Red Rock Canyon. Red Rock Canyon - an amazing place near Las Vegas Things to do in Red Rock Canyon
There are many remarkable places on our planet. The mountains are of particular interest. And if the mountains are colorful, then interest grows exponentially. These are the colored mountains that exist in the western part of the United States of America in the Mojave Desert. On the eastern side of the Mountain Springs mountain range, in southern Nevada near the California border, lies the famous Red Rock Canyon. The name of this place translated means Canyon of the Red Mountains. It is part of the National Park of the same name, covering an area of 792.45 km 2 (195,819 acres). 10 kilometers east of Red Rock Canyon is the outskirts of the legendary casino city of Las Vegas. In good clear weather, the Red Mountains can be seen from the Las Vegas Strip.
Red Rock Canyon on the map
- Geographic coordinates 36.158077, -115.433523
- The distance from the US capital Washington is approximately 3400 km
- The nearest McCarran International Airport (located in the southern part of Las Vegas) is about 26 km
From the name of the canyon it is quite clear that the predominant color in the mountains is red. Unusual color combinations of mountain slopes always arouse the genuine interest of numerous visitors. And there is a lot to see in Red Rock Canyon. It’s no wonder that about 2 million tourists come here every year. Here you can observe amazing colors of red, orange, yellow and brown. Since 1968, this area has been declared a National Park of the same name.
The national park begins here A bit of geology
The cliffs and cliffs have been formed in these places for millions of years.
During the Paleozoic era, about 600 million years ago, the area of modern Red Rock Canyon was covered by ocean. Year after year, limestone was deposited at the bottom. Over 350 million years, its thickness was about 3000 meters. In the Mesozoic era (about 250 million years ago), as a result of tectonic movements, the earth’s crust in this place began to rise, and more gypsum, salt deposits and iron compounds began to form at the bottom. As the earth's surface rose, iron oxides were cemented with calcium carbonate, creating the same bizarre landscapes that can be seen today. Much of the canyon is composed of sandstone called Aztec.
The red color of some areas of Aztec sandstone is due to the presence of iron oxide or hematite. Exposure to the environment caused the iron minerals to oxidize, or “rust,” resulting in the formation of red, orange, and brown rocks. Areas where the rock may be colored are where iron has been leached by subsurface water or where iron oxide has never precipitated. The red spots in the Aztec sandstone are iron inclusions where water deposited iron oxide around a core in the sandstone. These areas are more resistant to erosion than the surrounding sandstone, which is why small balls form here.
Red Rock Canyon today
The conservation area features a number of large red rock formations, many sandstone peaks and sheer cliffs called "Keystone Thrusts". They seem to cling to each other, forming walls up to 910 m high, making them a popular place for hiking and rock climbing. The highest point in this area is Mount La Madre with a height of 2485 meters.
The main ring one-way road, approximately 21 kilometers long, provides direct access by car to many significant sites in the area. The Visitor Information Center is located at the beginning of it. The bike path is also very popular for walking. In addition, there are many walking routes. In total, there are 26 routes in the Red Rock Canyon, varying in difficulty and length. The length of these paths varies from 240 meters (the easy Petroglyph Wall Trail to petroglyphs) to 22.5 kilometers (the difficult Bridge Mountain route). Below is a diagram of these routes.
For a long time, the Kawaiisu Indians lived in these places, leaving petroglyphs on the rocks of the canyon for their descendants.
Climate and nature
There are quite large temperature differences in Red Rock Canyon. In winter it can drop to -18 o C, and in summer it can rise to +45 o C. The amount of precipitation varies from 2 mm in June to 56 mm in February. But the total precipitation level usually does not exceed 300 mm per year.
Despite the fact that the canyon is located in the desert, it cannot be called uninhabited. About 600 species of plants grow here, including coleogine, juniper, Yucca brevifolia (better known as the Joshua tree), Yucca schidigera (also called the “Spanish dagger”), and agave, which can be twice the height of a person. You can see the pine trees so familiar to us.
The living creatures are also varied. Wild donkeys, gophers, rabbits and mice live in the surrounding area. Desert bighorn sheep can sometimes be spotted, and during the rare spring and summer rains, tiny red-throated toads can be seen in small bodies of water. The territory of the National Park is a protected habitat for the desert tortoise. One of the males of this species, named Mojave Max, is even the symbol of the Desert Conservation Program.
Now, along with Arizona Wave and Antelope Canyon, Red Rock Canyon is one of the most interesting colorful natural attractions in the United States.
Working hours
The visitor center is open daily from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
The time to visit the park depends on the season.
November - February - from 6:00 to 17:00
March - from 6:00 to 19:00
from April to September - from 6:00 to 20:00
from October to 6:00 to 19:00
Red Rock Canyon photo
Red Rock Canyon (Nevada, USA) - exact location, interesting places, inhabitants, routes.
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The natural wonder called Red Rock Canyon is located just 27 km from the man-made wonder - the magnificent Las Vegas. But unlike the glittering rainbow of the US gambling capital, this small reserve in the southern Sierra Nevada has only one color - bright red. It is this color that is used to paint the rocks cut into bizarre shapes by the wind, soaring into the cloudless blue sky. These Martian-like landscapes attract more than a million tourists every year. However, after wet winters, the cracked soil of Red Rock Canyon is covered with a bright green carpet. The beauty of the desert, coupled with geological and archaeological sites, make the park a center of attraction for campers and Nevada visitors tired of the noise of Vegas. And here are the remains of ancient petroglyphs - in such extreme conditions the life of the Koso Indian tribe once flourished.
What to see
Red Rock Canyon is part of the Mojave Desert, stretching between California, Utah, Arizona and Nevada. Its sandstone rocks got their bright red color due to iron oxide, which began to actively form after the ocean left these places. Yes, on the site of this desert territory there was once a sea.
The main feature of the reserve is a 20-kilometer tourist road. Driving along it, visitors become acquainted with the geological history and splendor of the canyon. It is along this path that the most Instagrammable spots are found, including the famous Calico Hills, Indian limestone braziers, handprints and pictographs. Another must-see site is the Keystone Thrust. Here, 70 million years ago, two lithospheric plates collided with each other with such force that one of them literally climbed onto the other. The result was a two-layer “pie” of gray limestone and red sandstone.
As a bonus, you can see wild animals - permanent inhabitants of the park. The preserve is home to more than 200 species of mammals, including donkeys, rabbits, coyotes, mustangs, bobcats and cougars. And the most characteristic plants: Joshua tree, cacti, banana yucca, juniper, Ponderosa pine.
Despite the apparent wildness, gazebos with equipped picnic areas and toilets are scattered throughout the park; Observation platforms are marked with special signs.
In addition to the endless jagged rocks, the exhibition at the visitor center is also worth a visit. The exhibition area is divided into 4 sectors, symbolizing Earth, Air, Fire and Water. Each contains artifacts that tell the story of all aspects of Red Rock Canyon: history, geography, plant and animal life. And, of course, about people (man appeared here 10 thousand years ago). Also in the center you can get maps with tourist routes - there are 19 of them in total. There is a souvenir shop that sells walking poles, souvenirs, soft toys and park paraphernalia.
Practical information
Address: Nevada, Las Vegas, Scenic Loop Drive, 1000. Website (in English).
Entrance to the park is free for hikers and cyclists. Entry for vehicles: car - 15 USD, motorcycle - 10 USD, bicycle - 5 USD. From September to May there is a campsite in the park. Prices on the page are as of October 2018.
Well, thanks to warm California - Nevada was ahead of us.
America's national parks (particularly Nevada and Arizona) are another reason to make a mandatory stop in Las Vegas.
After a fair amount of surfing on the Internet, looking at a lot of photos and coordinating the route by time and place, we decided that the move from Los Angeles to Las Vegas should certainly include a tour of the Red Rock Canyon.
After a quick breakfast and loading up on water and fruit at the supermarket, we set our GPS to Vegas. My daughter entered all the maps of the route into the navigator back in Washington, however, we got lost several times in 6 days, because the Americans are constantly building roads, the maps cannot keep up with the road construction, new junctions appear, and the GPS arrow sometimes hangs helplessly on the screen, not knowing which way to turn. Eh, they don’t steal, apparently in America (or at least they don’t steal as much as here:)), which is why driving on the roads is a blast! :)
From LA to LV about 4-5 hours. As soon as you leave the City of Angels, civilization practically ends, if you count the wonderful roads, the road signs attached to them and the occasional gas station. This is how you find yourself in the Mojave Desert, the same one that seems absolutely monotonous from an airplane. I tried to take photos directly from the car, since stopping on the highway would waste precious time. So I apologize for the not very good quality. But I really wanted to convey to you this unique beauty of the picture - an unrealistically blue sky, whose blue is further emphasized by sand and low mountains.
The Mojave Desert is called the American Sahara. It stretches across 3 states - California, Nevada and Arizona and even covers part of Mexico. In Nevada, tourists usually visit Red Rock Canyon, Valley of Fire and Death Valley. All three are national reserves. We were told that the most cruel of all is Death Valley. In the summer (and this is from May to October), the thermometer exceeds the 50-degree mark; flies, for example, are simply afraid to fly so as not to burn their wings - they crawl. A person losing up to 1 liter of water per hour and without replenishment can simply die from dehydration.
From Vegas, Death Valley is approximately 3.5 hours away, and Valley of Fire is 2.5 hours away.
Basically, you need to set aside a day for each park. Therefore, you need to come to Vegas for at least a week, and “playing” comes last here if you want to plunge into the atmosphere of the Wild West. Driving through the desert, you remember American westerns, Indians, saloons, the gold rush, everything you saw on the screen, and here it is, just nearby...
Red Rock Canyon is only 30-40 minutes from Vegas. Therefore, we decided to end the daylight hours there, and then go to the hotel in Vegas.
I don’t know why this place is called a canyon, maybe we didn’t have time to see everything. Red Rock Canyon seemed to me a combination of desert and colorful mountain ranges, with its own charm and unlike any other place. In winter, from November to February, the park is open from 6 a.m. to 5 p.m., in March and October it closes at 7 p.m., and in summer the longest period of operation is until 8 p.m. As in all American parks, there is an entry fee: $7 per car, but they also give you a route map indicating all the points and walking routes and a newspaper introducing you to the flora and fauna of this natural wonder. At the entrance there is a VISITOR CENTER. Near each View Point there are equipped parking areas and mandatory free toilets, some are even suitable for the disabled. Digressing a little, I will express my quiet admiration for the democratic approach of the Americans to the so-called Restrooms, or in common people - “latrines” :). Wherever we are - in museums, parks, memorials, gas stations, train stations, airports, shopping centers, etc. etc. - toilets are free everywhere, with a full set of paper, soap, towels. Eh, old Europe, why are you charging 2 euros for the most human need! :) Moreover, Ukraine keeps pace with Europe here, unfortunately...
We got to Red Rock Canyon without passing Vegas, just catching it out of the corner of our eye. We arrived an hour before the park closed and saw a stunning sunset. I deliberately do not process these photos and the photos of the Grand Canyon (will be in the next review) in Photoshop, so that you can see what the American mountains of Nevada look like - alternately gray, red, yellow, white. (I don’t know, but for some reason they remind me of halva or sherbet. :)).
How the sparse vegetation clings to life - I was able to recognize, if I’m not mistaken, only cacti, yucca and some conifers.
“Live” it looks simply grandiose! Moving from one point to another (and the roads are asphalt, immaculately smooth, these are not our “goat paths”, where infantry cannot pass and an armored train cannot rush by :)), we watched the colors change: the sun was setting, and the mountains were illuminated from bright orange turned into pastel colors - pink, pale purple, golden.
The night fell somehow completely imperceptibly, everything became quiet and calm... And when the mountains merged with the sky, we went to the sparkling lights of Vegas in the distance - the nightlife was just beginning there...
Las Vegas is known not only for gambling, dubious weddings and, as you already know, affordable expensive toys, but also for wonderful paid and free show programs.
I divided all the entertainment in Las Vegas into two groups: daytime and evening.
Why is there such a division all of a sudden? Yes, everything is very simple - climatic conditions :) We have been to Las Vegas twice. Once at the end of May, beginning of June, the other at the end of October, beginning of November. And both times during the day the heat was so hot that the asphalt melted. It just felt bad, it seemed like you had just left the hotel, and the sun, waiting for you to overheat, was already hitting your crown. There's no time for entertainment here.
No, if you have transport to move from hotel to hotel, you can arrange a hotel trip (travel) and shopping, but it is better to stay by the pool, or even better to go far out of town, away from the hot concrete.
Apparently, the Las Vegas entertainment business took the temperature factor into account and moved all its shows to the evening. Thus, giving tourists the opportunity to explore the surroundings of Las Vegas. Well, indeed, in the evening you feel like a person, coolness descends on the city (in November we even threw on light jackets sometimes), you are not sweating in three streams, you dressed nicely, relaxed, calmly walked along the Strip, had dinner in a restaurant, attended a show , had a lot of fun and relaxed after a day of traveling through desert Nevada.
Grand Canyon
If you, God knows from where, got to Las Vegas, it would be an unforgivable mistake not to visit the Grand Canyon - one of the world's most famous attractions! No, if you came to squander all your money in the casino, drink all the champagne, eat all the hazel grouse, or finally sleep it off, then, of course, you don’t have to go to the Canyon :)
Well, or you’ve already seen it in pictures :))) and you didn’t like it, then yes, stay at the hotel! But personally, I have not met people whom Grand Canyon left indifferent. In general, I fell in love with the canyons of America - Grand Canyon, Bryce Canyon, Red Canyon - one more beautiful than the other. On the other hand, I know people who chose the Bellagio pools over visiting Antelope Canyon. I won’t point fingers, although it was us :) We’re tired of riding and seeing the beauty. So, calculate your strengths more carefully when planning your trips, friends. :)
So, the Grand Canyon. Believe me, Las Vegas will do everything to ensure that you enjoy visiting this truly natural wonder. Do you want, he will send you there on a tour bus, or in a string of SUVs, and for some money they will take you there on a Hammer, and for quite a bit of money you can circle and land on the bottom of the Canyon in a helicopter. And then even take a ride along the river Colorado by boat
We chose the simplest one, from the passenger's point of view - our own car, well, ours was rented :) It will certainly be more difficult for the driver, because he needs to find the right path, and find a parking lot, and one so that passengers do not have to walk for a long time :))
We combined our visit to the Grand Canyon with a visit to another attraction - the SkyWalk bridge.
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I couldn’t resist borrowing a photo from the official website of Giroux Glass Incorporated. By the way, this site contains interesting information about the design of the bridge.
SkyWalk is the world's tallest glass structure hanging over an abyss. Brave tourists who carefully step onto the glass floor of the bridge, which protrudes more than 20 meters above the canyon's abyss, can glimpse the river from more than a kilometer in height (4000 feet, which is, for a minute, 1219 m). Everything was as the customer wanted - the local Hualapai tribe - the tourist should feel like an eagle soaring in the sky above the canyon.
You will not be allowed to drive close to the bridge by car. Well, the Indian tribe didn’t “build” this bridge for charity?!
Leave your horse in a special parking lot, buy tickets for the shuttle bus, which takes tourists around the entire amusement park - there is an Indian village of craftsmen (an entrance fee is charged), for some reason terribly reminiscent of some kind of cowboy village from the outside, and the glass SkyWalk bridge (for separate money) with a view restaurant and an observation deck (free) right above the cliff, and another platform, but without a bridge.
Many tourists prefer not to go onto the bridge. And there are many reasons for this.
Firstly, this, as I already noted, costs some money. $25 per person.
Secondly, tourists are prohibited from taking with them to the bridge not only backpacks, bags, purses, but even cameras and smartphones :) Therefore, there are very few photographs from the bridge itself - only those taken by photographers with local accreditation and in paper form. And so that a tourist, God forbid, does not carry a smartphone in his bosom, he will definitely be searched before he sets foot on the bridge.
And thirdly, the glass floor is not that clean and transparent for perfect shots. Of course, tourist fashion models clean it regularly with their clothes, but they immediately leave prints of their sweaty palms on it :).
We, knowing everything, still decided to feel like birds :)
What can I say, even for us, accustomed to glass after a glass balcony in Chicago, glass staircases in New York, and glass floors in houses in Fiji, it was excitingly interesting.
I don’t know whether the people on this transparent contraption felt like brave eagles; some moved stupidly on all fours. There are statistics, I don’t know how much you can trust them, 10% of visitors, even having bought a ticket, do not dare to go onto the SkyWalk glass. People are really scared. And the subtle crunch of glass underfoot causes slight panic... This is something.
Yes, you can’t take pictures on the bridge, but beyond it, the entire Grand Canyon is at your disposal. Carry bags, backpacks, cameras, as much as you like. But vigilant employees will still not allow you to approach the unfenced edge - safety comes first!
The trip to the SkyWalk and admiring the Grand Canyon took us almost half a day. Of these, the journey took about two hours one way. It might have taken a lot longer if we had stopped at the Hoover Dam. We didn’t stop by, we stopped nearby to take a couple of pictures of the bridge and that’s it. We were here in 2010 with a tour and guide.
Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area
The next day of our stay in Las Vegas, we, having drunk to the dregs the pleasure of lying by the pool and tormented by our conscience for the cancellation of Antelope Canyon, decided to visit the National Reserve, proudly called Red Rock Canyon - Red Rock Canyon.
I don’t know what I imagined (apparently, the Red Canyon of 2010 never let me go), but what I saw plunged me into slight bewilderment. Where exactly is the canyon?
There are mountains, or to be more precise, there are hills. And one, no, I’m lying as many as two, two huge stones of a beautiful red color, smoothly turning into yellow, and at the foot mixing with green. And an incredibly huge, simply vast plain, framed by these hills. But that's all!
In general, I came here unprepared for what I saw.
Therefore, read me and make allowance for my unprepared bewilderment :)
So, a huge park with a single looped asphalt “path”. I call a path a regular one-way road, about 20 kilometers long at most. On this “trail”, at some intervals at the most picturesque places, observation platforms are made, with parking lots and toilets.
Sometimes at these points there are rough wooden tables with benches. But there are no cafes, no restaurants, no water tents here. A clean reserve, untouched (except for the asphalt) land, sparse vegetation, mostly cacti and thorns, unafraid lizards, non-poisonous snakes patrolling their pebbles, annoying flies :) I think if you go for a walk along the hiking trails along the gorges, you can stumble upon wild animals , announced in the map guide to the asphalt circle.
But the longer we rode around the reserve, the more beautiful and interesting it became for me. I got used to the idea that this was a routine, and calmed down. Simply quiet and surprisingly unusual nature for a tourist from the forest-steppe zone. The hot air stands motionless, the rare greenery does not move in the same way, and the stones, of course. Therefore, any movement on the ground is clearly visible and audible, and the buzzing of rare flies (oh, okay, insects) seems so intrusive.
I think this place will appeal to those who love hiking in the wild. And if you also like tents, camping, spending the night in the open air, then... you might like it here :).
Las Vegas cultural program
