Calico Hills Trailhead

Welcome to the Calico Hills, an area that arguably presents the most iconic and visually arresting geology within the entire Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area. We are initiating our field study at the primary parking…

We commence our physical exploration with a mild, deliberate descent from the asphalt of the Calico One parking lot directly into the sandy, gravel-strewn bed of a small wadi. Almost instantly, the auditory environment shifts. …

Having navigated the initial wadi, we now arrive at a location that merges deep geological history with relatively recent industrial human endeavor: the Sandstone Quarry trailhead. Before we push further up into the canyon, it is…

The topography shifts dramatically as we push further along the Calico Tanks trail. The broad, forgiving sandy wash we previously navigated abruptly bottlenecks, forcing us to abandon a simple walking gait in favor of active,…

Approaching the climax of our ascent, we arrive at the specific geological formation that gives this trail its name: the Calico Tank. This is not a man-made reservoir, but a naturally occurring depression in the sandstone canyon…

We have reached the culmination of our physical exertion: the summit of the Calico Tanks trail. Surmounting the final rocky outcropping, the confined, vertical world of the narrow canyon instantaneously falls away, replaced by an…

As we complete our descent and arrive back at the relatively flat expanse of the parking area, a moment of physical and intellectual decompression is warranted. The Calico Tanks hike is generally acknowledged as a two to…