Summerlin residents `survive' in own back yard

Residents of Summerlin can camp out in their own community.

Several camp-outs have been organized by The Summerlin Council, an arm of the Summerlin Community Association charged with social and recreational activities. Each event will be an evening affair at one of the community's parks.

The most recent camp-out, held at The Crossing Park, featured a "Survivor Island" theme. The first 200 residents to register enjoyed setting up tents, roasting marshmallows, playing games and telling ghost stories around a campfire.

True to the theme, campers were organized into teams to compete in a variety of tests of skill and endurance. The winning team was selected at a "tribal council," which concluded the evening's activities. Competition included a Survivor trivia game; a buffet in which contestants had to eat such foods as gorgonzola cheese and sardines; and a scavenger hunt, in which both teams, Achoo and Ichii, had to locate items such as a television, compact disc and pajamas.

Summerlin camp-outs are among the nearly two dozen events planned for community residents each year by the council, which also organizes activities, clubs and sports leagues.

Situated along the western rim of the Las Vegas Valley, Summerlin is unfolding in villages. It is home to eight golf courses, nearly 100 neighborhood and village parks, nearly 100 completed miles of trails, 16 schools, houses of worship, shopping centers, medical facilities, cultural facilities, and business parks.

Houses, townhomes and condominiums are priced from the mid-$100,000s to more than $700,000. Custom lots ranging from one-half acre to three-quarters of an acre are priced from the high $300,000s to more than $1 million. Predesigned custom homes are priced from $500,000 to more than $1 million. Apartments offer monthly rents from the high $700s.

To visit the community's home finding center, travel west on Sahara Avenue, past Hualapai Way, to Town Center Drive. Or, take Interstate 215 to the Sahara exit and go east to Town Center Drive. The center is open daily from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

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