Unexpected, Beautiful View on Calico Tanks Trail – Red Rock Canyon

Length: 2.20 Miles
Time: 2 Hours 30 Minutes
Enjoyment Rating: 8/10
Difficulty: Moderate
Location
Entry Fee: $15 or FREE

Overview

I used my Annual America the Beautiful pass to get into Red Rock National Park. I parked in the Sandstone Quarry and walked a short distance to the beginning of the trail. The trail is 1.1 miles one-way with options to go off the path and climb on the various rock formations. The trail begins as a level path of small rocks that winds through the rock formations. It gradually forms into a dirt path as you ascend 400′ in elevation.

This trail was one of my favorites to hike! Red Rocks surrounded the path on both sides with a view of the White Rocks in the background. At any point along the trail, I was able to leave the designated path and do some free climbing on the rocks.

My original intention was to hike a Turtlehead Peak, but I got confused and ended up on the Calico Tanks Trail. Maybe it’s a good thing that I get lost easily because this trail was a pleasant surprise! I went hiking at 11:30 A.M on a Wednesday when it was 95 °F outside so there was not a lot of heavy foot traffic on the trail.

I suggest going on this trail early in the day because it is the most heavily trafficked hiking trail at Red Rock and the Sandstone Quarry parking lot is limited for parking spots.

This trail is relatively safe to hike solo because I was consistently passing fellow hikers every so often. Although I didn’t see any, there is also a chance of seeing bighorn sheep and desert tortoises.

Unique Aspects

There are multiple parts of the trail where I needed to climb up stairs made from the Red Rocks! It was a lot of fun to walk up these stairs created from the natural rocks. Some of them were a gradual incline whereas others were very steep and I had to climb up them using my hands.

The trail led me to an overlook of Red Rock Canyon where I could see the city of Las Vegas in the distance. This spot on the trail is very peaceful. Every hiker that came to the overlook took a moment to sit and appreciate the scenery. There were even a few people meditating!

Off to the left of the overlook there is a large, beige rock off the main trail that I decided to climb. This took me higher up to an even more spectacular view of the canyon. It was a little unnerving being up so high with the wind blowing against me. I leaned against a rock and took a few minutes to appreciate how far up I had climbed.

At the edge of the look-out, I looked to my left. Here I was able to see where the white and red rocks merged together. It was amazing to see the different colors of rocks form into one another.

The 1.1 mile hike back was significantly easier because it was mostly downhill. It took me about 25 minutes to get back to the parking lot.

Additional Pictures!