Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area, managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is located 20 miles west of Las Vegas, Nevada. This 197,000 acre area provides a 13-mile scenic drive, more than 30 miles of hiking trails, picnic areas, and a Visitor Center with exhibit rooms and a bookstore.

The unique geologic features, plants and animals of Red Rock Canyon represent some of the best examples of the Mojave Desert. In 1967, the Secretary of the Interior designated Red Rock Canyon Nevada for the enjoyment of the Recreation Lands to be managed by the BLM's Las Vegas District, Nevada. In 1990, special legislation supported by the Nevada cop Congressional delegation changed the status of the recreation lands to a National Conservation Area (NCA), the seventh to be designated nationally. This legislation provides protection and the funding to protect and improve the area.

Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area is enjoyed by the local Population as well as visitors from the United States and many foreign countries. More than one million visitors each year enjoy the spectacular desert landscape, climbing and hiking opportunities, and interpretive program's sponsored by the BLM.

The BLM is the largest administrator Of public lands in the West. It adheres to the policy of multiple use, thereby providing recreational opportunities, protection for cultural sites, and the management of natural resources, including wildlife:

SCENIC DRIVE
The 13-mile scenic drive is a one-way road. (Bicycles are allowed.) Sightseeing photograghy, and hiking trails are accessible from the designated pullouts and parking areas. The scenic drive daily from 7 a.m. to dusk.

INTERPRETIVE ACTIVITIES VISITOR CENTER
Activity schedules for naturalist-guided walks, programs, and talks are posted at the Visitor Center between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Call (702) (363-1921.

DESERT SAFETY

Each year people are lost, injured., -and sometimes killed while visiting Red. Rock Canyon. For your safety, please follow these simple rules:

When hiking, stay on established trails and watch your footing at all times. Steep slopes and cliff edges are dangerous.

Do not roll or throw rocks and other items from high places; other visitors may be below you. Watch for snakes on the rocks.

Temperatures can exceed 105*F (41*C in Red Rock Canyon. It is suggested you drink four liters of water per day in the summer, but do not drink untreated water as it may be contaminated.

Avoid drainages after thunderstorms or severe weather because of flash floods. Stay away from high points during thunderstorms; lightning can kill.

Wildlife may appear to be tame, but may attack if threatened. Stay a safe distance away while observing animals.

* Watch children closely; they often do not recognize potential dangers.

The burros at RRCNCA are not domesticated animals and can be dangerous. Do not feed or pet the burros. Feeding burros encourages these animals to congregate on roadways where many have been killed and injured by vehicles. To observe these animals safely: pick a safe place to stop; pull completely off the roadway, observe the burros from a distance. Staying in your car is the safest way to photograph and observe the burros.

GEOLOGY

THE most significant geologic feature of Red Rock Canyon is the Keystone Thrust Fault. About 65 million years ago, it is believed that two of the Earth's crustal plates collided with such force that part of one plate of grey limestone was thrust up and over the younger red sandstone. The Keystone Thrust Fault extends from the Cottonwood Fault (along State Route 160) 1") miles northward to the vicinity of La Madre Mountain where it is obscured by more complex faulting.

HIKING RED ROCK CANYON

A variety of hiking trails are offered in the NCA. Easy trails are short and mostly level. Moderately strenuous and strenuous trails require hiking long distances, often uphill. Extreme summer heat makes any hike more difficult and exhausting. Early morning and late afternoon are best for hiking, unless you come in spring or fall when it is much cooler.

OTHER PLACES OF INTEREST WITHIN RRCNCA

Bonnie Springs - Old Nevada

A privately owned -enterprise featuring a reproduction of an 1880 western mining town movies, saloons, restaurants, museums and gunfights, hangings, melodramas, silent displays.

Spring Mountain State Park

Spring Mountain Ranch, a 520-acre oasis situated at the base of the magnificent Wilson Cliffs, is a state park providing historic tours*, picnic sites and summer plays. The main ranch house and historical grounds are open to visitors on select days; here the visitor may take a self-guided tour of the ranch house and a guided tour throughout the historic grounds. The picnic area is open daily from 8 a.m. to dusk.