My first ever hike that I took 16 years ago in Vegas. I took there so many friends, I took there…read morehusband when we were dating and now my kids. It never fails, it's super easy and in the spring so beautiful when snow is melting and provides creek with water. I have to say that with growing population of our city, this hike is super popular too. It was packed this past Sunday. Just be prepared. Kids were talking about waterfall for days. Our nature is so different and so beautiful

In A Nutshell:…read more -First Creek Trail is nice little out & back trail system 8 miles down the road, just outside Red Rock Canyon. -You will may see some wild donkeys grazing if you keep scanning your environment. -The trail is dog friendly. -You will engage in various terrain consisting of both desert, shrubs, trees & water in the creek. -The sound of fresh water flowing is nice, especially when you don't hear it over human voices. Overall, this is an easy hike to start your day off right.

This a peaceful hidden gem. Spring Mountain Ranch State Park is located just a few minutes outside…read moreof the Las Vegas strip. Surrounded by red rock cliffs, and lots of greenery. This place is perfect for a nice walk through the garden a picnic or even a hike. The historic ranch adds a nice touch, with great photos and views. I found that this place is less crowded compared to all the other parks and outdoor scenic areas that we've been visiting.. definitely worth a visit if you're looking for a peaceful escape away from the city. Also, while you're here don't forget to check out the little gift shop which offers a variety of sweet treats, such as chocolate covered strawberries, chocolate covered marshmallows, and so much more, which are all delicious.

Spring Mountain Ranch State Park is a tranquil gem in the southwest side of Las Vegas, offering a…read morefantastic escape. The huge, grassy field is perfect for picnics, and the restrooms are very clean. It's also pet-friendly, with leashed dogs welcome on the trails. There are several different hiking options, from easy to moderate, with beautiful views. Don't miss the historic ranch house, once owned by Howard Hughes, which is open for tours and has a small gift shop. Very peaceful and tranquil for a lovely afternoon visit.

Red Springs is one of my favorite spaces right next to Red Rock. The great advantage here is that…read morethere is no fee to enjoy it and parking is free (for now). I like coming here in the fall when the many trees here are changing color; it makes me feel like we do have an autumn even in the desert. The boardwalk that traverses the space is nice for strolling and you have excellent views of some of Red Rock without having to drive into the loop.

Great place to visit. When you need God. What happens in darkness always comes to light.read more

One of the overlooked hiking areas in the Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area is Blue…read moreDiamond Hill on the east side of Charleston Boulevard. There are a number of trails here, many made by mountain bikers who use the area for its challenging terrain. This hike can be made as hard or easy as you want. I make a long one out of it, but you could hike in a mile or so and then return to your car. It depends on your skill and the time you have. To get to the Cave Canyon Trail, drive past the entrance to the Visitor Center and Scenic Drive on Charleston Boulevard. About 1/2 mile beyond the entrance, there's a small parking area on the left side of the road where you go to ride horses with Cowboy Trail Rides. Park in this lot. From the lot, follow the dirt road as it heads toward a corral which usually has a good number of horses. At the corral, the road heads to your right. Keep following the road. You're going up the road that leads to the Cowboy Trail Rides area where they have their meals that come with certain rides. Just before the horse area, the trail goes off to your left and drops into a wash. There are a couple of ways you can get into the wash. It doesn't matter where just as long as you keep heading toward the two canyons in the distance. You will come to a fork in the trail as you look at the two canyons. Take the left fork. This is Cave Canyon. Follow the trail into Cave Canyon and enjoy the stunning limestone. If you stop and look at some of the boulders, you can see the fossilized imprints of clams that once lived on the bottom of the sea that was here. As you hike up this trail, you come to a dry waterfall. There are some boulders piled below to help you get up the 6 feet or so to get past the dry fall. If this looks too challenging, this would be a good place to turn around. For those with hiking skills, going beyond the dry fall begins a journey of following the canyon back and forth as it winds its way up Blue Diamond Hill. Eventually, you'll come to the overlook where below you is beautiful, Lady Las Vegas. It's a great sight to see our city stretched out below. On clear days, you can see Lake Mead but this is becoming rarer as the lake drops more and more. Retrace your steps and enjoy the many cacti, especially barrel cacti, that like the limestone of Blue Diamond Hill. If you go all the way to the overlook, the total distance will be about 6 miles. Here are some photos I took when I did this hike on December 29, 2009. If you have any questions about the hike, send me a message and I'll be glad to answer questions. Happy hiking!

Blue Diamond Hill is an extraordinary place off the beaten path in The Red Rock Canyon National…read moreConservation Area. Its open spaces, western landscape, and beauty has touched my heart. Unfortunately, when I recently hiked in its Cave Canyon Trail it destroyed my heart. Seeing the graffiti epidemic creates a wound that band aids and water can't cure. A precious area of Blue Diamond Hill with so much to give is being wasted away by graffiti. The graffiti is so bad that it is running out of giving. What a difference a couple of years makes. The last time I hiked in Cave Canyon, with the exception of the lower cave, the graffiti was as sparse as a Park Ranger patrolling Blue Diamond Hill. Now it is on the level of a barrier wall in a ghetto along some parts of the canyon. Where is paradise-turning-into the ghetto of Red Rock Canyon? Facing north, it is on the right (east) side of State Route 159 between the exit and entrance of the 13 Mile Scenic Drive. The Cowboy Trails parking lot is the trailhead. This is the same parking lot of the Las Vegas Overlook. The parking lot is small and unpaved. It fills up fast. When I hike up Blue Diamond Hill, I park in the paved Red Rock Canyon Overlook parking lot, then walk approximately 1/2 mile alongside State Route 159 to the trailhead. So, from the unpaved parking lot, you want to continue hiking on a dirt road past two horse corals. Compared to the graffiti ahead, the scenery of horses with Blue Diamond Hill in the background is a 4 star picture spot. The horseriders add to the western landscape. On this note, it amazes me that people complain that the horses are destroying the landscape when criminals are doing severe damage vandalizing it. Anyway, the dirt road stops at the second coral and narrows into foot/ equestrian trails. To aim for Cave Canyon you want to envision a clock. Cave Canyon will be toward the 11 'o' clock position. Now you want to follow the trail into the wash and toward the canyon that will be toward the 12 'o' clock position and not toward the right at the 3 'o' clock position. The trail passes on a covering of desert sprinkled with creosote, Joshua trees, and rocks. Unfortunately in mid-2014, graffiti is the landmark to the canyon portion. "Enoch" in large black letters welcomes the hiker. Whatever it means, "Enoch" would be a common sight along the uphill trail. Into the canyon, the trail ascends a hill to the right. It follows the mountain wall to the right and the view below to the left. Halfway to the right is a small cave. I posted a picture that shows how graffiti destroyed this cave. Bird&hike.com also shows the graffiti infestation. A short distance past the small cave, you will reach a wall of rocks. From this point forward, class three scrambling is required to reach the upper cave. Of course, graffiti is the landmark. The reward for all the graffiti on the way up is the breathtaking views of Red Rock Canyon on the hike down. From this angle, you could see a post card view of Red Rock Canyon. The funny thing about Cave Canyon is that the surrounding trails are still untouched beautiful western landscapes. With Cave Canyon on fire from graffiti, until the National Park Service attempts to control it; I highly recommend reaching the top of Blue Diamond Hill from the Las Vegas Overlook Trail or the Cowboy Trails system. In conclusion I give Cave Canyon 3 stars. The way I see it, somebody has to give something to this unloved place that wants to give some kind of love. Hopefully the National Park Service will give Cave Canyon back to health so that it can in turn give future generations uplifting experiences in the caves of Blue Diamond Hill.

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.

There really isn't much of a creek in late October. Maybe we need to visit its full glory another…read moretime? For Rock climbers, to moderate hikers with different terrain (hike over rocks, side wall through sharp bushes, wall over a small creek). We visited late October, and suggest you to wear long sleeve, pants, sunglasses, hiking boots, and water. If you don't, expect sore toes from kicking/walking through rocks to cuts on your legs. Sunglasses is to protect your eyes from lots of branches sticking out. Luckily there wasn't much water in an area that we had to cross in the trail (assume during spring season, that area will wet our boots). This Pine Creek loop is pretty confusing since theres many areas where it feels like there is no loop? Ignore the word "loop" as I'm starting to think the beginning of the loop trail is not a loop until the end quarter as shown on Google maps? At end is a tiny section of a loop? - Recommend screen shot, have images ready or gps app ready before getting there. It's easy to get lost when it keeps saying loop and you think it'll bring you back to the car but not the case. Luckily, there were lots of friendly hikers to rock climbers there on a Sunday. 1. At Red Rocks Canyon (pay at fee station entrance). Red Rocks Canyon is Nevada's first National Conservation Area. 2. From Fee Entrance, it's a 25min one-way drive on the scenic driving loop. The parking sign will say Pine Creek Canyon. We came here because there was no parking at/to try Ice Box Canyon Trailhead (located a trailhead before this). Glad we tried that route. 3. Beginning terrain is in the sun, no shade, lots of dirt so you start to wonder why didn't I just hike someone's backyard in Vegas. It'll get better once you find whatever trickle left of the creek is. That's if you can even find it. If anything you'll definitely experience different terrain/scenery than just then normal Vegas dirt you're use to seeing everyday. 4. There's an area where the Pine Creek Loop splits. We went one way, and a helpful hiker told us to go backwards a bit to go down that path to find whatever trickle of the creek was. Rock climbers were there too. There were many times we couldn't find the next path. Bushes can get pretty narrow. Dress appropriately. Local elder hikers mentioned this was their favorite hike as locals. They were prepared with a backpack, two walking sticks for each hand, hiking boots, etc. Good luck!! We'll have to try this trail again to find this loop vs random one ways everywhere. We're new to Red Rocks Canyon and only experienced Calico Tank/Sandstone Quarry which is amazing.

pretty fun "moderate" hike that's easy for anyone willing to do it. The first 0.38 miles takes you…read moreto a sign that tells you to prepare for a bit of rocky terrain but its a beautiful dessert landscape so you quickly forget about it. Then we ended up climbing in bushes and boulders and going off trail because I am an adventurous son of a B and had to back track to the trail. Eventually, we went off trail again to explore in the creek which was gorgeous! It felt like being in a mini forest hiding in the desert. After that we ended up at this cool little stream.. the sound of the running water is just so peaceful! Watch out for Velociraptors though, there is some chest high grass that makes you lean like a cholo to walk through it if you have wide shoulders like me. But then the sunflowers, those god damn baby sunflowers were so beautiful! Christ almighty I need to find a partner so I can take them in spring for a beautiful romantic hike after some rain!

Make a reservation unless it is the summer…read more Tried to go here in February, but the scenic loop drive was fully booked. Came on a weekend in August instead. No waiting when the weather reaches triple digits. The view is stunning. Just did a short hike because it is hot, hot, hot in the summer. Make sure to bring plenty of water, a hat and apply sunscreen. Definitely worth a stop. Plenty of parking available in the summer. Bonus, no crowds! Note: Use your National Park Pass for admission and stamp your National Park Passport. Take pictures, leave footsteps.

I love learning new skills and I was fortunate enough to learn rock scrambling from some of the…read moremost experienced folks in the LV hiking scene. Our intro session was at Calico Hills. I didn't think this was even possible to summit but we hiked and did scrambling up to Class 4. Amazing. The Red Rocks is truly an amazing playground and I look forward to coming back and exploring more. Easy parking. Restroom at trailhead. Please come And create your own adventure.

Fun, easy hike at Oak Creek Trail! Beautiful red rock scenery and we even saw some wild burros…read morealong the way. Great for families or anyone looking for a easy, relaxing outdoor adventure.

Free hiking trails pass/North of Red Rocks Canyon's fee booth station. Middle Oak Creek Trailhead…read moreduring the winter and after 2pm was a great time. There was no sun/gloomy during our desert stroll in, but almost all canyon shade returning back on the loop. The creek/stream was the highlight. This trail seems great for bouldering, and long strolling... Nothing too elevated or dropped like other trails. The Red Rocks Canyon in the background was beautiful. From the free parking lot to the trail, we turned right but apparently you can go left instead to loop back around too. Apparently it says 1.5hour one way, but it was 4.9miles for us? It took us 2 hours. We followed the All Trails App which was reliable...so unsure how it was 4.9 miles vs 3 miles. AllTrails App is supposedly reliable. There are many opportunities to get lost, and take off trail strolls that'll definitely get you lost. You'll even need to cross a small creek/stream at some point. Wear waterproof shoes or just hiking boots with a grip to jump over rocks. It's only a small area. We're not big hikers. And have only done the popular calico tank trail, which was a climb up the canyon to get a small glimpse of the strip. I would not want to hike this trail in any hotter weather. I'm not a fan of sizzling in the sun, with low humidity and certain scenery.