Overview

Red Spring Boardwalk, or Calico Basin Boardwalk, is a delightful and fully accessible 1/2-mile hike in the Calico Basin area of Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area. The boardwalk is not on the Scenic Loop Drive, so there is no charge to use the area.

The boardwalk loop starts in a picnic area, switchbacks gently up a marshy hillside beneath towering Velvet Ash trees, and then makes a wide loop around an alkali meadow to Red Spring, which is at the far side of the meadow. Shaded benches provide pleasant places to sit, rest, and watch swallows and dragonflies flying over the meadow.

An alkali meadow is a saturated or seasonally flooded area with somewhat salty water where only salt-tolerant plants can thrive. Here, Alkali Sacatone grass, and Yerba Mansa are common, while the Alkali Mariposa Lily is rare. Because there is surface water here, this is a good place to watch birds and other creatures that come to drink.

Link to map.

Watch Out

Other than the standard warnings about hiking in the desert, ...this hike is fairly safe, even for kids. However, the boardwalk is elevated, so take care not to step off the side. While photographing a bird, I once backed up while looking through the camera and stepped off the boardwalk -- I fell into the mud with quite a thud, but I kept the camera clean!

The meadow harbors the rare Alkali Mariposa Lily, so please stay on the boardwalk so as not to trample the delicate vegetation.

While hiking, please respect the land and the other people out there, and please try to Leave No Trace of your passage. Also, even though this is a short hike, be sure to bring what you need of the 10 Essentials.

Getting to the Trailhead

This hike is located in Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area, about 30 minutes from downtown, but not in the Scenic Loop Road fee area.

Drive out West Charleston Blvd, turn right onto Calico Basin Road, then drive into the Red Spring Trailhead. Park here; this is the trailhead. The parking area closes at sunset, so don't stay too late and get locked in.

Early morning birders are welcome to park outside the gate and walk into the area before the gate is opened.

The Birdwalk

From the parking area, the concrete trail runs straight through the picnic area to base of the boardwalk (Table 1, Waypoint 01).

The picnic area is a good place to start birding because food debris attracts all sorts of creatures, and in the picnic area, they are fairly used to being around humans. In particular, when walking towards the start of the boardwalk, there is a small spring at the base of a Velvet Ash tree that brings in Chukar, Gamble's Quail, Mourning Dove, House Finches, House Sparrows, and various field sparrows. Keep an eye out for Gray Fox and Antelope Ground Squirrels too.

Starting up the boardwalk, birders are immediately surrounded by tall Velvet Ash trees that can be full of birds. This usually is a good place for Ladder-backed Woodpeckers and, unfortunately, European Starlings. The two species compete for nest cavities, so hopefully the Woodpeckers will continue to hold their own.

Beneath the Velvet Ash trees, the boardwalk switchbacks up a marshy hillside. Keep one eye on the trees and one eye on the ground. Warblers, vireos, tanagers, and orioles can be heard in the trees, but water flowing on the marshy hillside, especially under the boardwalk, brings them down where they can be seen. A Hooded Warbler spent some time here one spring, Yellow-backed Spiny Lizards prowl the tree trunks, and watch for Valley Pocket Gopher noses poking up through the grassy marsh vegetation. During spring, peek under the upper switchback for a botanical treat.

Coming out from under the trees, the boardwalk arrives at the edge of the alkali meadow with nice views out across the area and back down towards the picnic area.

Atop the switchbacks, the trail forks to begin the loop, but before continuing, the high boardwalk here makes a good place to scan the treetops for birds not visible from below.

At the fork in the boardwalk, birders can start the loop in either direction, but the photos here were taken staying to the left.

Continuing, benches beneath more Velvet Ash trees provide a shady place to sit and scan the meadow for birds. Often Barn Swallows and Tree Swallows can be seen hawking flying insects close to the ground while Red-tailed Hawk prowl the cliffs for ground squirrels and Desert Cottontail Rabbits. Keep an eye out the Prairie Falcons who nest somewhere in the cliffs. Dragonflies can be common here too.

Continuing on the boardwalk to the back corner, birders arrive at Red Spring (Wpt. 02). Here, spring water flows year-round from a tunnel in the cliffs and attracts birds from far and wide. Scrub Live Oak trees and several species of shrubs on the hillside, plus Velvet Ash trees in the wet areas, provide a plethora of cover and food for birds, but it can be hard to see them. Watch the base of the cliff for birds coming in to drink and bathe.

Before the boardwalk was installed, people congregated at the spring and trampled all of the riparian vegetation. Now however, the habitat is recovering, and it is hard to see where the spring comes out of a natural sandstone tunnel. While possibly frustrating to birders, this is a good thing for the habitat and the wildlife that comes to drink from this precious resource. The increase in vegetation has improved the birding experience. Keep an eye out for foxes here too.

Every species in the area can be seen at the spring. Watch for Anna's Hummingbirds, Black-chinned Hummingbirds, Costa's Hummingbirds, Verdin, Blue-gray Gnatcatchers, Cedar Waxwings, Yellow-rumped Warblers, Yellow Warblers, White-crowned Sparrows, Bullock's Orioles, Western Tanagers, and other species.

Continuing on the boardwalk, be sure to notice the petroglyphs along the trail at the base of the red sandstone cliffs (Wpt. 03). The petroglyph area is a good place to see Phainopepla and even Woodhouse's Scrub-Jays. The open shrubs on the inside of the boardwalk can be good for smaller species of birds and the occasional Logger-head Shrike.

Continuing, the boardwalk loops back around the fork. Before descending the hillside, be sure to scan the meadow and the rocky cliffs one last time for soaring birds.

Descending the boardwalk, ignore the sounds of the picnic area and continue to bird the trees and the marshy vegetation looking for old friends and anyone who was missed the first time through.