Seven Magic Mountains is a unique piece of artwork installed in the middle of the desert, just a few minutes away from the Las Vegas strip. It’s the perfect quick stop if you are doing a Southwest Roadtrip. It’s on the way to Vegas and is a cool spot for pictures.
This piece of art is by Swiss artist Ugo Rondinone. His seven colossal sculptures represent similarities to the beautiful hoodoos found throughout Utah.
This piece special is the fluorescent colors of the rocks stacked upon one another in the middle of the vast brown desert. They kind of look like glowing totems bursting with color. You can learn more about Seven Magic Mountains here.
Seven Magic Mountains took nearly five years to make. The artwork consists of limestone boulders stacked vertically and stands between thirty to thirty-five feet high.
According to Rondinone, the location of the Seven Magic Mountains art piece is a physical and symbolic representation of the natural and the artificial. The natural part is the desert and mountain ranges. The artificial is the highway and traffic flowing nearby.
What to know about Seven Magic Mountains:
This two-year installation opened in May of 2016 and was going to close in May 2018. However, it’s still there. It’s located just off Interstate 15 and 10 miles south of Las Vegas. It’s hard to miss this pop of color in the Ivanpah Valley.
You’ll see brown signs along the highway announcing Seven Magic Mountains. There is a parking area for visitors and a very short unpaved trail leading to the sculptures.
There are no restroom facilities or amenities on the site. If you plan to spend a lot of time there taking pictures, make sure to have water because daytime temperatures can reach well over 100°F/37°C in the summer.
When visiting, do not leave trash behind nor attempt to climb on the sculptures. They are for visual enjoyment only.
The installation has interpretive signs as well as Guide-By-Cell in English and Spanish. Through cell phone guidance, you receive information about the artwork and land art in Nevada. You also get to learn about the artist.
About the Artist:
Ugo Rondinone, born in Switzerland in 1964, lives and works in New York. Overall, his work is recognized for its emotional range that creates both physiological expression and insight into the human condition and the relationship between humans and nature. You can find more of Rondinone’s artwork in Rotterdam, Paris, Shanghai, Mexico, Chicago, and more.
Have you been to Seven Magic Mountains?
I had no idea about this. There’s a good possibility that we’ll make it out that way and will make the stop now for sure. #WeekendWanderlust
Yes, it’s a pretty cool place to stop. Enjoy!
We’ve been to Vegas several times and I’ve never, ever heard of this place! Which is too bad because I would’ve loved it! Now I’ve noted it down for our next trip, thank you so much!
I only found out because it kept coming up on Instagram and friend stopped. Hope you make it back on time before it’s removed.
Wow, those colours are a fantastic choice – such vibrance in the brown desert. I wonder why the installation has a finish date, why not leave them indefinately? #TheWeeklyPostcard
The colors definitely add a nice touch to the desert. Right!? Would be nice if they were left there.
Next time I go to Vegas I must make it to see the Seven Magic Mountains! It really does look like it lives up to its name. Thanks for sharing on #TheWeeklyPostcard.
It’s a neat stop. Hope you get to enjoy them before next year.
I’ve never been to Las Vegas and my list of reasons to visit it one day keeps growing. Your post adds yet another interesting reason to visit it sooner, rather than later.
You’re going to love Vegas and this little stop here. 🙂
You’re right, I have seen images of these colourful boulders on Instagram ? The artist’s idea is brilliant – amidst the dry, rugged desert landscape, he decided to “brighten” up the area with these colourful boulders, I love it! Thanks for sharing with us ? #TheWeeklyPostcard
It adds such nice color to the desert. Perhaps you get to enjoy them one day. 🙂
I had never heard of this place. It looks very cool, very colourful. It’s ashame it’s only on for 2 years. Not sure we’ll be able to make it before it stops.
I think I read somewhere that they’ll be moved to Vegas, so maybe you will. (But not sure that’s correct)
I love it! I stopped by about a month ago. I was surprised by seeing signs on the freeway pointing to the attraction. I am sad it is a temporal exhibit because I found it so beautiful. How did you get the aerial shot? #TheWeeklyPostcard
Right!? Would be nice if they were kept there. We used a drone for the shots.
What a fun find! I had no idea this existed and glad to know on my next visit to Vegas.
Hope you get to visit! 🙂
Amazing! The colours are fantastic, and I especially like the photo from above looking down on the sculptures in the sand with people crawling like ants around the base. That really gives a great impression of their size!
Thanks! The sculptures are quite big. A really great stop. 🙂
I have seen them on Instagram. Didn’t realize there were this huge. We have been to Vegas before this Installation was up, time for another trip ?
Hope you make it on time! They’re quite fun to look at. 🙂
I love anything super colorful and I’ve heard a lot about this place lately! Definitely gonna need to go the next time I’m home in Cali and make a special trip! Thanks for linking up with #TheWeeklyPostcard!
Same here! I love colorful. Hopefully you get to see them on time. 🙂
What a neat little detour! Would love to visit on our next trip to Vegas.
Hope you make it out there. 🙂
Beautiful! Even better in person, too. I was able to stop by on our way to Zion National Park this May. Thanks for sharing! #WeekendWanderlust and #TheWeeklyPostcard
Awesome you got to visit. Isn’t it a great spot!?
We are driving Route 66 this fall from Chicago to Santa Monica. We will taking a detour to Grand Canyon and might have to make this a stop! Thanks for sharing!
Hope you do! It’s quite fun. Enjoy your trip.
I love fun art installations like this! I hope I can make it out to see this before it closes.
Hope you do! It’s a fun little stop. 🙂
It is not often that I fall in love with larger than life art, but I do love this! The colors are so brilliant, they mirror the fun, creative, bold times to be had in Vegas!
We’re not usually out looking for art, but this was definitely a great spot to check out. 🙂
Yikes – Didn’t know this was only going to be around for two years! We haven’t made it yet, but sure hope we can soon. Although…they make me crave ice cream. 🙂 Thanks for sharing on #TheWeeklyPostcard and #WeekendWanderlust!
Hope you make it before they’re removed. Same here, we actually pretended we were holding a cone for pictures but we didn’t quite get it right.
How cool!! I had never heard of this colorful place, thanks for sharing 🙂
🙂 Pretty cool right?!
Cool spot. Can’t wait to make my way there the next time we’re in Vegas!
Is there a time of day you would recommend visiting?
Hope you make it out there. I’m not sure. We went around 3PM and it wasn’t too bad. People would come and go so we got good some good pictures of it not crowded. It’s probably least crowded in the early AM I imagine.
This is such a nice idea! I’ve seen something very similar to this art display in the California when a local artist placed several hundred yellow umbrellas in the desert. #TheWeeklyPostcard
I never heard about that one but I heard about the one downtown that was flowing in the air. Should have gone to see it! Art like this is usually cool to find though. 🙂
Great idea for a sidetrip from Vegas! This reminds me of Don Delillo’s Underworld, where the artist is transforming defunct B-52 bombers into artwork in the middle of the desert. I love that photo from slightly above — it gives a really interesting perspective of the work.
I’ve never heard of that one but I’m going to Google it! Thanks, it was a fun place to visit.
I’ve seen a bunch of posts on this place, and I really love it! Since it isn’t permanent, I doubt I will be able to see it myself. I will have to live vicariously through you all.
Sadly it’s not going to last, but I think (I’m not sure) I read somewhere they’ll be moved to Vegas. So maybe you will. 🙂
I was just in Vegas last month and I didn’t make it out to see this. Hopefully I’ll make it down south again before May ’18! I love the perspective of your photos.
I love little roadside attractions like this! They’re little wonders that make the U.S. so quirky!
These colorful rocks make any desert pics look even more impressive. A road trip in that area sounds awesome!
I love Seven Magic Mountains! I’m glad I got a chance to visit while in Vegas. Lucky you got photos without a ton of people in them. It gets so busy these days.
I’ve heard about how busy it gets. It wasn’t too bad for us. Aren’t they interesting!?
I’ve been there!! So fun! Thanks for all of the info, I learned a lot from your post ?
Glad you got to enjoy it too!
If we had something like this near us, I would definitely love to go too! Those sculptures look great! Such a unique contrast to its location.
It’s a pretty cool spot to stop at. 🙂
I love colors. This is such an amazing idea to bring a splash of colors in the middle of nowhere. I really want to go and visit it in person.
I hope you do! It’s a pretty cool stop.