At A Glance
Best season: October–April.
Length: One-half-mile loop.
Difficulty: Easy boardwalk.
Elevation gain: Minimal.
Trailhead elevation: Thirty-six hundred feet.
Jurisdiction: Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area.
Directions: From Red Rock Canyon’s main entrance drive east on Charleston Boulevard (Nevada Route 159) for 1.4 miles. Go left onto Calico Basin Drive and drive about one mile to the signed parking area and trailhead.
2 Calico Tanks Trail
The main attraction of the Calico Tanks Trail is a large tinaja — a natural waterhole or tank weathered into native rock. But the whole hike is interesting, taking you through a vegetated canyon within a white-and-red sandstone landscape.
Unless you arrive first thing in the morning you will probably find dozens of cars in the parking area. Although the hike is one of the most popular in the park, those cars did not all bring visitors to the tank. The parking lot also serves as the trailhead for Turtlehead Peak, and this is a popular area for rock climbers as well. It is also a favorite for those who come just to take a short and easy stroll around the colorful formations, and perhaps see the remnants of a historic sandstone quarry and an agave-roasting pit.
From the parking area head north along the wide and obvious trail. After about 140 yards you will want to head left across a wash, but first it’s worth a look about twenty yards ahead at the large, square blocks of sandstone, said to weigh ten tons each. These are remnants from the quarry that operated here from 1905 to 1912.
After examining the blocks, backtrack and resume the main trail, swinging to the left of the blocks, which will take you down and over a usually dry wash. Start looking on your left for the BLM sign that marks an agave-roasting pit just a few yards off the trail. The hearts of agave, a kind of yucca which still grows hereabout, were a food highly prized by American Indians up to modern times. Continue north until you see the sign marking the right-hand turn for the Calico Tanks Trail.
Follow this spur trail which will take you up a small drainage surrounded by scrub oak, manzanita, and pinyon pines. If you take this hike in late March or early April you might be treated to the showy, bright pink bloom of the western redbud, a small tree that is a member of the pea family. There are only a handful in the canyon but they are a spectacular sight to see.
This hike is a good one for all ages except young children. There is cliff exposure in a few areas, while uneven terrain and elevation gain make it is too strenuous for little ones. Most of the trail is exposed to the sun, so this can be a warm walk, but there is shade to be found along the route, except at the tank itself. Along the way look off to the side of the trail, for areas with fine sand that captures the tracks of chipmunks and birds.
A hiker takes a break to admire the Calico Tanks.
As you continue up the canyon in the steeper sections, you will find hand-placed sandstone steps. There are a few areas you will need to do some route finding but it would be hard to get lost, for the right way is always up the main canyon.
The water level in the tank fluctuates greatly depending on rainfall. I have never found it completely dry, though I have never been there in summer. There is plenty of room to walk around the sandstone shoreline to the left, which affords a comfortable place to sit by water’s edge. Be careful traversing the slope, though, for I have seen people lose their footing and slide in.
Another reason to watch your step is to preserve the easily damaged shoots of water-loving vegetation, especially in springtime and on the south shore. This waterhole is critical to the survival of the park’s wildlife, but not good for humans; don’t drink it or enter the pond.
Seasoned hikers looking for more adventure can head to the southeast corner of the pond and scramble twenty feet or so up a sandstone cliff. From here you can see the visitor center and the first parking area of the Calico Hills, which you passed on the way to the trailhead. If you travel farther, you can even get good, far-reaching views of Las Vegas. There are plenty of high drop-offs in this area, so only those who are sure-footed should hike here.
Calico Tanks At A Glance
Best season: October–April.
Length: 2.5 miles roundtrip.
Difficulty: Moderate.
Elevation gain: 450 feet.
Trailhead elevation: 4,310 feet.
Warnings: Cliff exposure, rock scrambling.
Jurisdiction: Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area.
Directions: From Red Rock Canyon’s main entrance, drive about 2.6 miles on the 13-mile Scenic Drive to the Sandstone Quarry parking area on right.
3 White Rock Hills/La Madre Spring Loop
This circle will take you around the perimeter of the White Rock Hills with excellent views of the surrounding La Madre Mountains. You’ll see several agave-roasting pits and possibly bighorn sheep.
Furthermore, it’s an unusually versatile trail with the opportunity for side trips to several springs. The entire loop is a bit long for children but there are no dangerous drop-offs if you stick to the main trail. Since it’s a loop hike you can start in either direction but I recommend counterclockwise, which feels a little less strenuous because you’ll encounter most elevation gain early in the hike, while you are still fresh.
From the signed trailhead, walk north. Look on your left, up a small rise, for a roasting pit. Little more than a century ago American Indians still used such pits to cook the hearts of agave plants, which grow in the surrounding hills and are marked by tall flowering stalks. Unfortunately this pit isn’t well defined because people have trampled on it, but you can still see the faint mound shape, and the blackened rock and ash on the ground. This hiking route passes several more roasting pits in the Willow Springs area.
The trail is well worn and easy to follow except in a few places during the first one-half mile where it crosses a few small washes. Ordinarily there are obvious paths across the drainages, but after a heavy rain or flood you might have to scout upstream to find the trail on the other side.
Along the trail you will be in a pinyon-juniper plant community which includes scrub oak, Mormon tea, manzanita, Mojave yucca, and prickly pear cactus. In spring you’ll see wildflowers. Keep an eye out for scrub jays and rock wrens.
From the trailhead it is a steady ascent of about 590 feet over about a mile and one-third, to a saddle, which marks the highest elevation of the hike. Vegetation becomes dense compared to that around the trailhead; up here pinyon pines and junipers grow higher than a person’s head, and even provide some shade.
At the saddle you will find a spur trail on your left, marked by a cairn. Sure-footed adults willing to
