Ricardo Campground

Strap on your helmet and hit the desert roads out in Red Rock Canyon, as mountain biking is totally allowed on the roads and trails. Off-roading, however, is not permitted by the state department (bummer, we know), but in the end it’s all for your safety. No one wants another 127 Hours-type fiasco on their hands, so as long as you stick to the paths you’ll experience some great rides.

Hiking in the desert may have its drawbacks (that little thing we call the sun), but utilizing the trails in Red Rock Canyon State Park is an awesome way to get up close and personal with the magnificent Bryce Canyon-like dramatic cliffs. With options like the 1.1 mile Hagen Trail, whose short length should not discredit it’s awesome nature with pit stops for caves and even stone “windows,” Red Rock Canyon offers great hikes for even begginner trekkers. Other trails, such as the Red Cliffs Trail, offer fantastic insight into the geological history and normal topography of the desert, and these hikes permit an on-the-ground perspective towards the towering and colorful sandstone formations that amaze everyone who walks in their shadows. The best part about these trails is wandering off a bit (shh, don’t tell anyone we told you) and getting up close and exploring the spectacular rock formations. The park lends itself quite well to some explorative off-trail improvisation if we say so ourselves. If you can handle it, check out the much longer, 8.8 mile Nightmare Gulch Loop, which is littered with awesome and ready-to-be-explored side slot canyons. Make sure to bring your camera and snag some photos of nesting raptors, as they are one of the most unique part of this path! In the end, though, remember that it’s a desert and to bring more than enough water!

Stick to the Western landscape stereotype and hop on a horse for some awesome canyon exploration around the area. Equestrian usage is totally welcome on most of the trails, and is a great way to feel like a cowboy exploring the Wild West—just be sure not to rob any trains along the way. It is very common among visitors to traverse the Nightmare Gulch trail on horseback, and we highly recommend checking it out (be sure to research opening/closing times, however, as the park gets fairly strict about protecting raptors in the area).

What?!? You can use an OHV on a lot of the trails in Red Rock Canyon State Park?!? Hell ya, and it is one of the coolest ways to experience the area. The park contains over 30 miles of back road trails that fulfill your wildest 4WD desires. OHV riding in the area gets pretty intense, but how could you ever not take this opportunity? With tracks like the Opal Canyon OHV Trail, you can’t go wrong hitting the backcountry and tearing up all the dirt roads that snake through the whimsically-shaped rock formations and fluted cliffs that seem to sag and melt in the desert sun. Any licensed vehicle (whether that be street legal or OHV with the green sticker) can hit the dirt road system, but make sure to watch out for Closed Route signs and ALWAYS have a map in case you get lost.

Red Rock Canyon State Park is a rock climber’s paradise, with barely any regulation on what you can’t climb and enough cliffs to summit for the entirety of the population in an 100 mile radius. Rock climbing and hopping is a great activity for a kids and adults alike and is one of the most unique aspects of Red Rock Canyon. The park even offers places where you can climb up and down various cliffs with climbing ropes! The opportunity to just stop off on the side of a hike and scramble up a colorful, magical sandstone structure is an incredible element to Red Rock Canyon, and trust us when we tell you it’s worth conquering a fear of heights.

You would think looking at the mini-Badlands and even hallucinogenic scenery is enough to catch the eye, but no! Well, it definitely is enough, but visitors to Red Rock Canyon State Park can also enjoy the multitude of desert wildlife that populates the area. The animals include roadrunners, hawks, lizards, etc — the usual suspects found in any desert ecosystem. One stand-out of Red Rock Canyon, however, is the wildflower population. The park is actually known for its spring wildflowers, including Indian Paint Brush and wild Cosmos that grow out of the canyon rocks, so be sure to head out there in the Spring when they are in bloom.