
Start of La Madre Spring Trail (view northeast). |
Overview
This trail follows an old road into the La Madre Wilderness Area as it runs up a canyon with red and
white sandstone cliffs on one side and gray limestone mountains on the
other. The trail does not actually go to La Madre Spring; rather it
ends at a concrete dam built in the 1960s to store water for cattle and perhaps domestic use. The dam now provides water
for wildlife and makes a pleasant contrast with the desert environment. For
the Red Rocks area, the shrubby vegetation in the canyon is fairly dense, and
the mix of single-leaf pinyon pines, Utah juniper, and shrub live oaks make parts of the trail feel like a forest.
Parts of this hike are strenuous, as the trails climbs some 700 ft in only 1.8 miles.
Link to map |

The La Madre trail runs on an old road (view east). |
Watch Out
Other than the standard warnings about hiking in the
desert, ...this is a safe hike, but I wouldn't drink the water. Past the end of the pavement, the 0.5 miles
of unmaintained road gets pretty rough.
While hiking, please respect the land
and the other people out there, and try to Leave No Trace of your passage.
Also, even though this is a short hike, it is a remote area, so be sure
to bring what you need of the 10 Essentials.
The trail runs up into the La Madre Wilderness Area, so be extra careful with the land. |

Lower portion of the trail (view southwest). |
Trail Guide
Getting to the Trailhead
This hike is located along Scenic Loop Road in Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area, about 1 hour west of Las Vegas.
From town, drive out to Red Rocks.
From West Charleston at Scenic Loop Road (Table 1, Site 519), turn right and
drive north for 0.2 miles to the entrance station (Site 855). Pay the
fee, then drive around the one-way Scenic Loop Road to Willow Spring
Road (Site 526), which is 0.5 miles past Mile Marker 7. Turn right onto
Willow Spring Road and drive north for 0.6 miles to the end of the
pavement at Willow Spring picnic area (Site 181). Park here; this is the trailhead. |

Starting up the side canyon and approaching the foundations (view northeast). |
For those with high-clearance vehicles who want to shorten the
hike, continue north on Rocky Gap Road (a rough dirt road) past the
picnic area for 0.5 miles to where the road crosses Red Rock Wash (Site
858). Stop before crossing the wash (either in the wash or in one of
the pullouts before the wash). The road gets worse the closer you get
to Red Rock Wash, so it might be better to just park at the picnic area
and enjoy the walk up the canyon. |

Open-air dance floor (view east) |
The Hike
From the end of the pavement at Willow Springs Picnic Area
(Table 2, Waypoint 1), the route runs north and up the rough and rocky
Rocky Gap Road, which starts out running up the canyon along the east
side of Red Rock Wash. The canyon is floristically diverse, with lots
of shrub live oak and other shrubs, making it a good place to listen and
watch for birds. This is also a good area to look for bighorn sheep,
and because you are walking on a road, it is easier to look around as you walk.
About 0.5 miles out, Rocky Gap Road crosses Red Rock Wash, and
about 100 yards farther up the road (Wpt 3), the route leaves Rocky Gap
Road and turns right onto the La Madre Spring-White Rock Loop Trail.
Although the first 0.5 miles is a pleasant walk, this point marks the official start of the La Madre Spring Trail and entrance into the La Madre Wilderness Area. |
 |
The trail follows another rocky old road up a fairly steep
hillside to the north, and then bends to the east and continues up the
canyon at a more gentle grade. Through here, the vegetation continues
to be dense and diverse, with lots of shrubs (e.g., pointleaf manzanita, silk
tassel, and narrow-leaf yerba santa), plus pinyon and juniper trees that are thick enough to form a forest. Even big sagebrush grows here, which is unusual at this southern location.
The valley is geologically interesting. It is bordered by
180-million-year-old sandstone cliffs (the White Rock Hills) on the
south side and 230-million-year-old limestone mountains (the La Madre
Range) on the north side. The geologic story is complex (evidenced by
the faulted, tilted, and twisted cliffs), but in essence, the older
limestone was thrust up and over the younger sandstone. Some of the
limestone has since eroded away, leaving the canyon and the tilted
layers of rock. For details of the local geology, consider hiking the Keystone Trail. |

Pond vegetation ahead (view NE). |
Following the old road, the La Madre Trail passes a trail
junction (Wpt 5; 1.1 miles out) where the White Rock Loop Trail
branches off to the right and runs south. The La Madre Trail stays on
the hillside and starts to angle up and towards a canyon on the flanks
of La Madre Peak. The La Madre Trail also continues straight past an old
road that also forks off to the right and runs south (Wpt 6; 1.3 miles out).
The La Madre Trail runs through an old homestead area (Wpt 7) where
the foundations of two 1960s-era houses and several other building can
be seen. As I understand it, Mr. Couch and his sister lived out here
for a time, then the area was used for an archery range, and later it was acquired by the BLM. |
 |
The La Madre Trail continues across the hillside, eventually making
a big turn-around loop at the end of the old road (Wpt 12). From the top of
the loop, a short trail leads up the canyon for about 1 minute to the
concrete dam (Wpt 13; 1.8 miles out). The dam blocks the stream that
comes down from La Madre Spring and forms a small pond.
The pond is the end of the official trail, and this is a good
place to stop, relax, eat lunch, and enjoy the wilderness. The water
provides habitat for Pacific treefrogs that sing in the spring; water for
birds, bighorn sheep, and other wildlife; and it sustains vegetation
not often seen in the desert (sedges, wiregrass, common reed, and other hydrophilic plants). |

La Madre Pond (view south across the dam towards White Rock Hills). |
Above the dam, a narrow use-trail runs up the brushy canyon to La Madre Spring, a 15-foot waterfall, an old miner's cabin, and a mine. For
details on the route up the canyon, see the description of the La Madre
Miner's Cabin route.
Relax in the shade, listen to the sound of water and birds in the desert, then when you are ready, retrace your steps back to the trailhead. |
|
Table 1. Highway Coordinates (NAD27; UTM Zone 11S). Download GPS Waypoints (*.gpx) file.
| Site # |
Location |
Latitude (°N) |
Longitude (°W) |
UTM Easting |
UTM Northing |
Elevation (feet) |
Verified |
| 519 |
Charleston Blvd at Scenic Loop Rd entrance |
36.1318 |
115.4206 |
642120 |
3999525 |
3,681 |
Yes |
| 855 |
Scenic Loop Rd at Entrance Station |
36.1325 |
115.4228 |
641918 |
3999598 |
3,682 |
Yes |
| 526 |
Scenic Loop Rd at Willow Spring Rd |
36.1561 |
115.4891 |
635906 |
4002118 |
4,441 |
Yes |
| 181 |
Willow Spring Picnic Area |
36.1610 |
115.4980 |
635106 |
4002654 |
4,575 |
Yes |
| 858 |
Willow Spring (Rocky Gap) Rd at Red Rocks Wash |
36.1646 |
115.5057 |
634390 |
4003067 |
4,741 |
Yes |
Table 2. Hiking Coordinates Based on GPS Data (NAD27; UTM Zone 11S). Download GPS Waypoints (*.gpx) file.
| Wpt. |
Location |
Easting |
Northing |
Elevation (ft) |
Point-to-Point Distance |
Cumulative Distance |
| 01 |
End of the pavement |
635112 |
4002653 |
4,568 |
0.00 |
0.00 |
| 02 |
Red Rock Wash |
634408 |
4003038 |
4,701 |
0.53 |
0.53 |
| 03 |
Trail leaves the road |
634312 |
4003150 |
4,744 |
0.09 |
0.62 |
| 04 |
Crossing a wash |
634261 |
4003442 |
4,871 |
0.20 |
0.82 |
| 05 |
White Rock Loop Trail junction |
634461 |
4003824 |
4,901 |
0.28 |
1.10 |
| 06 |
Old road junction |
634603 |
4004142 |
5,002 |
0.23 |
1.33 |
| 07 |
First road to old foundations |
634611 |
4004333 |
5,065 |
0.12 |
1.45 |
| 08 |
Second road to old foundations |
634616 |
4004371 |
5,075 |
0.02 |
1.47 |
| 09 |
Third road to old foundations |
634584 |
4004423 |
5,107 |
0.04 |
1.51 |
| 10 |
Fork to nowhere |
634585 |
4004694 |
5,195 |
0.18 |
1.69 |
| 11 |
Start turnaround |
634593 |
4004764 |
5,219 |
0.04 |
1.73 |
| 12 |
Top of turnaround |
634611 |
4004798 |
5,233 |
0.03 |
1.76 |
| 13 |
La Madre Dam |
634615 |
4004857 |
5,245 |
0.03 |
1.79 |
|