Nevada State Route 157 (Kyle Canyon Road) is a 21.562-mile corridor which serves as direct access for the Las Vegas area to Mount Charleston in the Spring Mountains. Nevada State Route 157 begins at Interstate 11/US Route 95 exit 96 and begins a rapid ascent into the Spring Mountains via Kyle Canyon to the site of Mount Charleston Lodge.
The origins of Kyle Canyon Road can be traced back to the Kiel sawmill during the 1870s and 1880s. The Kiel sawmill site was repurposed as the location for the Griffith campground in 1905. The Griffith campground was connected to Tonopah & Tidewater Railroad Tule Station via Kyle Canyon Road.
The original Mount Charleston Lodge was constructed at the western end of Kyle Canyon Road in 1915. During the 1932-1934 Nevada Department of Highways Biennium funds obtained from the Bureau of Public Roads which would be used to modernize Kyle Canyon Road with a gravel surface. The then newly graveled Kyle Canyon Road was brought into the Nevada State Highway Systems as Nevada State Route 39. During the 1976 Nevada State Highway Renumbering the corridor of Kyle Canyon Road would be designated as Nevada State Route 157.
Part 1; the history of Nevada State Route 157
Mount Charleston is the highest peak in the Spring Mountains and is located at elevation of 11,916 feet above sea level. Mount Charleston is the most prominent peak in Nevada and eight most prominent in the United States.
At some point between 1870-1880 Conrad Keil (alternatively Kyle) constructed a sawmill and cabin at what is now known as Kyle Canyon. 1881 plat maps reveal Keil's sawmill was located at what is now known as Fletcher Canyon. Keil would ultimately construct a roadway from his sawmill to through Kyle Canyon to Las Vegas Valley.
Kyle Canyon Road can be seen on the 1908 United States Geological Survey map of Las Vegas as part of Charleston National Forest. The Charleston Forest Reserve was designated over 149,165 acres by the Forest Service on November 5, 1906. The reserve was designated as a National Forest on March 4, 1907. Charleston National Forest would later become a detached annex of Dixie National Forest.
In 1905 Edmund W. Griffith opened established a campground in Kyle Canyon known as Charleston Park. Griffith's campground was connected to the Las Vegas & Tonopah Railroad Tule Station via Kyle Canyon Road. Griffith's campground would prove popular with Las Vegas locals, and he would open the first iteration of the Charleston Lodge in 1915.
The 1932-1934 Nevada Department of Highways Biennial announced that 17.62 miles of Kyle Canyon Road from Nevada State Route 5 west to the National Forest boundary was being graveled. An additional 3.66 miles within the Forest Service boundary were also being graded to Charleston Park. The project corridor was awarded by the Bureau of Public Roads via Federal Land and Forest Service funds.
The 1934-1936 Nevada Department of Highways Biennial announced Kyle Canyon Road was surfaced and completed to State Highway standards. The corridor was subsequently brought into the Nevada State Highway System as Nevada State Route 39. Three Redwood timber bridges were constructed as part of the modernization of Kyle Canyon Road.
Kyle Canyon Road first appears as Nevada State Route 39 on the 1935 Nevada Department of Highways map. The same map displays Lee Canyon Road as being designated as Nevada State Route 52. Deer Creek Road is shown to bridge Nevada State Routes 39 and 52.
Nevada State Route 39 (Kyle Canyon Road) appears in detail on the 1937 Nevada Department of Highways map of Clark County. The map displays a western segment of Nevada State Route 52 existing west of Mount Charleston in Clark Canyon. This map edition displays as the forest lands around Mount Charleston as having been transferred to Nevada National Forest.
Nevada State Route 39 approaching the Mount Charleston Lodge can be seen below during March 1952 (University Nevada Las Vegas Special Collections and Archives).
The Mount Charleston Lodge can be seen below as it was on January 26, 1953 (Las Vegas News Bureau photo).
The 1955-1956 Nevada Department of Highways Biennial announced that the three timber bridges on Nevada State Route 39 were replaced with concrete spans. On October 1, 1957, Nevada National Forest was transferred fully to Toiyabe National Forest.
In December 1961 the original Mount Charleston Lodge burned in a fire. The replacement structure broke ground in 1962 and was opened in 1966.
Nevada State Route 39 can be seen in detail on the 1968 Nevada Department of Highways map of Clark County.
As part of the wider 1976 Nevada State Highway renumbering Kyle Canyon Road was designated as Nevada State Route 157. The new route number first appears on the 1978-1979 Nevada Department of Highways map.
In September 2021 the Mount Charleston Lodge the 1960s-era Mount Charleston Lodge was destroyed in a structural fire. The cabins in the Lodge grounds have remained open since and the owner's broke ground on a new main building during January 2026.
Westbound Nevada State Route 157 and Kyle Canyon Road begin in the city of Las Vegas at the Interstate 11/US Route 95 exit 96. This exit currently serves as the present northern terminus of Interstate 11.
Westbound Nevada State Route 157 crosses under the freeway interchange via a diverging diamond configuration.
Mount Charleston is signed as being 19 miles away on Nevada State Route 157 a short distance west of the freeway.
Nevada State Route 157 narrows as it departs the city limits of Las Vegas. The highway climbs over 3,000 feet above sea level.
Nevada State Route 157 begins to ascend through Kyle Canyon and enters the Spring Mountains National Recreation Area of Toiyabe National Forest. This National Recreation Area was established on August 4, 1993.
Nevada State Route 157 climbs to 6,000 feet above sea level. The steepest part of the climb along Kyle Canyon Road has a gradient incline of approximately 7%.
Nevada State Route 157 passes the Spring Mountains Visitor Center.
Nevada State Route 157 continues to climb and intersects Nevada State Route 158 (Deer Creek Road) at approximately 6,800 feet above sea level. Past the junction Nevada State Route 157 continues approximately 3.61 miles to a terminus at the site of Mount Charleston Lodge.
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