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Calico Tanks | Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area, Nevada
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Overview | Calico Tanks | Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area, Nevada
The Calico Tanks Trail in Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area is an artistically beautiful 5-mile out and back hike along a great trail through Calico Hills. The altitude gain is about 500ft and most of the steeper stretches up the sandstone have sandstone stairways.
Points of Interest at the Summit Area
As if the beauty of the surroundings all along the way were not enough, there are a few additional rewards at the upper end of the hike:
- 2 scenic ponds surrounded by Calico cliffs (the Calico Tanks): Note that these are likely to be dry in the Fall due to high Summer heat. The best time to find water in the tanks would be Spring.
- A spectacular view at the very summit of the trail: From this view you can look down through Aztec red sandstone cliffs into a portion of Red Rock Canyon including Scenic Drive Viewpoint #2, the Red Rock Canyon Visitor Center, Blue Diamond Hill and portions of The Rainbow Mountains to Potosi Mountain at the South end of the Spring Mountains. To the Southeast you can see portions of the Las Vegas Valley and the Sloan Canyon National Conservation Area in the distance beyond.
In addition, make it a point to turn around often during your ascent along the trail to see views of the La Madre Ridgeline cliffs on the Northern border of Red Rock Canyon and Turtlehead Peak.
Best Time of Year to Hike the Calico Tanks
Spring, Fall and Winter are the best time of year to hike The Calico Tanks Trail. Summer temperatures can reach 115 degrees or higher, though in the morning or evening hours you could hike The Calico Tanks during the Summer.
Best Time of Day to Hike the Calico Tanks
If it’s a weekend day, be parked at the Sandstone Quarry Trailhead by 8:30 or 9am or risk not finding a parking spot. There is no overflow parking on the Scenic Drive, so if the parking area is full when you arrive, you are out of luck.
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Directions to the Start Point | Calico Tanks | Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area, Nevada
From I-215 in Summerlin at the Red Rock Casino, take Hwy 159 (Blue Diamond Road) West toward the mountains. Red Rock Canyon Scenic Drive is the 2nd turnoff to the right, about 4 miles after leaving Summerlin. You will need a reservation to enter the area and gain access to the scenic drive. Once on the Red Rock Canyon Scenic Drive, the Sandstone Quarry trailhead parking area is the 3rd parking area beyond the Red Rock Canyon Scenic Drive.
Turtlehead Peak is one of the most popular hikes in Red Rock Canyon. For this reason, if you don’t get to the trailhead at the Sandstone Quarry parking area by 7am on a Saturday or Sunday, you may risk having to park along the Red Rock Canyon Scenic Drive and walk 1/4th mile or more to get to the trailhead. In fact, in recent years parking along the Red Rock Canyon Scenic Drive is no longer permitted, so you’ll totally miss the Turtlehead Peak or Calico Tanks hike unless you get to the parking area early enough to find a spot!
Narrative Guide | Calico Tanks | Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area, Nevada
Trailhead to the Calico Tanks Split
From the Sandstone Quarry Trailhead take the well-marked trail toward The Calico Tanks. Take time to view the historic Sandstone Quarry, then continue up the trail. You will immediately cross a wash. Incidentally, that wash would lead you all the way to the La Madre Ridgeline cliffs and over to the neighboring Calico and Brownstone Basins to the East, but that’s another story. Cross the wash to continue on the Calico Tanks Trail. Soon there will be a split in the trail. Take the right split for the Calico Tanks. The left split goes to Turtlehead Peak, another awesome destination.
Calico Tanks Split to the Large Calico Tank (Pond)
Soon you’ll cross the wash again heading for a band of white sandstone hills to your right (East). As you reach the sandstone hills you find yourself immediately in another climate zone. Gone is the stark desert zone at the base of Red Rock Canyon. Instead, now you are passing through a forest of Pinyon Pine trees on either side and continuing up a beautiful sandstone calico canyon.
By the way, the sandstone all around you is composed of ancient 201.3 million- to 145-million-year-old Jurassic era “frozen” sand dunes. The reds are caused by iron leaching up through the soil. Look around at the hardy bonsai-like Pinyon Pine trees as you go, and how artistically they blend in with the surrounding sandstone. There are countless photo-opps on this amazing little trail!
Large Calico Pond to the Trail Summit
You’ll know when you have reached the overlook at the very summit of the trail. It’s not far beyond the large calico tank (Ephimeral Pool). You can continue upward above the tanks and ascend to a high point for a spectacular view! Then, either retrace your way back to the Sandstone Quarry parking area or consider an awesome day-long extended adventure. See the Calico Tanks from Guardian Angel Pass adventure for a route from the upper viewpoint down to Guardian Angel Pass. From Guardian Angel Pass, see the Upper Calico Hills Loop adventure for an awesome route back to your starting point at the Sandstone Quarry parking area. Alternately, you could take the Lower Calico Hills Loop, but you might want to have a second vehicle parked at Red Springs Desert Oasis! I suggest you do these separate adventures before stringing them all together into a larger grand adventure. By the way, none of the adventures I’ve linked exceed the Class 3 level of rock scrambling.
