Calico Tanks Trail is one of my favorite hikes in Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area, located just outside of Las Vegas, Nevada. This is a popular hiking trail because the trail winds up a canyon to the top of a sandstone ridge where there are a number of natural tanks that hold water used by many of the desert animals. The sandstone peaks and walls in this area were formed by thrust faults, including the nearby famous Keystone Thrust.
Near the trailhead there is an ancient sandstone quarry, with several large 10-ton quarried blocks that were never hauled away. The quarry was never profitable because the cost to move the large sandstone blocks to the nearest rail line was too expensive.
The Calico Tanks Trail is well market and Turtlehead Peak is visible in the distance from the same trailhead. After about 1/4th mile, the trail splits with a trail to the north going to Turtlehead Peak and a trail to the east going to Calico Tanks. Within a few hundred feet after the junction, there is an Indian agave roasting pit where agave plants were cooked in an underground pit.
There are a number of interesting rock formations along the trail and a few wild flowers. BLM has built cairns marking the trail and some hikers have built additional cairns, some which are more decorative than functional. Even though there are cairns along the trail, it is not possible to get lost on this hike because the trail stays in the canyon, or along the edges of the canyon, all of the way to the top.
There are a few small tanks along the trail, but they are typically dry, except after a rain storm.
Some ambitious hikers have built steps to help less-able people over a few of the rock scrambles, but there are no difficult sections of the trail that require rock-climbs. One of the bad things about this hike is that the canyon runs east-west, so in the mornings it is difficult to take pictures because the sun is low on the horizon.
Late in the summer season the tanks are sometimes dry, but on this hike there was water in the main tank.
Since most of the rock formations along the canyon hike do not have names, I added a few names of my own. Some require a little imagination.
"Sphinx Rock"
"Pigeon Rock"
Although we did not see many lizards on the way up to the tanks, on the hike back to the trailhead there were several different varieties of lizards out sunning themselves.
