White Rock Loop Trail has something for everyone

deborah wall/special to viewColorful sandstone cliffs are found along the White Rock Loop Trail in Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area. Advertisement

Year after year, Las Vegans polled in the Las Vegas Review-Journal's Best of Las Vegas survey pick Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area as their favorite place to hike. If the poll narrowed it down to a single trail in Red Rock, the White Rock Loop might be the choice.

Its popularity results partly from versatility. It's a satisfying six-mile loop, but also can be taken in smaller doses. This trail will take you around the perimeter of the White Rock Hills with excellent views of the surrounding La Madre Mountains. You'll see several agave-roasting pits and possibly bighorn sheep, and you'll have the opportunity for side trips to several springs.

The entire loop is a bit long for children, but there are no dangerous drop-offs, if you stick to the main trail. The trailhead on the Red Rock Scenic Loop is about 4,900 feet in elevation, and there is an elevation gain of about 900 feet, so temperatures might be 10 degrees or more cooler than Las Vegas. But keep in mind this is an exposed hike with very little shade, so a sunny day on this route can still be very warm.

Since it's a loop hike, you can start in either direction, but I recommend you do it counterclockwise, which feels a little less strenuous because you'll encounter most elevation gain early in the hike, while you are still fresh.

From the signed trailhead, walk north. Look on your left, up on a small rise, for a roasting pit. A little more than a century ago, American Indians still used such pits to cook the hearts of agave plants, which grow in the surrounding hills and are marked by tall flowering stalks. Unfortunately, this pit isn't well defined because people have trampled on it, but you can still see the blackened remains of the leftover rock and ash on the ground and the faint mound shape. There are several more roasting pits located in the Willow Springs area along this hike.

The trail is well worn and easy to follow, except in a few places during the first one-half mile, where it crosses a few small washes. Ordinarily, there are obvious paths across the drainages, but after a heavy rain or flood, you might have to scout upstream to find the trail on the other side.

Along the trail, you will be in a pinyon-juniper plant community, which includes scrub oak, Mormon tea, manzanita, Mojave yucca and prickly pear cactus. Right now, there are a few wildflowers in bloom, including paintbrush. Keep an eye out for scrub jays and rock wrens. If you look closely, you'll notice even smaller wildlife. Some of the plants are hosting tent caterpillars.

From the trailhead, it is a steady ascent of about 575 feet over the first one and one-third miles to the saddle, which marks the highest elevation of the hike. Here, the vegetation is very dense compared to the growth around the trailhead; now pinyon pines and juniper reach well over head-high and can even provide some shade.

At the saddle, you will find a spur trail on your left, marked by a cairn. Sure-footed adults who are willing to do some rock scrambling can take this path up the sandstone bluff to vantage points commanding spectacular views of the La Madre Mountain range to the north and west. These are great places to take a break and enjoy a snack, giving you more time to take in the views. This area is known to be frequented by desert bighorn sheep, so be on the lookout for movement while on your rest stop.

Once you backtrack down the spur to the saddle, the trail gradually descends into La Madre Spring Valley and the west side of the White Rock Hills. After about 11/2 miles, you will reach a junction where the route turns left onto an old gravel road. But for an excellent side trip, go right instead, and follow the road for 0.7 miles to La Madre Spring, a perennially flowing, spring-fed stream with a small pond.

The shallow pond, about the size of a large, portable wading pool, was created by a dam built in the 1960s. Surrounded by Baltic rush, bulrush, reeds and other water-loving plants, it is a favorite for area wildlife, including bighorn sheep and mule deer that can sometimes be seen here in the morning or evening.

If you're skipping the side trip, or after returning from it to the junction, follow the old road about one-half mile to Rocky Gap Road -- the main route to Pahrump in days of yore -- and go left. In about 20 yards, you will come to Red Rock Wash. The wash is usually dry, but a major drainage in the park and likely to be impassable during or after heavy rains. Continue down the gravel road for about one-half mile to the Willow Springs Picnic Area -- this also could serve as an alternative starting point for the loop hike, but this time of year, the parking areas often are filled to capacity.

A little below the parking area, look for the sign marking the point where the trail leaves the road and heads east. A little more than two miles farther along, you'll see another spur trail on your left that brings you down to White Rock Spring. There is a bench where you can relax, watch for wildlife and listen for birds before heading up the trail a mere 0.10 miles to the parking area where you started. That's one of the nicest and most unusual features of this hike. How many other opportunities are there to hike six miles, yet end the hike well-rested?

Deborah Wall is the author of "Great Hikes, A Cerca Country Guide," published by Stephens Press. She can be reached at Deborabus@aol.com.