A Hike In Red Rock

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Most people think of Las Vegas and stop at casinos. That’s easy to do. They’re built as one-stop shops to separate you and your money. Luckily, there’s a lot more going on here in the desert.

Just west of Las Vegas is Red Rock Canyon.

Red Rock Canyon was designated as Nevada’s first National Conservation Area. Red Rock Canyon is located 17 miles west of the Las Vegas Strip on Charleston Boulevard/State Route 159. The area is 195,819 acres and is visited by more than one million people each year. In marked contrast to a town geared to entertainment and gaming, Red Rock offers enticements of a different nature including a 13-mile scenic drive, more than 30 miles of hiking trails, rock climbing, horseback riding, mountain biking, road biking, picnic areas, nature observing and visitor center with exhibit rooms and a book store.

Red rock 2   geoff.fox gmail.com   GmailMostly, it’s undisturbed desert with great views.

With temperatures in the upper 50s today was perfect for a walk. We chose a trail with little vertical climbing and started out.

We’re actually not sure how long we were on the trail before we lost it. There were still plenty of footprints in the dry river wash we followed and we didn’t go too far astray. We just lost the actual trail!

My Cousin Michael was quick to note, no birds. We did see one tiny gray bird Mother Nature has made nearly indistinguishable from the rocks it lands on. That was it. One bird… and we were looking.

It’s also interesting to see the colors of the plants. Many of the living desert species have colors normally only seen once a plant has died!

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8 thoughts on “A Hike In Red Rock”

  1. Geoff my husband and I have been there several times and the rocks are magnificent Did you go down the tral to see the rocks with the ancient handprints on them? Well worth it next time you go. Miss you as our weatherman back here in SNOWY CT!!!

  2. Went there in September two years ago. The thermometer was reading 120 only because thats as high as it went.It was beautiful on the back of a motorcycle.Hotter then hell but dry heat! *laughs* (like turning on an oven to 500 degrees and opening the door)Would have loved to been able to do some hiking and exploring though.

  3. A friend and I went to Vegas a few years ago and went to the Valley of Fire, about an hour outside of Vegas. Spectacular! I highly recommend it.

    As we were driving through, a longhorned sheep (I think)started running alongside the car. My friend was driving and I was too interested in watching it run to take many pictures. The ones I did take were not that great, but I know what it was.

    Wish I had a ‘Clicky’ to use for shots like that one.

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