Travel Tips

See either my "Off the Beaten Path" tip or my other "Red Rock" travelogue for details on this area and how to get here.

This is a view from the Visitor Center. All around you are rocks of varying heights and colors -- it's spectacular.

Following are more pictures of the rocks and canyons along the drive through the Conservation Area. (My other Red Rock travelogue shows the flowers and plants that grow in this seemingly inhospitable environment.)

I suggest enlarging this picture to gain some perspective -- see the white spots on the rock near the middle of the photo? Those are people rappelling down the rock face. This is a BIG @SS pile of rocks.

Just in case you were wondering why they call it Red Rock Canyon. (Actually, as you'll see as you go through this travelogue, not all the rocks are red!)

The hike the ranger recommended to me was called the Ice Box Canyon Trail. At about an hour each way (in and then back out) and of moderate difficulty, it suited me fine. Also appealing were the promise of seeing a waterfall-fed stream in the canyon, and the promise of cooler temperatures in the canyon (it is consistently cooler than the rest of the area -- hence the name "Ice Box").

The taller the vegetation, the more windswept it becomes. I thought this tree, which I passed on my hike, was really cool looking.

Here I am in Ice Box Canyon, at the end of the trail. Technically, you can proceed by scrambling over the large rocks behind me and continuing to the base of the waterfall. I tried, but alas -- I was too short to get over the second set of rocks without help (and I was alone). The gentleman who took this picture for me (that's his walking stick) was a retiree from California travelling cross country in an RV with his wife. They had neither the desire nor the ability to continue to the waterfall, so we all headed back. I chatted with them for a bit on hike out, and they planned to end up in Vermont at a big RV rally.

And here's what you see as you hike back out of Ice Box Canyon. That flat area looks like it ought to be full of water, but it's full of sand and scrub.

If you choose not to walk or hike, you are still treated to views like this one!