the Stanley B Springs Trail, sits the Griffith Mine—an early 20th-century lead prospect named after nearby Griffith Peak. Back when miners chipped away at these slopes in the historic Charleston Mining District, they cut two adits into the mountain before abandoning the operation, leaving tailings piles and wooden support beams behind.
What makes the site worth a trek today is the handoff from industrial relic to wildlife sanctuary. Forest Service crews welded heavy iron grates across both mine openings. The steel bars keep wanderers out of crumbling shafts, but they were specifically constructed to let mountain bat populations fly through unimpeded. What started as a lead extraction shaft is now a subterranean roosting chamber, silent save for trickling water inside.
What it's like
Expect a mountain hike along the Stanley B Springs Trail, where the temperature drops significantly compared to the valley floor. You will spot the mine site along the trail's East Fork by its grey tailings piles spilling down the slope. The two adits sit right off the path behind heavy iron grates. Bring a flashlight to peer past the metal bars; inside you will see weathered timber shoring, damp rock walls, trickling water, and if you keep quiet, bats roosting along the dark ceiling.
The move: Hike the scenic Stanley B Springs Trail together, enjoying the cool mountain air and pine forests, and stop to peer through the metal grates of the historic mine to spot trickling water and roosting bats.
📍 Before you go The mine is located along a publicly accessible hiking trail in the Spring Mountains National Recreation Area, but the adit entrances are securely grated off to protect visitors and preserve bat habitats.
- 📍 Mt Charleston
- 💸 Free
- ⚡ Low-key
- 🌗 Outdoors
Where: Griffith Mine, Mt Charleston, NV 89124, USA
Hours: Added 2026-07-20 — confirm current access before you go.
Pair it with
- Potosi Mine — Pair Mount Charleston's mountain lead mine with Nevada's oldest lode mine down in the Potosi Mining District for a full day of high-altitude ruin tracking.
- Dawn Mine — Compare Griffith Mine's cool pine-forest bat sanctuary with the desert canyon lead-and-zinc ruins of the Dawn Mine.
- Sunday Mine — Follow up your mountain trail trek with a trip to another early 20th-century extraction site, the former Arden plaster gypsum workings.
Good to know
How do you find the Griffith Mine?
Hike the Stanley B Springs Trail in the Spring Mountains National Recreation Area on Mt Charleston; the two mine adits sit along the East Fork of the trail.
Can you go inside the mine adits?
No. The entrances are permanently blocked with iron bat grates to protect visitors from collapse hazards and safeguard the bat habitat inside.
What was originally produced at Griffith Mine?
It was an early 20th-century lead mine active during the area's historical prospecting era.
Are there bat sightings guaranteed inside?
Bats use the cool shafts as a roost, so you may spot them clinging to the ceiling or flying near dusk, though sightings depend on season and light conditions.
Plan a visit & invite your people →
Further reading: birdandhike.com · westernmininghistory.com · mindat.org · theluckythirtykate.wordpress.com
last checked: 2026-07-20