I was invited by friends to complete this hike today the first day of the new year and new decade…read more(1.1.20). I was excited to complete this hike as I have decided to complete a hiking challenge for this year and this would be hike number one. We promptly met at 9:00am in the Red Springs parking lot and begin our ascent up this so called staircase. There really is no set trail or staircase at all but lots of climbing and scrambling over and through large rocks. You just have to go with someone who has done it before and will guide you up the safest route possible. Luckily my friends complete this hike annually. I wasn't sure that I could handle this climb, but turns out that I was much stronger that I thought. It is strenuous at times and the cardio workout is real, but the reward at the top is so worth it. The views are epic from viewing the entire Red Rock Canyon and seeing way out toward Mt. Potosi. In the other direction seeing through Brownstone Canyon up to Mt. Charleston Peak. This hike also includes some stunning views of our beautiful city. I can only imagine how pretty it would be up here at sunset, but never mind going down would be way to challenging. Remember to Leave No Trace - Keep our public lands clean! #52HikeChallenge - #1

I wanted to go on an adventure this weekend and that I did. I left Central Vegas around 5:15AM and…read moreheaded towards Red Rock Canyon. It was super light traffic at this time on a Sunday so I made it to the Red Springs turnoff at 6AM on the dot. There isn't a clearly marked route so I recommend you go with someone who has done this before. If you go alone, when in doubt, head up! Be careful of loose rocks and wear sturdy shoes. The view from the top is beautiful and overlooks the scenic loop and the strip. You can see the contrast of the city and the mountains. It's stunning and colorful. Bring a light snack, water, and your phone for pictures. It's not a long hike, maybe 30 minutes each direction, but it is moderate and tricky in some spots.

Nice hike with a partially shaded trail that ends up with some rock scrambling. Be prepared to walk…read moreover a lot of rocks on this hike (that is basically the challenge of it). When it rains, there is a waterfall in the back of the canyon that is lovely. Otherwise, its still pretty with dramatic rocks and some nice views. The parking lot is small, so plan accordingly to get a parking spot before your hike. Sometimes it's a challenge.

My local friend took me on this amazing hike when temps were hovering 100 degrees. The canyon is…read moremostly shaded and there was nice scrambling to the top. Not much water due to the lack of rain, but I didn't know what was at the end of the trail and I was absolutely amazed when I found out. Spectacular and so unexpected. Trailhead has limited partaking and when we left there were people waiting. Please come and create your own adventure.

With Red Rock in our backyards, there's no excuse not to go regularly. White Rock Loop is the most…read morerecent trail I've checked out and the difficulty rating is probably fairly accurate if you do the entire loop. Park at the first paved lot and walk to the trailhead, and take the one to the RIGHT (you'll return on the left). The trail is fairly well marked and has decent elevation gain, along with a variety of terrain from sandy and rocky to a more forested part of the trail around La Madre Spring- you can add on this steeper, rocky portion to amp up your calorie burn. The regular trail is a little over 6 miles, but with the walk to/from parking, the springs, and checking out the petroglyphs and agave roasting pit area (by the picnic area), the pedometer clocked closer to 9. The trail is easy enough but the while distance might be a bit much for kids or some dogs. Great views but lots of sun, so take a hat and sunscreen along with your water!

Very easy hike in the Red Rock Canyon national park. Great for families with young kids…read more Met up with a few friends for this hike on a nice weekend day. There is a nice clean outdoor potty at the trailhead to drop some weight before starting. The loop trial is about 4 miles long and take about 2 hours at a normal pace. The trail consists of mainly flat well trotted over sections with very few inclined sections. The view is better in the second half of the loop trial. Parking is usually very easy even on weekends as this is not a trial frequented by tourists.

Cameron from Adventure Child was amazing! We did the Sunset & Stargazing Kayak tour. This tour…read moreincludes a stop at the Emerald Cave to see it all lit up with a green glow from the light reflection. We went on a day that was windy but Cameron was able to guide us through it. His passion for geology and history came through and we learned about rock formations and the history of the area. He provides plenty of water and an assortment of food courses. We got fruits (grapes, nectarines, apples), salad, corn on the cob (with flaming hot cheetos - Mexican style), turkey hot dogs (he's able to accommodate if you're vegetarian or vegan), and s'mores! Oh and can't forget about the drinks. We spent about 2-3 hours at the campground enjoying some stories under the bright strawberry moon lighting up our night. Or else it would have been super dark! We saw so many stars and enjoyed the stillness of the water and the sounds of nature. The kayaking back was so peaceful and smooth. There something so eerily beautiful about kayaking in the dark. Overall, would highly recommend this tour to everyone! Oh also - he takes videos and pictures of you and send them over! So you will always have memories!

Just finished an all day kayak trip with the Adventure Child outfit. We did the all-day trip from…read moreHoover Dam to Willow Beach with our 9 and 12 year old. It was long and epic and full of amazing surprises along the way, including spelunking, hot springs, streams, bouldering, a family of goats, turkey vultures, many birds, and some renditions of Disney songs by the group. Our guide (who has a 9 yo daughter himself) was super communicative the day prior, including a checklist of items to bring with us, temperature checks, and clear instructions on where to go. He also make the trip very flexible and regularly gauged how everyone was feeling. Towards the end, he helped tow the little ones when the wind was strong and they were pooped out, while allowing my husband and i the opportunity to kayak together. He also took 500+ photos and videos for us so that we could just focus on the experience. Highly recommend for the adventurous types who don't mind a bit of lactic acid buildup on vacation.... and passed out children on the way back to the hotel. #outdoors #kayaking #lakemead #hooverdam #lasvegas #hotsprings #coloradoriver

Amazing hike! Short (for a difficult hike), adventurous, challenging, and real fun with a view…read morethat's more than worth the journey it'll take you to get up there. I did this hike on MLK day with perfect hiking weather. We ended up going extra long on the Rocky Gap road, but the weather actually made it a pleasant walk. You're in a canyon with gorgeous views of La Madre and Red Rock mountains. We actually missed the beginning of the actual North Peak trail, which would have saved us about 3 miles total. However, we did take that missed trail on the way back and it was a lot steeper and rough! It would have probably taken us about the same time going up on that trail. The view at the end was absolutely magical. Surprisingly, there was just about no wind at the peak, so it made for a pleasant extended stay. There is also an ammo can with a journal to log in your accomplishments. There is some fun scrambling at the last stretch of the hike once you can see the peak in view. The great part about taking on these difficult hikes is that there's likely to be nobody on the trial so that you may be in more intimate with nature.

Nice trails off the main highway on the way from Vegas to pahrump that are free to access and do…read morehave a restroom. The trails go for a bit and have beautiful views of the mountains all around. Overall, the trails are pretty flat and are in the easier side, with lots of grave/rocks though. Much of the hike is in direct sun, so be prepared for that if coming mid-day. The rubber ducky trail is off of here where you can see the tree decorated with rubber ducks. It's a bit silly, but is a fun draw for the area.

Wow, what a wonderful trailhead! Note that this trailhead is in the middle of nowhere before you…read morereach Pahrump, so there is absolutely no cellphone reception in the area. This is a great trailhead for those that are new to hiking or just love hiking in general. The trails are mostly flat that loops around (5 miles total) and you have amazing Mountain View's all around. It was really windy that day so because of this we didn't hike the whole 5 miles. Though I was wearing the appropriate shoes and had a full bottle of water and walking sticks on me, I still felt like I wasn't really prepared for this trail, since I had my hands full and I did not have a backpack on me. Though I live in Henderson, making the 30+ minute drive out of the city to hike Late Night was definitely worth it! While it was windy overall, the temperature wasn't too hot or too cold to hike.

It's a beautiful hike with lots of trees and nature scenery…read more Trail is moderately easy. Do the loop for the full experience.

In A Nutshell: -The…read moreNorth Loop Trailhead is very easy to get to. -Located right off Deer Creek Road, you should be able to find a parking spot, but spots are limited. -Most people only do the 4 mile loop, which is the North Loop Trail to the Wild Horse Canyon trail or vice versa. -It's not a difficult trail, but you will experience some elevation gains. -The trail is mostly sheltered from the sun, I would say about 65% shade. -There are many trees in the 8,000+ elevation range to include ponderosa pine, white fir, limber pines & the longest living trees in the world, the bristlecone pine trees. -Even in mid-August you should spot a small stream of running water along the Wild Horse Canyon trail, which is very cool to see. Overall, this trail system will break off into other trails so you can choose your own adventure in this island in the sky!

I've hiked the Escarpment Trail three times since the new VC opened and it's a good hike. There…read moreare varied flora as you hike. There are two ways to do the hike--clockwise or counter-clockwise. I prefer counter-clockwise because it gets the uphill part out of the way faster and in a shorter distance. In either case, you have to go up one of two old golf cart paths from a stupid, ill-conceived golf course that was built here in the 90s, lasted about 3 years, and then went bankrupt. The only good thing about the project is that some of the remnants of the course are now hiking paths. Here's the way I go counter-clockwise. Starting at the Spring Mountain Gateway Visitor Center, follow the red gravel trail leading from the small amphitheater. Follow this down the hill until you get to the bottom and follow the red gravel to the left. When you reach the loop, go to your left and go 1/4 of the way around the loop. The golf cart path will go off the red gravel and you start uphill and a fairly steep incline. There is another path on your way up but it's only a side path to one of the old tee box areas. When you get to the top of this hill, the trail becomes dirt. Soon it intersects with another trail. Turn right and follow this trail. Here and one other place are now marked with the Escarpment Trail signage. You will not see any trail marking the Escarpment Trail below. Check the map as you start your hike if you think you'll be confused. Once on the Escarpment Trail, you just follow it as it switchbacks and winds its way around either the east or west ridge. Once on top of the escarpment, you have wonderful views of Kyle Canyon, Robber's Roost Ridge, and other areas of Kyle Canyon. The trail meanders across the top of the escarpment. Eventually, you'll start to descend and come back to one of the cart paths. If you go counter-clockwise, take the first blacktop path you come to and skip hiking up to the viewing scope. Near the bottom of this path, there's a use trail that cuts across the desert to the cart path you went up. If you don't do this little off trail shortcut, you'll end up in the wash and have to scramble up to get back where you need to be. This isn't a trail I'd do in the middle of summer as it's a bit lower in elevation that other Charleston area hikes. It's best to do in early or late summer.

There are many instances in life where something so good can come out of something so bad. It was…read moreonly two years ago when lightning ignited the Carpenter fire that burned several acres of the Spring Mountains. Fast forward two years later and there is a new state of the art visitor center that serves as a trailhead for a new system of trails. The Escarpment Trail is one of them. The new Visitor Center is easy to locate. It is off of Kyle Canyon Road (Route 157) at the traffic circle. It makes for a nice trailhead. There is a sundry of parking. And the visitor center has trailmaps, Rangers that answer questions, and even beverages. The Visitor Center looks across a beautiful limestone escarpment and forested mountains. This picturesque view is the Escarpment Trail. The trail proper is 2.4 miles with an elevation gain of approximately 500 feet. That is high up considering that the Visitor Center is at 7,000 feet elevation. The Escarpment Trail is also a loop trail. To reach the Escarpment Trail from the Visitor Center, you want to follow a red colored trail that travels downhill to the former 9 hole golf course. It is amazing what they did to a former golf course. The abandoned pond has been filled in with xeroscaping creating a botanical paradise. Former golf cart trails have been recycled into hiking trails. They are the beginning segment of the Escarpment and Acastus Trails. If you want an easy hike you want to stay on the Acastus Trail. Now if you want a moderate hike, you want to continue reading this review and stay on the Escarpment Trail. When you look up you see the limestone escarpment. It is beautiful and a wonderful place to be with nature for a couple of hours. But there is some work getting to the base of the escarpment and beginning of the Escarpment Trail proper. You have to ascend the paved trail up a very steep hill. It amazes me how a golf cart could make it up this very steep hill. With that said, this is the hardest part of the hike and please bring water. Now you are hiking along the base of the trail where in late August wildflowers are in abundance. The views of the escarpment are spectacular. As I traveled east, the vistas included caves. After passing a telescope, there is a dirt trail leading toward the east. This is the Escarpment Trail proper. It is unsigned. I did the Escarpment Trail clockwise where I went from east to south to west to north. The trail gradually gains 500 feet elevation that will bring the hike onto the escarpment. The switchbacks are very gradual. There is no scrambling. The scenery is out of this world beautiful. As you hike uphill there is a view of Kyle Canyon Road reaching toward the desert. As the trail changes direction the scenery changes to forest touching Mount Harris. It is from the top of the escarpment that time stands still. As soon as you reach the top, there is a five star view including Angel Peak, Fletcher Peak, the Visitor Center, the Resort at Mount Charleston, scenic byway Route 158, and the parkland below. The continuous forest interspersed with manzanitas is to the left. On top of the escarpment, the trail gently weaves through the forested landscape. My dearest view was on the west of the escarpment. This is a view of Kyle Canyon Road travelling up canyon toward the town of Mount Charleston, Fletcher Canyon, Cathedral Rock, Mount Charlrston, forest, Acastus Trail, and blue skies. From this point, the trail travels downhill toward the former golf course. It was here that I observed a trio of burros. Besides the scenery, another nice luxury of the Escarpment Trail are the benches. They are recycled from fallen trees. They are extremely comfortable and create five star relax in nature moments. I highly recommend hiking on the brand new Escarpment Trail. Five stars is my stamp of approval.