I had heard mixed reviews of the "official" trailhead that most hikers use, so I just used Google Maps to find a side street in a neighborhood at the base of the mountain. We were able to park without obstructing anyone's driveway so I figured we'd be okay. From there I had already planned ahead and brought a map to figure out how to cover the .4 miles to get to the start of the trail.
The trail itself is very well marked the entire way up and only gets difficult toward the top. There is some light climbing up large rocks toward the top of the mountain that is reminiscent of the harder parts of Turtlehead Peak.
The views from the top are panoramic and very good. The city sprawls in front of you to the northwest and west. In the distance you can see Potosi and the Spring Mountains. Lake Mead and Boulder City are visible to the East. The only drawback we found to the summit were the small black flies that were constantly swarming us. Strangely, as soon as we left the summit, there were a non-factor, but on top they were brutal. There is an American flag up there, and also a geodetic survey marker.
Black Mountain is a fairly easy hike that starts virtually inside Henderson. It has a lot of potential for unique hiking trips, i.e. sunrise/sunset hikes or bike/hike trips. The well-marked trail would present few problems in the dark with headlamps and we are excited to see what the views will look like with a sunrise/sunset backdrop.
Link to GPX: https://www.dropbox.com/s/2cidzp22w00xzey/black%20mtn%20GPX.gpx
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