Las Vegas is known for its flashy casinos, world-class entertainment and elite dining experiences. But it’s also close to many incredible outdoors locations for those who want to escape the non-stop action on the strip.
Red Rocks Recreational Area, Valley of Fire, and Lake Mead Recreational Area are all within an hour’s drive of Las Vegas Boulevard. Day trips to these places are easy.
For those a little more ambitious, perhaps even with the intent of staying over a night, there’s Death Valley National Park to the West, Grand Canyon National Park to the Southeast, and the natural beauty of Utah’s wilderness areas to the Northeast, including Zion National Park. These destinations are all more than two hours’ drive each way so an overnight is recommended.
On my most recent trip to Sin City, I ventured to the Red Rocks area for the first time. There are over two dozen hiking trails in the area according to the Red Rocks website. I chose the network of Oak Creek trails accessible from Highway 159. Some of the other trails are only accessible from the scenic route loop road (fee required).
The Oak Creek trails include several paths that cross the flat desert floor leading towards Mt. Wilson, Oak Creek Canyon, and the rest of the Red Rock mountains. Depending on which route you take the distance will vary, but it’s roughly 2.5 miles from the trailhead parking lot to where the trail reaches the steep hillsides of the canyon.
Later I passed two guys who said they had been rock climbing with a larger group. Sure enough, when I reached my turn-around point, I could hear voices echoing off the rock walls deeper in the canyon and figured it was probably them.
On my way back another local hiker with a brisk pace passed me and said he hikes in the area often.
“There’s all sorts of cool things back there to explore if you know where you’re looking.”
Even on the main trail the views and scenery were awesome. The low-lying desert flora was dotted with cholla cacti and Joshua trees. The colored sandstone mountains abruptly rise from the desert floor to create an impressive landscape.
When I was there in January the tops of the mountains were dusted with snow and I wore gloves in the crisp winter air. In the summertime, however, hikers are discouraged from any extended walks because of the dangerous heat that is common. There is very little to no shade on this trail.
