Page 7 - Winter 2016 flip 1

Friends oF red rock canyon 7

Above: Calico Tanks with water. Note the path to the top (back hiker) is to the right. Below right: Calico
Tanks in the dry season. Top left photo: View from the Overlook Point.

areas, follow the rock steps to continue the ascent. it goes east.
There is about a 500-foot elevation gain, so take It’s an amaz-
your time, stop to get your breath and enjoy the ing sight.
beauty of the canyon.
This is
Once near the end of the hike, you come to a very an out and
large tank. If there has been rain, the whole pond back hike.
will have water. In the summer, unless there are After having
monsoon rains of consequence, the tank dries up. In a snack and
any case, once at the large tank, stay to your right enjoying the
and follow a use trail at the base of the ridge to your view, retrace
right. There will be a few places of rock scrambling your steps
and navigating over larger boulders. Once past this to Sandstone Quarry. The hike is just about 2.5 miles
area, there’s a sandstone outcrop you can climb that round trip. Take great care when crossing the sand-
gives you a wonderful view over Calico Basin and stone as the sand on your boots can make the rocks
Las Vegas. You can see Charleston Boulevard as quite slippery.

Getting there: The Sand-
stone Quarry parking area is
located on the Scenic Drive
between Mile Marker 2 and Calico
3. There are approximately Tanks
75 parking spaces (which fill
rapidly) so plan your arrival
accordingly. Overlook
Point

Winter 2017