Overview

The Colorock Quarry is a historical sandstone quarry. Judging from the amount of rock removed, that seems that the quarry went bust shortly after it got started. In 1983, the area was explored for gas and oil, but none was found. Now only a stone cabin and a few cut stones sit quietly among towering sandstone and limestone cliffs on the edge of the Muddy Mountains Wilderness Area. This is an area of stark solitude with a bit of local history thrown in.

This short (3/4-miles round trip) and easy hike follows old roads into the quarry area. The wilderness area boundary is the wash, so please keep all vehicles in the wash or on the cabin side of the wash. Across the wash and up the wash past the cabin is designated wilderness.

Link to map.

Watch Out

Other than the standard warnings about hiking in the desert, ... this is a safe hike with no unusual hazards. There are many cactus and other things with sharp points, so be careful when walking around.

While driving, please respect the land and the other people out there, and try to Leave No Trace of your passage. This road goes to the edge of Wilderness, so pay particular attention to respecting the land. This area is little used so nobody will find you if you need help, so be sure to bring the 10 Essentials. Cell phones probably don't work in this area.

Hiking Guide -- Getting to the Trailhead

This hike is located on the west edge of the Muddy Mountains Wilderness Area, about 1.5 hours north of Las Vegas near Valley of Fire State Park.

From Las Vegas, drive northbound Interstate 15 for 33 miles to Exit 75E (Table 1, Site 1027). Turn right onto Highway 169 and drive east for 3.5 miles to Bitter Spring Backcountry Byway Road (Site 1028). On the Byway, drive southeast for 4.1 miles to a road intersection (Site 1029). Turn right and drive 0.2 miles to another intersection (Site 1030). Turn left and drive south towards the mountains. In the mountains, stay to the left at intersections, continuing to the Colorock Quarry Wash Route Trailhead area (Site 1035), the details of which are presented on the Colorock Road webpage.

Past the last intersection (Site 1032), the road continues along the wash for another 0.4 miles to a wide spot in the road (Site 1035), then the completely deteriorates. For hikers, the wide spot is a good place to stop because it is easy to turn around and because the road gets much rougher just ahead. Parking here adds 0.1 miles to the hike. For the Wash Route, park here; this is the trailhead (Site 1035).

Hiking Guide -- The Hike

From the trailhead (Table 2, Waypoint 06), the route follows the road up the canyon. The road quickly becomes quite rocky, and then it is washed out where it crosses the wash. Across the wash, the road turns steeply up the high bank on the far side, and then runs southeast and south along the base of the hill.

Staying to the right, the legal road ends at the Colorock Cabin (Wpt. 09), which is literally inches from the edge of designated wilderness area. The cabin walls were made using quarried sandstone chunks held together with cement. I imagine that workers used broken blocks from the quarry to build the cabin. The roof and door are wooden. The windows have long been broken out, and now they are covered with hinged boards so they can be opened and closed.

There is little trash around the exterior, but there is a burn barrel and cement pads that might have been the floor of storage sheds or wall tents.

Inside the cabin, recent visitors have left a few amenities of modern life, including chairs, trash cans, lanterns, a carpet, and a ceramic pot-bellied stove (bring your own wood).

The door has no lock, so I imagine it is available to anyone. While using the cabin, please respect this site as part of our shared Nevada history. Use the site gently, clean up your trash, and try to leave the area nicer than when you arrived.

From the cabin, an old (now illegal) road runs down into the wash and into the wilderness area. Across the wash, the road climbs the hill and bends to the north to run along sandstone cliffs. The quarry site (Wpt. 10) is the large sandstone crag northeast of the cabin. Cut marks can be seen on the crag, and a few cut stones lie at the base. A few concrete pads also remain that probably were foundations for winches or cranes.

Passing the quarry site heading north, the old road runs back down to and crosses the wash, connecting with the road to the cabin (Wpt. 07). Following the road downstream leads back to the trailhead (Wpt. 07).