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The most familiar area of Blue Diamond Hill is its Northern area. This is the area mostly accessed from the trailhead parking at the Cowboy Horseback Riding operation across from the Red Rock Canyon Scenic Drive. There is a great network of multiuse trails on Northern Blue Diamond Hill and it’s a popular area for daily hiking, running and biking workouts along with horseback riding. The canyons also have access trails, and there are ancient fossils and limestone caves.
However, there is a huge, largely unknown area on the Southern end of Blue Diamond Hill just West of the Blue Diamond Gypsum Mining operation. This Southern area on Blue Diamond Hill is characterized by high ridgelines with spectacular unique views of the Rainbow Mountains. These high ridgelines are surrounded by no less than 9 deep majestic, narrow canyons with towering vertical limestone walls that contain hidden limestone caves. Each canyon conjures up the image of a larger version of Cowboy Canyon to the North!
Unlike the Northern end of Blue Diamond Hill, there are no trails in this area…at least, no marked trails. I did discover some unmarked “phantom trails” and “phantom roads” that appeared and disappeared along the way. I’ll identify an awesome trailhead to access all the wonders of Southern Blue Diamond Hill, along with how to find your way through that long barbed-wire animal barrier that skirts the entire length of Highway 159.
This adventure is an initial orientation to Southern Blue Diamond Hill. It’s an adventure loop ascending a ridge on the North side, skirting West edge of the Blue Diamond Hill Gypsum Mining operation along the summit area, then descending another ridgeline to the South. Along the way there are deep views into the surrounding canyons inspiring exploration there along with detailed views of the Rainbow Mountains inspiring more future adventures.
The video identifies each of the Rainbow Mountain peaks from this unique perspective which presents a spectacular wrap-around view of that range. From South to North these include:
In addition, every canyon on the Southern end of Blue Diamond Hill is identified from the ridgelines above.
The best time of year for this adventure is Fall through Spring. Summer mid-day temperatures can easily exceed 110 degrees! Winter is mostly snow-free.
Take the Charleston Blvd. exit off Hwy 215 in Las Vegas. Head up Highway 159 toward the mountains (Red Rock Canyon). You’ll pass Calico Basin, the Red Rock Canyon scenic drive entrance and exit. Continue on Highway 159 past the Oak Creek and First Creek trailheads. Continue past Spring Mountains State Park and Bonnie Springs. Just before the Gypsum Mining road branches off to the left, watch carefully for the Wheeler Camp Spring trailhead parking area on the right. It’s not marked and easy to miss.
From the Wheeler Camp Spring parking area, cross Highway 159 and take a brief left to the South edge of the Blue Diamond Gypsum Mine Road. This is the closest access to cross the long barbed wire animal fence. Now get your bearings. To the South you can see a long ridgeline ascending up toward the summit of the Southern area of Blue Diamond Hill. This ridgeline and the highest hill you can see at the summit are your initial target. You may need to skirt the inside of the barbed wire fence line until you cross the first intervening canyon wash. Cross the wash then begin to ascend the ridgeline.
Each canyon wash descends from the summit area and empties at Highway 159. Where the washes intersect with Highway 159 they look shallow and insignificant. However, as the washes ascend the hill they very soon deepen into majestic canyons with towering walls and hidden caves. We’re not traversing the canyon washes today, but rather getting an eagle’s view from the ridges above.
The ridgelines tower above the canyon washes. The upper edge of the ridgelines is a sheer, life-ending drop-off into the canyons below. The upper edge has a loose rock surface. You might want to give the edge a healthy 3-6ft distance. Fortunately, the ridgelines themselves are wide so you don’t need to get near the upper edge. And and the ridgeline ascents are fairly gentle, though the incline can get pretty steep in places. This arrangement of ridgelines and canyons allows you to easily gauge the distance and timing of your adventure in this area, descending and returning to the trailhead area at multiple points. All the ridgelines will get you back to Highway 159.
Where each ridgeline reaches Highway 150, you can easily fine an opening in that imposing barbed wire fence. Just skirt the fence until you find a place (often at the canyon crossings) where there is room to slide under. Along much of the fence line the bottom strand does not have barbs! There are places where the strands are separated enough to allow a careful squeeze through.
This entire area is an incredibly beautiful, untouched Southwestern U.S. desert garden! You’ll pass among various types of cacti, yucca and sage. Some of the plants you’ll see include:
Using the Blue Diamond Gypsum Mining Road as a reference, there are 2 ridgelines and 2 canyons to the North of that road. The road itself ascends a 3rd ridgeline. There are 5 ridgelines and 5 canyons South of the mining road. For this initial adventure I ascend the 2nd ridgeline South of the mining road and descend the 3rd ridgeline South of that road. There are deep canyons to observe on either side of these ridgelines. In the video I point out a few of the caves visible in the towering limestone walls. Some can be accessed with care. Others would require technical rock climbing skill, experience and gear.
About a third of the way up the ridgeline, a faint trail appears along the North (left) side of the ridgeline. I follow that for a while. Further up a faint road appears. There is some evident of recent passage along the trail and road, but these are largely unused. The road will eventually skirt the Eastern boundary of the gypsum mining operation as it heads South.
You’ll get a great view of the gypsum mining operation along the upper road. Along the way, there is a great viewpoint. At the Southern end of Blue Diamond Hill you can see the upper end of that huge chute created to transport oar down the South side of the mountain. There’s a distinctive hill near the South end of the summit area. I ascended that hill for the best view of the day.
On this day I did not take the furthest ridgeline to the South. I hear that ridgeline has an incredible view of the region to the South of Blue Diamond Hill. I took the ridgeline, 2 ridgelines to the North. It was the ridgeline descending from the observation hill just mentioned. The canyon to the South (to the left) of the ridgeline was huge and deep with towering vertical walls. The canyon to the North of the ridgeline (to the right) was more shallow and had a number of fairly gradual but steep slopes one could use to descend into that canyon. The ridgeline reached Highway 159 just South of the main entrance road for the town of Blue Diamond. I crossed through the barbed wire fence barrier, took a right of Highway 159 and reached my starting point at the Wheeler Camp Spring parking area in an incredibly short (less than half a mile) distance from the descent ridge!
This was a fairly short adventure offering a huge reward for the energy and time investment. It was a great initial overview of the beautiful Southern Blue Diamond Hill area. From this beginning, it’s easy to imagine future adventures here!
David Smith has devoted the better part of one day each week over the past 20 years to experiencing a mountain trail running adventure. He began in the Pacific Northwest with the Columbia Gorge and Cascade Mountains; then moved to Southern California and experienced the Angeles Crest mountains; then the Northeast where he experienced the Hudson River Valley and Minnewaska; finally in 2016 to Las Vegas where he is experiencing and documenting Red Rock Canyon, the Spring Mountains (Mt. Charleston area), Death Valley and beyond!
Return often to experience one new adventure each week! From the home page scroll to “Most Recent Adventures“. More about David Smith…
The trail adventures on this website require proper conditioning, preparation and safety precautions. There are many factors beyond our control including weather conditions, unstable ground, loose rocks, insects and snakes, people you may encounter, your own level of physical conditioning, the potential of getting lost just to mention a few. While this site offers guidance, helpful tips, direction and training, the reader assumes full responsibility for whatever may occur during their trail adventure. Have fun and be safe!
