It’s Saturday morning and the tea is prepared in our travel mugs and the dog has been dressed in his collar. Saturday mornings are for hiking. It is the favorite time of the week for the whole family. We head off to one of our very favorite hikes which we call the South Loop. The hike is actually along a portion of a favorite bike trail network in the Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area (RRCNCA) called the Cottonwood Valley Trails. It is located on the south side of Blue Diamond Road, between Las Vegas and Pahrump. If you come from Las Vegas and pass the turn for Blue Diamond and RRCNCA, you should be able to easily identify the turn-off because it is only substantial dirt road heading south before you go over a mountain pass (Mountain Springs Summit). The road is identifiable by a dirt parking area with a primitive toilet. We like to park in a small dirt lot that is about 0.75 miles down the gravel road on the east side.
The trail is open to mountain bikes, hikers, and horseback riders. From the parking area, you can either take the loop trail north or south. We prefer the southbound direction because it is usually counter to the direction of the bikes and it provides us with good visual warning when they are heading our way. The bikes come down some very steep sections and some riders appear to be operating at the limit of their capabilities. Although the trail markers indicate that bikes are to defer to horses and walkers, this is rarely the trail protocol. Bikes expect the walkers to get out of their way. That said, many riders have expressed their appreciation of us stepping off the trail and allowing them to continue through.
As you travel south, you will gain several hundred feet in elevation. The topography and vegetation is very nice through this area. From the parking area, you start in a desert valley and then as you head south you go through a canyon with some large shrubs and junipers. Many years ago, there was a fire in the canyon, but now the vegetation is returning. So you will see a mixture of burnt and fallen down Joshua trees and new younger plants. When you have gained about 250 feet in elevation, you will arrive at a level area with a large juniper tree. Here the trail splits. If you continue south you will come out to a wider trail that heads slightly to the west. This trail connects with the gravel road that you drove in on (but much further south of the parking area). You can either follow the gravel road back or cross the road and continue west onto a longer loop trail that will take you back to the parking lot. This loop option will take you about 3 to 4 hours to complete (assuming you walk at a moderate pace). Most often, when we arrive at the split in the trail, we choose the left trail. Immediately we follow a series of switch-backs up to Badger Pass, the saddle between two hillsides. It is possible to take a smaller hiking trail to the North that heads to one of the summits. Typically, we continue east and then north down the trail. As we head down, we follow a lovely valley that opens up to some desert meadow areas. In the spring, there are many yellow and purple wildflowers along the trail. On one occasionally, we were fortunate to see a bighorn sheep on the rocky hillside watching us walk by. In the meadow, there is another fork in the trail. If you head west, the trail will return to the parking lot. If you continue north, you will eventually arrive at the large paved parking lot on the north side of Blue Diamond Road where most of the bike riders park their cars.
This is a lovely morning walk. It requires a little bit of energy as you gain a fair bit of elevation. However, the trail is easy to find. The bikes have worn a pretty big groove in the trail and good walking shoes are a necessity. In the spring the trail has a lot of flowers. As summer comes on, you will also see many lizards that lay out in the sun to warm themselves. It is not unusual to see desert hares and coyote as well. In the spring, the canyon and valley on either side of Badger Pass is rocking to the tunes of birds passing through to their summer homes.
We have also uploaded a video of a recent hike. We hope you enjoy it!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2b-aM4_84f8
Recent Wanderings 