Red Rock Canyon.............

Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area is not too far from the hustle and bustle of Las Vegas.....maybe a half hour or so drive. For more information, click here.  There is a 13-mile scenic loop through the park, and there are many hiking trails to chose from, depending on what kind of hike you are interested in. This park is also a mecca for bike riders and rock climbers!

approaching the park

great rock formations

love the colors 

gorgeous, no matter which way you look

fyi-the bathrooms weren't working because they didn't have enough water! Yikes!

people are everywhere on the rocks...its dizzying to watch

Cool red rocks and boulders are on one side of the park loop, with intriguing hikes through that area. On the other side of the park are the "canyon" hikes....a bit of canyon hiking after about a  mile walk through the desert.

We decided to do a 3-mile canyon hike....Pine Creek Canyon....one mile across the desert, followed by about a mile in the canyon, and then a mile back across the desert. We decided to do this hike first so we I wouldn't be struggling with the heat going back across the desert.

In order to do that hike first, we had to drive the scenic loop almost to the end. So, I guess we weren't paying attention to the trail description very well. The trail goes across the desert, past an old homestead. May find seasonal waterfalls. Unimproved trails in the canyon require some tricky rock scrambling. That part of the description did not register with us for some reason, and when we got lost in the thicket scrambling over rocks and boulders....we thought we were lost. We were actually, but we Tom managed to find the way back to the original trail. Whew!

starting our hike into the canyon

there's the canyon behind me....we are headed there

pretty

going that way

really nice hike so far

views were super

this must be the old homestead

getting hot now

see the rock climbers?

see them now?

oh boy....Tom is even getting hot...taking his sweatshirt off!

watching the climbers

working our way into the canyon

ahh....there's actually water in the stream there

scrambling

heading into the canyon

are we still on the trail?

working our way through

okay....we aren't lost anymore :)

brilliant spot of green in the desert

heading back across the desert....its pretty hot now

so many different colored rocks

a spot of blue caught my eye

still crossing the desert....its beautiful 

heading up and out

We stopped at Red Rock Overlook for lunch....a spectacular view! It was actually pretty cool in the shade with the breeze! It was good we had layers.

another amazing view for lunch

ready Susie?

Ready

After lunch, we started the "scenic loop" all over again. We even got to see some wild donkeys snacking in the desert. Bonus! We stopped at some of the scenic overlooks, just for some photo ops. Originally we were going to hike on the Calico Hills trail, but after seeing it from the parking lot, well....that was not for me!

oh hello

Calico Rock area

no can do

I'm good checking out the view from here

check that out....

We stopped at a few more overlooks before heading to Lost Creek-Children's Discovery Trail. We actually saw a waterfall...remember this is the desert! Hahah. Anyway, a very cool trail...literally and figuratively. Nice way to end the afternoon.

cool

no one was climbing on these rocks

the views are pretty good here!

Starting on the Lost Creek Trail

nice boardwalk

interesting hike

look at that!

heading toward the Lost Creek?

it may be here somewhere

see the waterfall? We found the Lost Creek!

Its nice and refreshing here!

this way?

nature's art (a rock on the trail!)

Petroglyph

the petroglyph was in there....and those "caves" were used as camps back in the day

the scenery here is amazing

no we aren't lost!

heading down now

great hike!

We had a full day in the park, though we thought we would only be there a few hours since this is a smallish park. It was very enjoyable! And scenic! And, well, fun!