Overview

This hike starts at Sandstone Quarry, follows a wash northward for most of a mile, turns east to climb hillsides and a gully to the summit ridge, and then follows the summit ridge south to the peak.

This hike is fairly difficult. The route climbs about 2,000 feet in 2.15 miles, which is steep enough, but the hard part is climbing the 800 vertical-feet in the gully and chute system that leads to the summit ridge in only 0.4 miles. There are unmaintained use-trails all the way to the top. The trail is signed near Sandstone Quarry, so you can tell where to start, but the signs end after 0.6 miles. After that, you can always tell where to go, but there is a lot of multiple-trailing, and finding the optimal route can be more challenging than might be expected. Even so, the only difficulty in finding a way to the top is to decide which trails to follow, and you can always change your mind and switch to another.

Link to map.

Watch Out

Other than the standard warnings about hiking in the desert, ...this is a very strenuous hike that requires some 2nd-class or 3rd-class scrambling over and around boulders. Falls from some places along the trail would result in serious injuries. This route probably is not appropriate for children.

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.

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 Rock Canyon NCA. 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 Sandstone Quarry Road (Site 874), which is at Mile Marker 2.75 (0.75 miles past Mile Marker 2). Turn right onto Sandstone Quarry Road and drive north for 0.1 miles to the parking area (Site 136). Park here; this is the trailhead.

The Hike

From the trailhead (Table 2, Waypoint 1), the trail runs north into the Sandstone Quarry historic area. The trail passes to the west of the actual quarry, passes a trail sign (Wpt. 2), drops into the big wash, and continues northward. About 2 minutes beyond the historic area, the trail forks (Wpt. 3). The Turtlehead Trail turns left (north), while the Calico Tanks Trail continues straight (east).

The Turtlehead Trail continues north between fins of white sandstone rock. The trail climbs onto a little ridge in the wash with nice singleleaf pinyon and canyon live oaks along the western cliff. The trail eventually drops off the ridge, crosses a small wash (Wpt. 4), wanders up the main wash, and eventually turns right (Wpt. 5) and climbs out of the main wash angling northeast towards the peak.

Turning towards the peak, the trail crosses between sandstone crags (Wpt. 6) and heads toward the big gully on the northwest side of the peak.

After crossing the sandstone, the trail runs across blackbrush flats, ascends the steep toe of a bluff (Wpt. 7), and then continues up the hillside on the north side of the big gully. The trail eventually drops into the gully (Wpt. 8) and becomes steep and rocky. Many use-trails diverge and converge in the gully. Some use-trails stay on the north side of the gully, others wander up the south side, and many wind up the center. The use-trail on the north side of the gully provides a reasonable route to where even that use-trail ends in the wash.

The main gully splits about half way up (Wpt. 9), and most use-trails run up the southern fork. Just above the split, one route requires a few feet of minimal 3rd-class scrambling to climb some pour-overs (if you can get this far, the scrambling won't deter you), but other routes bypass this obstacle on steep dirt slopes.

Staying more-or-less in the middle of the various routes, the route passes between two huge boulders (Wpt. 10) that can be seen from the bottom of the mountain. From below, the rocks look like they are on the top of the ridge, but alas, it is not so.

Near the top of the gully, the south-most routes lead directly to the summit ridge (Wpt. 12), but angling to the north and cutting up and across the slope provides an easier final ascent to a saddle (Wpt. 11) on the summit ridge.

At the saddle (Wpt. 11), there are several large boulders perched on the summit ridge, but use-trails lead around them and south towards the summit. The use-trails on the ridge quickly pass the other place to crest out (Wpt. 12).

The summit ridge quickly becomes a steep summit slope. As in the gullies below, and there is a lot of multiple-trailing, but staying on use-trails as far to the west as possible seems to provide a reasonable and direct route. The west edge is the cliff, so don't get too extreme in staying far to the west. Because of the lay of the land, the summit (Wpt. 13) sneaks up quickly.

The summit is large and provides many options for resting, eating lunch, signing the summit register, and hanging your feet over the cliff. The view to the south overlooks Sandstone Quarry and most of the route to the summit. Las Vegas lies to the southeast; I can even see my house. Seeing the city and the traffic makes one appreciate the peace and quiet of the summit. To the north lies the La Madre Range and the grand south face of La Madre peak. To the west lies the red and white sandstone of the Wilson Cliffs and their overlying limestone ridges.

The easiest way down is to retrace your steps, again staying close on the ridgeline on the summit slopes and to the middle through the gully. The gully is steep and hard on the knees, so be sure to stop and rest on the way down as often as you did on the way up.

End of route description.