Visiting the Red Rock Canyon

It is Sunday and we have heard so much about the Red Rock Canyon, which is just outside of town, we decided to take a drive there. It had been a cool night and it looked like there was more snow on the mountain tops. After a 20 minute drive we arrived at the canyon. You could see the red rock from the roadway and we first went into the visitors center for some information on the area. We bought our one year National Park Pass here for $80, allowing us entry into any national park across the country. We thought this would save us some money since we plan on seeing many national parks on our journey.

600 million years ago, this area was at the bottom of a large ocean basin. As the land changed, the sediment became gray limestone. 180 million years ago, sand dunes covered the limestone. The winds shifted the sand and angled it as the weight of it became more intense. The sand compressed into sandstone (Aztec Sandstone) and with the upheaval of the land 60 million years ago, the gray limestone was pushed through the sandstone and oxidation from exposure to the elements turned the sandstone and limestone to red, orange, tan and brown colors.

The canyon is a 13 mile drive with various stopping points along the way. The first stop and, in my opinion the best, was called Calico I. You could really see the red rock and the enormous force it must have taken to push this massive rock up. There was a hiking trail to go to the base of the rock structure and, every direction you looked, there was a photo opportunity. I even took a picture of Peg in the car with the red rocks behind her!

Calico II was next and it also showed us the vivid red rock that the canyon is known for. These are some of the rocks that could be seen from the road. The sandstone quarry was next. It was not a spectacular as the red rocks but it had its own type of character. Since it was a weekend, the roadway was crowded and sometimes we had difficulty finding a place to stop at the areas of interest we saw on our touring map.

The highest point in the canyon tour was the High Point Overlook. From this vantage point, you could see across the canyon, look at the red rocks, the sandstone rocks and see traces of snow on the ground from the snowfall of the night before. As we continued to drive, we came to the Ice Box Canyon and the rocky mountains here had even more snow on them. The rocks here are called the White Rock Formation and it is close to the end of the 13 mile excursion through Red Rock Canyon.

It was good to get out to this scenic, popular spot close to Las Vegas. It is a favorite place for many people in and out of the area!