Vandalized, closed Sunrise Trailhead still reachable by vehicle

By F. ANDREW TAYLOR VIEW STAFF WRITER

8 years ago

A burned-out vehicle is shown at the Clark County Wetlands Park is shown in this undated photo. Police and elected officials announced a crackdown on crime as they prepare for higher use of the park during spring break. (Courtesy/Clark County)

State Senator Mark Manendo helps pick up trash at the Sunrise Trailhead in the Clark County Wetlands Park as part of a Martin Luther King Service Day in Las Vegas on Saturday, Jan. 14, 2017. (Brett Le Blanc/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @bleblancphoto

Jessica Smith, 39, picks up shards of glass while volunteering at the Sunrise Trailhead in the Clark County Wetlands Park as part of a Martin Luther King Service Day event in Las Vegas on Saturday, Jan. 14, 2017. (Brett Le Blanc/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @bleblancphoto

Jessica Smith, 39, left, and Hailey Kervick, 14, clean up trash while volunteering at the Sunrise Trailhead in the Clark County Wetlands Park as part of a Martin Luther King Service Day event in Las Vegas on Saturday, Jan. 14, 2017. (Brett Le Blanc/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @bleblancphoto

Volunteer repaint a gazebo at the Sunrise Trailhead in the Clark County Wetlands Park as part of a Martin Luther King Service Day event in Las Vegas on Saturday, Jan. 14, 2017. (Brett Le Blanc/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @bleblancphoto

Volunteers clean up trash at the Sunrise Trailhead in the Clark County Wetlands Park as part of a Martin Luther King Service Day event in Las Vegas on Saturday, Jan. 14, 2017. (Brett Le Blanc/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @bleblancphoto

A burned out vehicle is shown at the Clark County Wetlands Park is shown in this undated photo. Police and elected officials announced a crackdown on crime as they prepare for higher use of the park during spring break. Courtesy, Clark County

A cable fence damaged by vandals at the Clark County Wetlands Park is shown in this undated photo. Police and elected officials announced a crackdown on crime as they prepare for higher use of the park during spring break. (Courtesy/Clark County)

Picnic tables scrawled with graffiti are shown at the Clark County Wetlands Park is shown in this undated photo. Police and elected officials announced a crackdown on crime as they prepare for higher use of the park during spring break. Courtesy, Clark County

The inside of a burned out vehicle at the Clark County Wetlands Park is shown in this undated photo. Police and elected officials announced a crackdown on crime as they prepare for higher use of the park during spring break. Courtesy, Clark County

A burned timber, evidence of vandalism at the Clark County Wetlands Park, is shown in this undated photo. Police and elected officials announced a crackdown on crime as they prepare for higher use of the park during spring break. Courtesy, Clark County

Residue from a fire inside a bathroom at the Clark County Wetlands Park is shown in this undated photo. Police and elected officials announced a crackdown on crime as they prepare for higher use of the park during spring break. Courtesy, Clark County

A sign announcing closure of a restroom because of a fire at the Clark County Wetlands Park is shown in this undated photo. Police and elected officials announced a crackdown on crime as they prepare for higher use of the park during spring break. Courtesy, Clark County

Metro Lt. John Liberty, left, speaks as State Sen. Mark Manendo, center, and Clark County Commissioner Chris Giunchigliani listen during an announcement of an interagency crackdown on crime at the Clark County Wetlands Park at 7050 Wetlands Park Lane in Las Vegas on Thursday, March 17, 2016. Bill Hughes/Las Vegas Review-Journal

It’s an old saw that the three most important things in real estate are location, location and location. For Sunrise Trailhead, which has been closed for nearly two years, that old saw cuts both ways.

The trailhead is miles from houses but connected by a road that is sometimes used as an illegal racetrack to some of the most financially depressed areas of the valley.

It sits on the north edge of Clark County Wetlands Park at the far south end of Hollywood Boulevard. Teens and and twentysomethings began using the park where the pavement ends as a major party spot before the park was completed. Vandals have torn apart the fencing for firewood, strewn broken glass and firebombed the restrooms.

“We’re hoping to get park police out here more permanently,” said Elizabeth Bickmore, program administrator at the park. “We’re concerned that if we open it again, we’re going to have the same issues. It diverts our resources that we could spend elsewhere.”

The last 2.5 miles of Hollywood Boulevard is disconnected from the paved street grid, but several dirt roads provide exits for four-wheel-drive vehicles or people with a combination of foolhardiness and luck. It’s difficult to catch people in the act because law enforcement can be seen coming a long way off.

On April 23, a fracas broke out at nearby Hollywood Recreation Center that left one dead and several injured. A few weeks later, in advance of spring break, officials with Clark County, the Metropolitan Police Department, Clark County Park Police and the Bureau of Land Management announced they were teaming up to increase law enforcement presence near the trailhead.

The increased patrols have helped, officials say, but the area remains a headache for all parties involved.

“The whole thing needs to be rehabbed,” Bickmore said. “The vegetation needs to be replaced, but first the irrigation that was all ripped out need to be replaced. The restroom is another expensive project that we don’t want to allocate the resources for until we can be sure we can manage the area appropriately.”

Metropolitan Police Department spokesman Mike Rodriguez said his department likely will release a statement about any enforcement efforts closer to spring break.

To reach East Valley View reporter F. Andrew Taylor, email ataylor@viewnews.com or call 702-380-4532.