Overview

This fairly strenuous, 1.2-mile hike and scramble runs up a canyon and over sandstone slickrock to a large natural depression (a "tank" or "tinaja") near the top of the Calico Hills ridge. The tank sometimes holds water, and there are great views of Calico Basin and the Las Vegas valley from a saddle just beyond the tank.

Link to map.

Watch Out

Other than the standard warnings about hiking in the desert, ...this is a moderately strenuous hike. After the trail ends, the route requires some 2nd-class scrambling over and around boulders and up slick-rock terraces. The route also requires some route-finding skills. Be careful if you get high enough to fall and hurt yourself, and watch for wet or icy rocks in the canyon and around the pool during winter. Don't drink the water without treating it.

While hiking, please respect the land and the other people out there, and please try to Leave No Trace of your passage. Also, even though this is a short hike, be sure to bring what you need of the 10 Essentials.

Getting to the Trailhead

This hike is located along the Scenic Loop Road in Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area, about 45 minutes west of Las Vegas. Drive out to Red Rocks, pay the entrance fee, and drive up the Scenic Loop Road for about 3 miles to the Sandstone Quarry Trailhead. Park here; this is the trailhead.

The Hike

The trail starts by following an old road northward for about 3 minutes into the historic quarry area where evidence of the old stonework remains. The trail then bends left into the wash heading upstream and passes an enormous sandstone boulder on the left. About 3 minutes up the wash, the Turtlehead Peak Trail forks off to the left (Wpt. 02).

The Calico Tank Trails stay to the right and heads north (right) -- straight towards Turtlehead Peak.

The trail continues for another 6-8 minutes as it curves slowly to the east, passes an agave-roasting pit with an information sign, and drops back into the wash. The trail follows the wash upstream through a narrow spot between sandstone cliffs crowded with shrub live oak trees. When you can look up a side canyon to the southeast (right), the trail cuts out of the main wash and starts up the side canyon (Wpt. 03).

After climbing steeply for a fair ways and then crossing a long flat area in mostly white sandstone (Wpt. 04), the trail eventually drops into Calico Tank (Wpt. 05), a large natural depression. The tank sometimes holds water, and there might be sedges, needlegrass, and cattails growing along the margin.

When there has been sufficient precipitation, the tank provides water for wildlife such as bighorn sheep. I have even seen relatively large fish swimming in the pond. One fish looked like a 10-inch largemouth bass that someone brought up here and released. Lucky for the environment and the native insects and frogs, the ponds always dry up and the non-native fish are eliminated.

If you are inclined, you can scramble along the south side of the tank to a saddle (Wpt. 6) where you can look down the cliffs to the east and get great views of Calico Basin and the Las Vegas valley.