Red Rock Canyon Visitor Center — Local services in Summerlin South

Red Rock Canyon is an amazingly beautiful place and the visitor center is a gem.

The problem is that there are THIEVES operating in the area.

We had a rental sedan and our two carry-ons were locked inside the trunk.

We didn’t go hiking as this was a short visit before heading to the airport on our way back home.

On one of the trail heads we walked like 50 feet away from our car, just to take some pictures.

When we got back there was a guy with a device scanning the top of our trunk.

I confronted him asking “do you want something?” and he said “oh, I am just trying to find my car, as it’s a rental and today I got twice on the wrong cars”.

Of course this was a lie and I kept looking straight at his eyes, so he quickly entered the white Hyundai that was parked less than 9 feet away. The car he was driving was a white Hyundai and I was using a dark gray Nissan.

As soon as he drove away I tried to check for our belongings inside the trunk and could not open it with the FOB, as the FOB has been disabled. Probably by his device?

I managed to open the trunk manually, as there’s a manual button inside the car.

I tried to drive fast to the visitor center, as I got a picture of the guys’s car and his plate numbers, and I thought he could get caught at the gate.

The problem is that, although Red Canyon looks “secure” as you have to have reservations, and there’s an entrance gate, there’s NO SECURITY at all, because you only go through the gate to get IN but when you are getting OUT you are straight on the highway and there’s no way to let Park rangers to know what it’s going on.

In my opinion, there should be a gate by the end of the 13 mile drive, so, in a case like this, it would be easy to stop the thieves, and the thieves would not get so confident in doing their “job” knowing there will be no gates for them to go through and also there’s almost no cell phone coverage, so it’s impossible to call 911 even in the case of an attack.

In my opinion it could be easy to get these thieves, as they all need to go through the entrance gate, where they all need to present their timely reservation code and their parking fee or “Annual Beautiful America” pass. The reservation form and the pass contain information about the visitor, like name, email, credit card details, etc.

Why they are still operating there?

So, it’s very sad that this happened to us, and I googled “thieves” “Red Rock Canyon” only to learn that this is a HUGE problem around the Red Rock Canyon area. This should not be happening and I think it’s not that difficult to put an end on this problem.

Anyways, if you plan to visit Red Rock Canyon, be assured it’s a very beautiful place. It makes me sad that our trip could have had a bad end if we weren’t luck to return to the...

Given the scale of the place, it seems a little odd to say this, but after the best part of a week in Las Vegas at the Consumer Electronics Show, I was feeling a little stir crazy and needed to get out of the city. Thankfully I had booked a bike rental and tour with Bike blast prior to leaving the UK and was taken to Red Rock Canyon as it was deemed the best place to go for a ride.

The way the whole Canyon is set up is as you’d expect from a US tourist attraction, but without any of the over-consumerism that can haunt these places. In essence, Red Rock Canyon is a fully facilitated venue. There is a visitors centre with toilets and water fountain and plenty of parking for visitors.

I was a little apprehensive about getting lost without a guide, the reason I selected a guided tour in the first place, but the reality is that is is impossible to get lost there.

The whole site is structured around a single, one-way road, which loops around in a horse-shoe styled shape, taking you back to the main road, about 2 miles down from the entrance.

The road is about 13 miles around, with the 2 miles back to the centre taking it up to 15 miles in total. The road is well laid smooth tarmac and because it’s one-way, you only have to watch for cars coming out of the various stopping car parks along the route.

The route starts just below the visitor’s centre by the entrance to the park and from there it’s a good 4.5 mile climb. Due to the scale of the place, and the ability to see for miles, the road doesn’t seem that steep, but it was hard work and Strava told me afterwards that it is a category 3 climb. There are some lovely views to take in on the way up.

Once you get over the climbing then it levels out and you get a mix of rolling hills with the emphasis on downhill, but with some sharp corners where you need to check your speed and your brakes.

A loop takes just less than an hour, with about half taken up by the first 4.5 miles climb and the rest on the downhill section. I cycled around without stopping on the first circuit but then stopped a lot during my second circuit to take photos, otherwise, I could quite easily have done 3 laps. The views all the way around just keep delivering and are incredible.

Highly...

The visitor center is within the entrance station where you have to pay or show a National Parks Pass. Reservations are required seasonally 8:00 am - 5:00 pm.

It is the ONLY place in the park with water and flush toilets. There is a bike repair stand out front. The back deck area has a tortoise habitat to view. The side yard has a small memorial garden with a few picnic tables and shade trees.

There are vending machines in the parking lot near the lot restrooms.

The displays inside are well done and there is a beautiful viewing area as well. The gift shop has a wide variety of items including sun hats, books, T-shirts, kids items and jewelry. And much more!

Knowledgeable volunteers staff an information desk with trail and viewpoint maps and other park information.

The Scenic Road is one way and it is past the Visitor Center. So be sure to stop on your way in, or you will need to renter the park with a new fee and reservation if you decide to delay your visit to the gift shop!

Many programs are offered, so be sure to check the park website for information...