On Christmas day we were up early to hike Black Mountain, located in the Sloan Canyon National Conservation Area south of Las Vegas. Black Mountain is the highest peak in the McCullough Range (5,030 feet) and to reach the summit is a ~7 mile round trip hike with ~2100 feet elevation gain. We parked at the Shadow Canyon trailhead in Henderson and set out on the paved Anthem East Trail to reach the Black Mountain #404 trail. The trail climbed at a steady grade and as we got higher we started to see some Joshua trees. This area is volcanic in origin and this is especially apparent on the last bit to the summit where the trail got steeper and we had to pick our way around volcanic rocks. When we reached the summit we were rewarded with panoramic 360 views of the surrounding valleys and mountains, including Las Vegas, Red Rock, and a snowy Mt. Charleston. It was sunny with no wind, so we were able to enjoy the views for a while before retracing our steps back down. After cleaning up at our hotel, we had a late lunch at Weera Thai and dessert at Sweethoney. Our week of hiking was off to a great start!