Over the years, I had hiked most of the major trails at Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area several times; but I had never hiked the lesser known Dale's Trail that runs along the base of the Red Rock Escarpment. The trail is only a little over four-miles long and not very difficult, so when Dale invited me to join him early one morning for a hike, how could I resist.
We started out at the visitor center, where the cacti were decorated with Christmas ornaments. Outside there was a replica of the "Welcome to Famous Las Vegas" sign and a number of interesting exhibits. From the observation deck there were nice views of the red rock area.
Dale's trail is not connected to a road with vehicle access, so we parked at the Pine Creek Trailhead parking lot and followed the trail toward Pine Creek Canyon. Along the way, the trail passed the Fire Ecology loop before arriving at the entrance to the old Johnson Ranch site and Dale's Trail.
Dale's Trail runs between the Ice Box Canyon Trail and the Pine Creek Canyon Trail, so we started at the south end of the trail and walked uphill to the Ice Box Canyon Trail. I like to walk uphill first, and then on the return trip it is mostly downhill. Unfortunately, because Dale's Trail runs along the base of the Escarpment, it is really rocky in most places and hard on the ankles.
A number of years ago, a fire came through the area and left some dead trees that are quite photogenetic.
Along the trail there was a marker that appeared to be a grave for someone's pet.
This time of year there were no blooming plants along the trail, but the Utah Juniper trees contained marble-sized blue "berries" that appear to be covered with a white powder. The berries are really cones, but everyone calls them "berries."
The Utah Juniper trees were important to the Indians that lived in the area because the "berries" were used for medicinal purposes and the shaggy tree bark was used to make rope, clothing, fire tinder, diapers, and bedding.
Located along the trail there were a number of barrel cacti, including one family grouping, and a number of other desert plants.
Throughout the Red Rock NCA are what I call "measles rocks." The "measles" were formed when a softer red limestone overlaid a harder lighter colored rock, and then most of the red rock eroded away, leaving "measles."
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) staff is not very good at naming formations, so I have helped them name some of the rocks along the trial.
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| Split Rock |
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| Accordion Rock |
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| Mushroom Rock |
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| Candy-Striped Rock |
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| Oreo Cookie Rock |
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| Star Wars Rock |
After going up-and-down several hills and crossing a number of dry washes, we arrived at the junction of Dale's Trail and Ice Box Canyon Trail, then it was back to our vehicle.
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| Ice Box Canyon Trail |
