Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area
about 15 miles west of Las Vegas, Nevada, the
Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area is protected by the
Bureau of Land Management and welcomes more than a million
visitors each year that come here to view the huge red rock
formations that exist in sandstone peaks and walls that have
been named the Keystone Thrust. Some of these walls rise up 3000
feet and have become very popular rock climbing destinations and
great hiking areas. The tallest peak is La Madre Mountain that
stands at 8,154 feet above sea level. There is a splendid
one-way thirteen mile loop that offers easy access to the
majority of the main features, with numerous side roads and
parking areas that provide excellent opportunities to hike along
the trails located here. The visitor center is found at the
start to the loop, but beware of bicyclists since they have
taken a great liking to biking this marvelous loop. The
beginning has a small hill that is fairly easy to ride up and
the remainder is either downhill or flat, making it so popular
with the beautiful scenery that you'll pass by. The Red Rock
Canyon is a side canyon area that is accessible by four wheel
drive vehicles only, that goes off the loop, and there is a
unnamed although often used valley that has been cut through by
State Road 159 which is often confused with the canyon, but it
isn't. The huge wall of rock that is called Wilson Cliffs or
Keystone Thrust is viewable to the west if you do take the
highway. At the southern end of the conservation area there is
the Spring Mountain Ranch State Park, the village of Blue
Diamond and the western ghost town copy attraction of Bonnie
Springs. This area is the easternmost part of the Mojave Desert
with over 600 species of plants found here. There are Joshua
trees, blackbrush, banana yucca, creosote and Mojave yucca, with
the opportunity to see wild burros wandering around the region,
as well as rabbits and ground squirrels. If you are traveling in
the higher elevations, you might see some bighorn sheep, and the
desert tortoise is one of the protected species found here.
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