Overview | North Sandstone Peak Loop | Rainbow Mountain Wilderness, Nevada

Four great things happen during this adventure:

1. Explore the Very North End of the Rainbow Mountains: Circle the North base of the Rainbow Mountains, then ascend a wild, fun, pathless Northwest approach ridge.
2. Traverse the Most Beautiful Stretch of Red Rock Wash: This stretch runs along the North base of the Rainbow Mountains.
3. Experience Unique Aerial Views from North Sandstone Peak: This is the highest peak at the North end of the Rainbow Mountains. At 7,046ft it’s only 24 feet lower than the more famous Mt. Wilson.
4. Descend on the North Peak Trail: This is a nice, easy trail, much simpler than the wild ascent ridge. In fact, you could use this more streamlined trail both for the ascent and descent, skipping the wild approach ridge. 

Adventures Now Documented Along the Full Length of the Rainbow Mountains

This adventure is your introduction to the Northernmost end of the beautiful Rainbow Mountains. We’ve now documented adventures along the full length of the Rainbow Mountains Upper Crest Ridgeline from the North end at Willow Spring to the South end at Hwy 160 and Potosi Mountain. In addition, we’ve now summited and documented routes to all the major Rainbow Mountain peaks.

Explore Beautiful Red Rock Wash

The stretch of Red Rock Wash along the North base of the Rainbow Mountains is uniquely beautiful. You’ll pass along a channel between towering, colorful sandstone heights. Sandstone and limestone boulders, fallen from above, then carved and etched by the action of water add to the beauty of the wash. But despite the boulders, the wash is fairly gradual, and you can find natural steps up and through the boulders making the wash an easy traverse and a complete adventure in itself.

Ascend a Wild, Pathless Northwest Rainbow Mountains Approach Ridge

Though it’s pathless and there are a number of rocky obstacles to overcome, this approach ridge is mostly class 2 with a few class 3 and class 3+ rock scrambles you can bypass if you want. As you ascend, views of Red Rock Wash and Rocky Gap Road below continually expand, as do views of the wild and rugged Wilson Ridge and La Madre Ridge. Eventually, you’ll see Griffith Peak and Harris Mountain in the Mt. Charleston Wilderness beginning to appear. The gray limestone surface transitions to a brighter, colorful sandstone surface as you cross the world famous Keystone Thrust Faultline.

Enjoy Unique Sweeping Views from North Sandstone Peak’s Sharp Summit, Elevation 7,046ft

North Sandstone Peak is a sharp, tiny summit with just enough room for one person to fit comfortably at a time. Vertical cliffs drop off on three sides, making this a great observation point with a spectacular 360 degree view.

Here are a few of the surrounding reference points you will see from the summit of North Sandstone Peak:

• Rainbow Mountains Stretching to the South: Bridge Mountain, Juniper Peak, Rainbow Wall, Mt. Wilson and stretches along the Rainbow Mountains Upper Crest Ridgeline are most prominent. Blue Diamond Hill is also prominent. You can see Potosi Mountain beyond the South end of the Rainbow Mountains.
• Wilson Ridgeline to the North: Pepper Peak, Red Rock Summit, Tio Grande and Willow Benchmark (the junction of the Wilson Ridge and La Madre Ridge) are most prominent.
• Mt. Charleston Wilderness on the Horizon Above the Wilson Ridge: Griffith Peak and Harris Mountain are most prominent along with Sexton Ridgeline descending from Griffith Peak.
• The La Madre Ridgeline Branching off to the East: With familiarity you can make out El Bastardo Peak, El Padre Peak, La Madre Mountain and East La Madre Mountain.
• Damsel Peak, Gass Peak, a bit of the Sheep Range and Muddy Mountains to the Northeast.
• Red Rock Canyon, Calico Hills, Brownstone Basin, Gray Cap Mountain and Ridgeline, Kraft Mountain, Las Vegas Strip, Frenchman Mountain, Sunrise Mountain and the surrounding wilderness areas to the East.

Best Time of Year for the North Sandstone Peak Loop

Stick to Spring or Fall, on days the temperature in Las Vegas does not exceed 90 degrees. Summer temperatures can reach a dangerous 110 degrees and above. Winter can bring treacherous ice and snow on the smooth upper sandstone surfaces making them a skiting rink! Avoid this adventure within 24-48 hours of the last rain, which can also create very slick conditions on the upper sandstone, and potentially create a stream to navigate in the Red Rock Wash below.      

Trailhead Directions | North Sandstone Peak Loop | Rainbow Mountain Wilderness, Nevada

From I-215 take the Charleston Blvd exit (at Red Rock Casino) and head upward through Summerlin toward Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area. Take the Red Rock Canyon scenic drive past the high point overlook to the Willow Spring picnic area between White Rock Mountain and the Rainbow Mountains that border the West side of Red Rock Canyon.

Narrative Guide | North Sandstone Peak Loop | Rainbow Mountain Wilderness, Nevada

Getting Your Initial Bearings

The best vantage points for getting your initial bearings are on the East side of the Red Rock Scenic Loop at the 2nd Parking Area and the Scenic Drive Highpoint. You’ll be passing these viewpoints on the way to your starting point at the Willow Spring Picnic Area. From these high points view the Rainbow Mountains stretching from Potosi Mountain at the South end to North Sandstone Peak at the North end. You can identify your goal of North Sandstone Peak along with the North end of the Rainbow Mountains. You’ll circle the North end of the Rainbow Mountains in Red Rock Wash, then ascend the approach ridgeline to summit North Sandstone Peak from behind (on its West side), then descend to Rocky Gap Road below on the West side of the Rainbow Mountains.

Willow Spring Picnic Area to the Northwest Ascent Ridge

Head up Rocky Gap Road above Willow Spring Picnic Area for about a half-mile. At that point, veer to the left off Rocky Gap Road into Red Rock Wash not far below. Red Rock Wash follows a beautiful narrow channel between the cliffs at the North end of the Rainbow Mountains (on the left) and some sandstone heights on the right. The surface of the wash is a gravely mix of sandstone and limestone. The sandstone in the wash and on the heights on either side is frozen sand dunes from Jurassic Period (dinosaur period…201 – 145 million years ago). The limestone is frozen ancient sea bottom mud, over 500 million years of age from the Paleozoic Era when the entire area was covered by a shallow ocean. The combination of gravel, rocks and boulders is incredibly beautiful! In particular, the sandstone now smoothed by flowing water over eons of time has colorful layers and fantastic intricate etchings.

If you pass through Red Rock Wash during mid April through May as I did on this adventure, you’ll also see a variety of colorful blooms (see the video and slide guides on this page).

Unlike all the canyons along the East base of the Rainbow Mountains, Red Rock Wash is wide open with very no significant brush or boulders to navigate. Where you need to ascend through boulders to the next higher level, you can most often find natural stairways, saving you from any complicated rock scrambling. This makes the stretch of Red Rock Wash along the North base of the Rainbow Mountains a destination in itself, even if you do not end up looping to North Sandstone Peak above. Just travel the wash until it becomes complicated by brush and possibly a small flowing stream at the Northwest edge of the Rainbow Mountains. Here you can easily ascend the small rise on the right to Rocky Gap Road for a quick return to Willow Spring Picnic Area.

Rainbow Mountains NW Ascent Ridge to North Sandstone Plateau

If you decide to do the North Sandstone Peak Loop, the brushy area in Red Rock Wash at the Northwest edge of the Rainbow Mountains is your signal to begin angling to the left toward the NW ascent ridge. Watch for the most gradual ridgeline ahead to your left. Getting there involves some complicated thick brush navigation, but as you begin to ascend the base of the ridge the terrain soon begins to open up. That initial ascent is steep, but soon the incline decreases a bit. Now it’s a case of weaving through brush and rocky areas. Up about a mile ahead note a particularly rocky bluff. It looks insignificant from a distance, but when you arrive there you’re facing 15-20ft rises, some vertical or near vertical. I weaved up and through some of the initial rocky (class 3 and 3+) rises before hitting some even steeper rocky stretches near the top of the bluff. At this point I angled over to the next ridge to the left, crossing a shallow gully on the way. I arrived on that ridge where the limestone changed to sandstone, and there was a cairn on a small sandstone plateau just above.

At this point, I began to ascend that neighboring ridge as the angle of incline increased. Now it was a case of weaving around and over a number of low sandstone ledges. Nothing exceeded a high class 2, low class 3 rock scramble. The rounded tree-covered height on the horizon not far above (1-2,000 linear feet) signaled arrival at the beautiful, huge North Sandstone Plateau — a lot of final weaving through thicker brush, an even steeper incline and more low ledges, then I was on the plateau!

The pathless approach ridges slowed me down quite a bit, complicating progress. But they were interesting and fun and gave me the feeling of earning North Sandstone Peak’s summit! Alternately, you could simply ascend the North Peak Trail from Rocky Gap Road to North Sandstone Peak as a much quicker, more streamlined approach to the peak. That’s the route I used on the descent. The trail is no bunny route, but is a lot easier than the pathless approach ridges.

North Sandstone Plateau to North Sandstone Peak

Celebrate your arrival on the North Sandstone Plateau! It’s so vast and beautiful that on my first ascent 10 years ago (via the North Peak Trail) when I’d newly arrived in the area from Connecticut and knew the names of only a few points in the Southern Nevada Wilderness, I called it Paradise Plateau! The wide-open colorful sandstone surface is dotted with bonsai-like pinyon pines, manzanita, yucca and other beautiful plants creating a garden scene beyond human ingenuity. Add to this the high-plateau backdrop views and your senses are completely overloaded! What a reward for the earlier ascent! It’s one of those rare, sacred places you’ll want to return to again and again to spend a lot of time immersed in the wonder of it all!

North Sandstone Peak is visible about a half-mile ahead with a brief, gradual rise above the plateau. Just cross the plateau and head for the peak!

North Sandstone Peak Summit

The final ascent is a walk up the gradual incline…the easiest summit in the Rainbow Mountains. There are actually two summits with a 50ft very shallow saddle between. I first ascended the South summit (on the right), then walked over to the sharper North summit where the summit box is placed. There’s a huge drop-off from that summit on three sides, and the summit is very sharp and small making it a bit scary to stand, so I sat and looked around. What an incredible 360-degree view from that sharp summit, the highest peak on the North end of the Rainbow Mountains with no peak higher until Mt. Wilson on the mid-range. And Mt. Wilson is only 24 feet higher!

The North Peak Trail circles the East side of North Sandstone Peak, on a little plateau just below the peak, continuing North for about 1,200 feet to end at the little-known El Duderino Peak which is an incredible observation point. Below that plateau is the huge vertical drop of Buffalo Wall towering above Ice Box Canyon.  

Descending the North Peak Trail to Rocky Gap Road

Speaking of the North Peak Trail, the initial challenge of the descent is to find that faint unmarked trail winding down one ridge over to the Southwest from North Sandstone Peak. Look carefully at the sandstone slabs and you might see a faintly worn line and a few occasional cairns. On the other hand, you might not see any signs of a trail! You want to cross over to the next descent ridge South of the wild ridge you ascended earlier. A GPS will be helpful. It’s easy to head down the wrong slope or gully, ending up in quite the confusing jumble of sandstone slabs and ledges! Once you’ve landed on the North Peak Trail it becomes distinct and easy to follow. At first you’re descending through the upper sandstone area. About mid-way down the trail you cross over a distinct demarcation (the Keystone Thrust Faultline) to the limestone area. The North Peak Trail continues to descend toward the now visible Rocky Gap Road below. At the base of the trail, cross the wide double channel of Red Rock Wash to arrive at Rocky Gap Road on the opposite side of the wash.

North Peak Trailhead to Willow Spring Picnic Area

Knowing that some hikers might want to skip the wild approach ridge and both ascend and descend the North Peak Trail, I made a point in the video to show where the North Peak Trail begins on Rocky Gap Road. The trailhead is nearly invisible, so it will help to have GPS to locate the trail from below. It’s a very obscure passage through a line of brush. There is a small vehicle pull-out just across Rocky Gap Road from the trailhead.

On the other hand, if you’re descending Rocky Gap Road to Willow Spring Picnic Area, just take a right on Rocky Gap Road and follow that road as it runs above Red Rock Wash all the way to Willow Spring. As you descend, take a moment to identify the three major parts of the loop you’ve just accomplished: Red Rock Wash (below); the wild ascent ridge and the North Peak Trail ridgeline. Celebrate your achievement and the joy you’ve experienced during this magical day of wilderness immersion at the very North end of the Rainbow Mountains!