Petroglyph Wall Trail in Willow Springs Canyon (RRCNCA)

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(Fig. 01)

Destination: Willow Springs Picnic Area - (RRCNCA) Distance from Point of Origin: 26 miles. Estimated (One Way) Travel Time: 45 minutes. Directions: From the Stratosphere Casino take a right onto Las Vegas Blvd south (the Strip) to Sahara Ave. Turn right onto West Sahara Ave (NV-589) and continue to follow W. Sahara Ave for 10 miles until it turns into Desert Foothills Drive. Continue on for another 4.5 miles and turn left onto NV-159 W Charleston Blvd. Continue to follow NV-159 (which becomes Blue Diamond Road) west for about 4.5 miles and turn right onto Scenic Drive which leads into the Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area (RRCNCA). After paying the entrance fee, bear right at the fork to stay on the 16 mile Scenic Loop road. Travel roughly 8 miles past the visitor center, a little more than half-way around the Scenic Loop. Turn right onto Willow Spring Road and drive north about .6 miles, past the Lost Creek Trailhead, and park on the right side of the road. General Description: The picnic area is located adjacent to a spring with large cottonwood trees. There are a couple of trails here. The Lost Creek Trail leads to a willow thicket, waterfall, and creek flowing from a side canyon. You can also walk farther up the dirt road into the canyon itself. There is also a short trail opposite the picnic area that leads you past some Petroglyphs. Special Attraction or Points of Interest: Petroglyphs and waterfalls when the timing is right. Primary Activity: Hiking. Secondary Activities: Photographing and birding. Elevation: 4,575 feet. Best Time To Visit: Open year-round, the best time to visit is in the early spring and the cooler months of fall and winter. Difficulty: Easy. Facilities: Pit Toilets. Estimated Round-trip Time: Two hours depending upon how much additional hiking, exploring and picture taking you do.

08/09/2014 Trip Notes: The only reason I came here today was to try and locate some pictographs (Figs. 2 & 3) that I failed to take pictures of on a previous visit. For a more complete collection of pictograph and petroglyph pictures from this area go to … Willow Springs Canyon Petroglyph Photos.

(Fig. 02)  (Fig. 03)

05/10/2012 Trip Notes: The picture in (Fig. 01) is a view westward toward the canyon above the picnic area at the start of the trail. The two picture in (Figs. 04 & 05) show members of today’s hiking group heading out across the wash on the trail opposite the picnic area that leads to “Petroglyph Wall”. Though I was hoping to see more Petroglyphs, we only came across two sightings, shown in (Figs. 06 & 07) below.  The remaining shots (Figs. 08-10) show some of the plant life we found along the way.

(Fig.04) (Fig. 05)

(Fig. 06) (Fig. 07)

(Fig. 08) (Fig. 09) (Fig. 10)