7. December 2025
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Red Rock Canyon Scenic Drive

Florian Buechtingby Florian Buechting

Red Rocks Scenic Drive

20 USD (per car)
Red Rocks Scenic Drive
5

Rating

 5.0/5

Flyctory.com Pros

  • Outstanding nature
  • Good hikes and services
  • Very quiet and relaxing
  • Very close to Las Vegas

Las Vegas is not only a place to hang out, enjoy yourself and spoil some money in slot machine, but also a great hub to explore some natural beauties around the city. I feel that one place which is unfortunately less in focus of tourists are the Red Rocks right West of the city. Already in late 2023, my wife and I enjoyed the Red Rock Scenic Drive. Finally, here is a review of our visit.

This posting comes with a section of 100 major size pictures in the travel galleries. 

 

Red Rocks Scenic Drive – Location & Admission

The Red Rock Scenic Drive is a one-way, 15 miles / 24 km long drive along the Red Rock Canyon in Clark County, Nevada. From the strip, it is a some 30 minute / 22 hours drive East to the entrance / fee gate, which is the Northern end of the loop at NV-159 / Red Rock Canyon Road. From the very Western part of Sin City like the Red Rock Casino Resort, it is, however, about 10 minutes / 6 miles.

 

The hours of operation differ by season. Between November and February, it is 6:00 to 17:00. In summer (April to September), it is 6:00 to 20:00. From 8:00, you need a timed entry ticket in summer, which is 20 USD per car. Especially if you go for some of the longer hikes, you should arrive early. Our visit, including just two of the very minor hikes, took us three hours already. You can buy the admission one month in advance. There are few days a year, during which you can enter for free (but still need a resevation). Apart from Thanksgiving and Christmas Day, the Visitor Center opens from 8:00 to 16:30. A campground (outside the scenic drive) is available all year, apart from June to August. Especially in summer, bring sufficient water with you, as it is finally a desert area. There are numerous parking lots along the route.

 

Red Rocks Scenic Drive – The Drive

The Red Rocks Scenic Drive as such is a paved road with a speed limit of 35mph. We typically did not even get close to that speed most of the time to enjoy nature. The road is wide enough that you can easily pass slow driving cars. Right at the beginning the red Calico Hills illustrate why the this area is called Red Rock Canyon. In this initial part of your visit, you can also take a 2.5 mile/4km hike to the Calico Tanks or one of the most challenging ones, a 5 mile / 8 km hike to the 2,000ft/600m higher Turtlehead Peak. Despite you are close to a vibrant city like Las Vegas, you are already in a very quiet area, solely enjoying the sound of nature.

There are numerous activities at and around the park. Some peaking do mountain climbing, others hike or bike around he park. A hiking option is the full Grand Circle Loop, which is 11.3 miles / 18.2 from Visitor Center. Soon after the Calico Hills, you also reach the High Point Overlook, which has an elevation of 4,771ft / 1,445 meter and gives you great views of the plains and the mountains.  A typical hike from that area is the 2.2m/3.5 moderate walk to the Keystone Thrust.

Two Hikes Later During The Visit

The first of the two hikes we did started close to the well-equipped Willow Spring Picnic Area. The .15m/240 meter (it felt longer, though) walk to the Petroglyph Wall Area with the historic murals is a must do and a nice way to explore the natural beauty and the plants around the area as well. Despite its short distance, it does take you some half an hour, just because you explore the area so intensively. If you have a 4WD, you might also continue your drive to Lovell Canyon wia the Rocky Gap Road.

We spent much more time at the Fire Ecology trail heading into the Pine Creek Canyon. It is a lovely hike, which took us a little less than an hour. While typically the signs for the hikes are very good, we got a bit lost in there (but enjoyed that) and thus definitely had more than the .75m/1.2km given in the official map of the Red Rocks Scenic Drive. In that area, there are also several longer and more challenging hikes into the Oak Creek Canyon. After having a rest, we left the scenic drive. The exit is not guarded, but there are these spikes in the road which prevent you driving in the opposite direction. In case you decide for a re-entry (the distance between entry and exist is some two miles), you have to pay the entrance fee again.

 

Red Rocks Scenic Drive – Services

The Visitor Center is located right at the beginning of your visit. I absolutely recommend having a stop there, the staff is amazing and gave us the right advice in regards of the hikes we did. Along the route, there are a couple of additional sanitary facilities. For people who explore the scenic drive by bike, there are tool facilities on several of the parking lots.

 

Red Rocks Scenic Drive – Gallery

In the travel gallery, there is a designated major size picture gallery with 119 pictures of this match at

 

Red Rocks Scenic Drive – My View

I am sorry, I should have posted this one earlier. The Red Rocks Scenic Drive is my absolute favorite trip to nature when in Las Vegas. The road and the facilities are well maintained, the services are lovely and even with short hikes, you create a lot of memories. Finally, the natural beauty of the Red Rocks Canyon is outstanding. If you have a (rental) car, you should definitely put this road trip on your schedule (even if you are just enjoying the drive and don’t have some hiking stops).

 

Las Vegas Travel Reviews

Here are all my travel postings related to Las Vegas:

 

Postings about Road Trips

Here are all road trips on Flyctory.com

 

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