Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area Overview, Nevada

Two Ways to Think of Red Rock Canyon

1. The National Park-like area: This is the area with a fee-gated entrance, visitor center filled with interpretive displays and the 13-mile Scenic Drive surrounded by maintained viewpoints and parking areas.
2. The over-arching National Conservation Area: This expands far beyond the scenic drive to include the Rainbow Mountain Wilderness to the West, the La Madre Mountains Wilderness to the North…all the way into parts of lower Kyle Canyon and Lee Canyon, the Calico and Brownstone Basins to the East and wilderness areas far South of Hwy 160.

Expand the Southern Nevada portion of the Friends of Nevada Wilderness Finder to see a map of the various wilderness areas and boundaries included in the Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area.  

Extremely Diverse Environments

As you travel around the Red Rock Canyon Scenic Drive, you’re surrounded by very diverse wilderness environments.

• Arid Desert: In the center of the Scenic Drive is an arid high desert populated by Joshua Trees, Yucca and Cacti.
• Colorful Jurassic Era Sandstone Mountains: The Rainbow Mountain Wilderness to the West of the Scenic Drive and the Calico Hills to the East are most known for their colorful sandstone mountains formed during the Jurassic Era. These are dotted with bonsai-like Pinyon Pines, Ponderosa Pines and Junipers.
• More Ancient Limestone Mountains: The La Madre Mountains Wilderness to the North is most easily recognized as the line of darker, more ancient limestone cliffs to the North of the Scenic Drive. Here you will find beautiful Pinyon Pine and Juniper forests in great contrast to the surrounding desert regions.

The variety of diverse environments in Red Rock Canyon is seldom found in a geographic area of this compact size. Here you can experience a large variety of activities from sightseeing in your car, to hiking well established trails to world-class rock climbing to back-woods wilderness adventures!